In an attempt to find something non-threatening to offer its customers during Y2K year, Oracle Corp is offering a $10,000 limited time promotion for its new electronic commerce travel service, acquired last month from E-Travel Inc (CI No 3,615). It claims Oracle eTravel, which is hosted on Oracle systems and only needs web-based browser software on customer systems to run, can reduce direct and administrative costs of business travel by around 15%.
Four year-old E-Travel Inc, based in Concord, Massachusetts, claims to have been one of the first to use internet technology for a travel service, but it targeted businesses from the start, and didn’t attempt to set up a public web site. Its first customer was Fidelity Investments Ltd. Because of worries over internet security, the company initially began installing its software on site at its customers. It set up direct trading links between customers and travel suppliers, including airlines, hotel chains and central reservation systems, and used an Oracle database to set company travel policies and point users to negotiated special rates. Within a few months, E-Travel began hosting the service itself, using Unisys Corp as the host service, something it says drove down costs even further.
By the time Oracle acquired the company last month, it had 200 customers, two within the Fortune ten. It also found itself besieged by suppliers wanting access to corporate customers and seeking information about their buying patterns. Suppliers, as well as customers, were being charged to participate in the service. Oracle became interested after it used the service itself for four months. It claims a good fit with its existing self-service Expenses product, and says that integration work between the two products will be completed this calendar year. Further integration work with BIS business intelligence, expenditure management and back-end expense suites will follow.
Oracle says it’s working to cut costs further by setting up more direct links to suppliers, and hopes to eliminate the cost of credit card charges through direct payment options. The $10,000 offer is available until June 30. Oracle says it expects to be able to get customers up and running in 30 to 60 days.
