BETHESDA, Md. --
Radius tapped Amadeus to provide a technology platform that Radius
agencies will use worldwide when serving select multinational
customers.
That doesnt mean
shareholder agencies must switch GDSs if they dont have Amadeus,
said Radius President and CEO Tony Hughes; it means that when a
Radius member participates in a bid for a multinational client
based on utilizing the Amadeus package, that agency will have to
add Amadeus if it hasnt already done so.
The need to add
Amadeus sets will occur more often in North America than overseas,
Hughes noted.
Worldwide,
Amadeus accounts for 56% of all segments booked by Radius agencies;
in North America, only 10% of Radius segments are booked on
Amadeus.
Hughes said he
expects some Radius agencies to switch to Amadeus, although that
will be harder to do in North America. Some members are ready to
jump on the whole technology package, he added.
Radius, said
Hughes, sought proposals from all four GDSs for development of a
platform that would enable the consortium to compete more
effectively in the global marketplace and permit participating
shareholders to, in effect, function as a single agency when
handling multinational customers.
The crucial
client demand, he said, is decent reports that consolidate data
worldwide.
The Amadeus
platform consists of technology already in the marketplace, said
Madrid-based Gillian Gibson, Amadeus vice president of its
multinational customer group. The customization, she said, comes in
the creation of unique interfaces.
The package
components are:
Vista Open, a
front-office element that provides access to any or all GDSs; other
content of the agencys choice, such as in-house databases and
off-premise inventories; and Radius Wheel, the groups proprietary
software that enables participating suppliers to make price-based
bids for business in an effort to coax clients into switching after
bookings have been made.
Aergo, the
global corporate self-booking tool, which is a product of e-Travel,
an Amadeus business unit.
TRXs Correx or
Amadeus Ace, quality-control technology at the
midoffice.
Amadeus
Reporter, for those decent reports.
Hughes added that
if a participating agency has another version of one of these
add-on components that will work, it could be bolted on.
He said, for
starters, a core group of Radius shareholders -- eager to compete
vigorously in the international arena -- has committed to the
Amadeus platform and agreed to upgrade their Radius branding and
observe a common set of service standards.
Hughes said the
platform is included in a couple of current bids and that a couple
of Radius locations will have the platform components in place by
years end.
Meanwhile, from
Amadeus point of view, supplying more technology to Radius agencies
is a chance to showcase our technology for corporate agencies,
especially in North America, where Amadeus historically has been
perceived as the leisure agents tool.
Amadeus hopes to
use the Radius deal as a springboard to more business in North
America, Gibson said. As more agencies or groups have need for
global services, our value becomes more obvious, she
said.
To contact
the reporter who wrote this article, send e-mail to Nadine Godwin
at [email protected].