NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--American Express Global Business Travel (GBT) today announced it is embarking on a cloud-based strategy in order to create the right system infrastructure that will allow GBT to drive higher performance and efficiencies as a standalone travel management company. As part of the strategy, GBT is upgrading its legacy business solutions with flexible, nimble, cloud-based solutions across key business divisions including IT, Procurement, Finance, Human Resources and Administration.
GBT made the strategic decision to begin its transformation immediately following the completion of the joint venture which established GBT as a standalone company. A cloud-based infrastructure provides business enablement functions that are explicitly tied to business objectives. In addition, the move enables GBT to immediately implement the most effective, specialized tools designed for the travel industry.
Technology continues to be the gateway to superior customer service. With a deep understanding of evolving customer needs, GBT management moved to ensure that its foundational corporate systems created the greatest flexibility to meet growing needs and increasing scale. With 14,000 employees, GBT is at the forefront of the industry in its ability to provide its customers with best-in-class technology tools and solutions to ensure seamless end-to-end travel experiences. Investing in cloud-based solutions will enhance GBT’s ability to innovate and change the way GBT, its customers and business partners operate.
“The decision to invest in our infrastructure using a cloud-based approach is closely tied to our commitment of providing our customers with the highest quality products and services,” said Pat Bourke, Chief Administrative Officer, American Express Global Business Travel. “GBT is uniquely positioned to shed all legacy technology platforms in favor of today’s Market leading solutions. The partners we’ve selected represent the best of what cloud services offer – security, operational cost savings and agility. For GBT, cloud computing is not simply an IT decision; it’s fundamental to our business strategy to improve availability and service outcomes and grow the bottom line.”
To facilitate this strategy, GBT is partnering with leading cloud-based platform companies including:
- NetSuite: A global leader in cloud-based enterprise-resource planning with more than 20,000 customers worldwide; NetSuite enables GBT to achieve greater visibility into global operations through improved financial management, billing management and revenue management systems and solutions.
- Coupa: A global leader in cloud-based spend management solutions, Coupa’s mobile-enabled management platforms equip GBT with advanced procurement, sourcing, invoicing and expensing applications to optimize the business’ expense management process.
- Workday: A leader in enterprise cloud applications for finance and HR, Workday’s Human Capital Management (HCM) application streamlines GBT’s human resource and management processes worldwide.
- Dell Boomi: An industry leader in Enterprise Integration Platform as a Service (iPaaS), Dell Boomi's powerful and easy-to-use integration tools enable GBT to support the rollout of complex technology implementations by reducing development complexities, achieving rapid time-to-value and building and testing solution integrations. GBT is using Dell Boomi's hybrid model to leverage both the cloud and on-premise capabilities offered by the product.
- Jive: As one of the leading providers of modern communication and collaboration solutions for business, Jive is upgrading GBT's existing intranet platform using new cloud-based software solutions – enabling GBT to publish blogs internally, conduct polling, showcase video content and engage employees in new ways and across any device. Additionally, Jive's digital collaboration hub brings together standard business tools and platforms to improve employee productivity, alignment and innovation across GBT's entire company.
GBT began the process of selecting strategic partners shortly after the closing of the joint venture and has spent the past year integrating cloud solutions through a phased approach. The Company expects to complete its transition to the cloud later this year.
About American Express Global Business Travel
American Express Global Business Travel enables corporations and empowers business travelers with insights, connections and exceptional customer service on a global scale. Through technology and information, American Express Global Business Travel provides leading travel solutions, integrated consulting services, proprietary research, and end-to-end meetings and events capabilities. These innovative offerings enable clients to optimize the return on their travel and meetings investments.
American Express Global Business Travel has operations and network partners in nearly 140 countries worldwide with approximately 14,000 employees. American Express Global Business Travel ranked first among corporate travel providers in the 2014 Corporate Travel 100 (“CT100”), an annual listing compiled by Business Travel News which ranks companies with the largest volume of U.S. air bookings. Learn more about how American Express Global Business Travel connects the world at www.amexglobalbusinesstravel.com.
American Express Global Business Travel (“GBT”) is a joint venture that is not wholly-owned by American Express Company or any of its subsidiaries (“American Express”). “American Express Global Business Travel”, “American Express” and the American Express logo are trademarks of American Express, and are used under limited license.