SLIEDRECHT, The Netherlands, Aug. 22, 2002 (PRIMEZONE) -- Unit 4 Agresso, an international supplier of business information systems, todayannounced a ground-breaking joint development and marketing agreementwith Sabre, the world's leading provider of technology for the travelindustry, which is set to open up major new global businessopportunities for the two companies.
The ten year agreement between Unit 4 Agresso and U.S.-based Sabre will lead to the launch at the end of 2002 of the world's first fully integrated, end-to-end, multi-lingual, multi-currency business information system designed specifically for mid to largevolume travel agencies. The same powerful system will be made available to smaller travel agencies through an application service provider (ASP) solution, where the application will be hosted on servers at Unit 4 Agresso data centres with agencies connecting remotely to access the system around the clock.
The new back office system, known as Central Command, will link seamlessly with Sabre's frontend global distribution system (GDS), which handles travel bookings, to offer travel agencies worldwide a complete business information and management product. This will enable them to report, analyse performance and make strategic business decisions based on accurate, real-time data.
Chris Ouwinga, CEO of Unit 4 Agresso, said: "This is a true, long-term partnership agreement which offers both companies very exciting new business opportunities. The travel industry has particularly complex and specific requirements so this joint development will give Unit 4 Agresso access to an entirely new global market."
Sabre already has a customer base of more than 60,000 travel agency locations worldwide and Greg Webb, Senior VP of Product Marketing at Sabre, said: "This venture has tremendous potential. It will give Sabre a unique offering for not just our existing customers, but new ones as well, helping us to increase our market penetration across the globe but especially in Europe. The initial feedback from customers is extremely positive."
Central Command combines the strength of the awardwinning AGRESSO Business World financial system with key components from Sabre TravelBase and new, jointly developed elements for next generation technology. The travel industry has very complex data handling requirements, processing millions of bookings every year. Central Command will give users the tools to dramatically cut the time and workload traditionally involved in reporting and analysis. For the first time, they will be able to measure performance based on complete, accurate, realtime information, allowing them to quickly adapt their businesses to changing market conditions.
Existing Sabre customers in Canada, the U.S. and the U.K. have already begun to phase in the new system which will be fully released at the end of the year. Central Command will be marketed by Sabre with Unit 4 Agresso handling the worldwide installations and technical support. Over the next decade, ongoing development of the system will be done jointly by the two companies to take advantage of new technologies and ensure Central Command remains at the forefront.
Editors Notes:
The Unit 4 Agresso Group is an international developer and distributor of secure ebusiness solutions. Unit 4 Agresso NV, headquartered in the Netherlands and listed on the Dutch Stock Exchange, employs nearly 1,400 professionals and provides services for its customers worldwide through its subsidiaries and distributors in Holland, Norway, France, the United Kingdom, Sweden, Germany, Italy, Iceland, Spain, Belgium, Canada and the United States.
Sabre is the leading provider of technology, distribution and marketing services for the travel industry. Headquartered in Southlake, Texas, in the DallasFort Worth Metroplex, the company has approximately 7,000 employees in 45 countries. Sabre reported 2001 revenues of $2.1 billion. Sabre owns Travelocity.com, one of the most popular travel sites on the Web, and GetThere, the world's leading provider of Webbased travel reservation systems for corporations and travel suppliers. Sabre is an S&P 500 company, traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE:TSG). More information about Sabre is available at http://www.sabre.com .