THE INCUBATOR
Bailey drove Microsoft innovation projects through three industry suppliers to make new tools available to the general industry.
Eric Bailey tinkered with mobile travel technologies for a long time before he reached out to industry suppliers to drive wider innovation. Working with a band of Microsoft interns “eager to build something” gave the Microsoft global travel manager wide berth for creativity—and some dead-ends. He emerged a perceptive collaborator and a formidable force of change in 2015, partnering with Amadeus, American Express Global Business Travel and a small tech firm called Tripism to innovate industry solutions.
Microsoft’s 70,000 business travelers consumed $800 million in global T&E spend in 2014, according to BTN’s Corporate Travel 100. That leverage can spur suppliers to meet Microsoft’s innovation goals. And when a travel technology company can access Microsoft technology, even better. Such was the case for Microsoft’s partnership with Amadeus. “We underestimate the calendar,” Florian Tinnus, corporate IT head of the Amadeus IT Group, told BTN. “It has the user’s history and future and their contacts.” Amadeus and Bailey developed a booking tool that initiates a door-to-door travel search based on the start time of the meeting. It accounts for ground transfers and travel time, all matched with preferred supplier route schedules and locations. For those who opt in, the tool will track patterns and preferences to deliver more relevant itineraries. Amadeus anticipates rolling out the tool this quarter.
Likewise, Bailey worked with Amex GBT to deliver rich itineraries and travel alerts directly to Outlook Calendar. In addition to departures, arrivals and locations, the itinerary provides weather reports, destination mapping, flight delays and click-to-call buttons for ground transportation. A change to the itinerary initiates a change in the calendar. And while Amex is guarded about a go-to-market timeline, vice president for American Express’ Global Client Group Melissa Beauchamp told BTN that GBT shares Bailey’s passion about expanding the offering to other customers.
The partnership with Tripism brought Bailey full circle to his early innovations in productivity and personalizing the travel experience for Microsoft employees. It offers a platform on which travelers can log local destination information, advice, recommendations and hacks that allow all users to select the right hotels, restaurants, ground transportation and other local services that will keep them productive and happy on the road. Finding a partner to maintain and grow the platform, said Bailey, was the key.