The final question is:
Who could build the "Travel Exchange"
At the moment, there seems to be four (4) entities that could build it.
They are:
- Reed / OAG
With their Schedule and Fare database, and their large Hotel database,
they have a fundament piece of the puzzle already!
- Microsoft
With Windows NT, Internet Information Server (IIS), & Microsoft Travel
Technologies (MTT), they also have some great pieces of the puzzle.
In addition, as they are actively pursuing vendors to utilize the MTT
system for booking purposes, it is just a small step to run a "Travel
Exchange" server on the same platform.
- IBM
With IBM "seeing the light" of "networking" and Java, AND almost
every major travel vendor utilizes IBM mainframes for reservations,
IBM has considerable "insider" clout with the vendors.
- AT&T
The "dark" horse among the bunch... With its network, and customer
contacts, it should not be ignored...