Early Corporate Customers See a Surge in Mobile Use After Deployment
Rearden Commerce, Inc. today announced the public launch of its Mobile Personal Assistant application for the iPhone®. After making the application available last month to select corporate clients with a high percentage of iPhone users, hundreds of users downloaded the application, giving them access to flight alerts, detailed itinerary information, weather forecasts, flight search capabilities, interactive mapping, dining reservations and car service bookings. Companies have embraced the value of offering this technology to their road warriors, based on a reduction in operating costs driven by a sharp decrease in calls to their travel agencies – a direct result of the mobile application making timely and relevant information available to business travelers. Now that the premium application is available to all corporate customers, the company expects a large uptick in mobile users.
Rearden Commerce customer, Blackboard Inc., a company dedicated to improving education by developing innovative solutions that improve the experience of millions of students and learners around the world, has already seen 68 percent of its top business travelers downloaded the mobile application.
"Several of my travelers have told me just how useful the application is," said Valerie Fender, Travel Manager at Blackboard Inc. "One traveler told me, 'I think it's very cool! It's nice to see my reservations right in my hand, and I love when I click on the flight information and everything is right there – seat numbers, flight times and the weather. It's very handy to have the [travel agent's] number right there too. They did a really nice job!'"
Unlike other iPhone applications, the Mobile Personal Assistant for the iPhone packs several apps into a single, personalized interface. When employees are on the road, all of the information found in the Personal Assistant is available on their iPhone. The mobile application is so closely tied to the intuitive Rearden Personal Assistant, that it applies one's personal preferences, includes existing itineraries, and pulls together content from multiple providers, including maps and reviews to provide employees with relevant information to make well-informed decisions while on-the-go.
Rearden Commerce has led the charge in mobile travel technology since May 2008, when it launched its first mobile application. The company has an internal team that is focused purely on mobile technology and development, which ensures that the product is constantly evolving. The team will soon deliver a mobile web version of the application so that it can be accessed by any smartphone, regardless of the operating platform.
"The consistent, positive feedback we receive from clients telling us that our mobile application is driving adoption and saving costs is very rewarding," said Tony D'Astolfo, vice president worldwide sales, Rearden Commerce. "Moving forward we're going to expand to additional operating systems and add functionalities that increase the 'stickiness' of the application. Additionally, expect to see more transactional features available on the application in the near future."
Rearden Commerce's Mobile Personal Assistant is a pioneering solution that seamlessly brings the company's online functionality to the smartphone. Both the online and mobile solutions incorporate corporate and personal preferences, pull together content from 160,000 providers and provide employees with efficient travel information to make well-informed decisions and remain productive while on-the-go. For more information about the Mobile Personal Assistant and the importance of mobile in the corporate travel space visit http://reardencommerce.com/webinars/mobile/
About Rearden Commerce
Rearden Commerce built the first intelligent services platform that enhances productivity by orchestrating and automating online commerce. Together with a series of applications, the platform personalizes content for the needs of users across all market segments – from consumers to small businesses, up to the largest enterprises such as ConAgra Foods, GlaxoSmithKline and JDSU. More than 6,000 corporate customers and millions of consumers can access the platform to easily find the services they need at the best value.
Rearden Commerce has significant distribution and reseller channels, including American Express, JP Morgan Chase, Paychex and dozens of travel management companies. It has two wholly-owned subsidiaries: ExpenseWire, a leading provider of on-demand expense reporting and reimbursement solutions for small to mid-sized corporations; and Global Ground Automation (GGA), a leading ground transportation reservation system provider. Rearden Commerce is headquartered in Foster City, California. For more information, visit reardencommerce.com, expensewire.com, or globalground.com.
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Contacts:
Rearden Commerce
Alicia diVittorio, 650-376-8719
Alicia@reardencommerce.com
or
Brew
Media Relations
Brooke Hammerling, 415-596-5428
Brooke@brewpr.com
