When a leading global airline, which contributed to the launch of NDC, announces the selection of its technology partner for the implementation of an offer & order management system, I read the press release between the lines:
- “British Airways has selected Amadeus as its technology partner and Amadeus Nevio”… => Actually Amadeus already provides technology for the current booking systems
- ” Nevio, a new portfolio of modular solutions built on open and AI technology”… => Why is Nevio not called an offer & order management system? Will Nevio be modular as opposed to the current monolithic systems? Will Nevio be open as opposed to the current closed and proprietary systems? Will Nevio leverage AI as opposed to the current business rules based on filed data?
- “British Airways and Amadeus collaborate on the design of Nevio’s Offer and Order capabilities”… => If Nevio is at design stage, how far is from development, from testing, from production, from deployment? Are the capabilities designed for BA or for a community of airlines based on standards?
- “Built around IATA Offer and Order principles”…=> The principles were defined in 2012… and were followed by technical standards. Is the platform built on principles or on standards? The difference is significant in terms of inter-operability.
- “The open platform technology being developed by Amadeus”…=> The word “open” is used 3 times in the press release, it may be worth explaining it: “open source”, meaning the source code is open, which I doubt. “open standard”, meaning compliant with IATA standards, which would be nice. “open access”, meaning that all users can connect freely without excessive cost or requirements, which would be welcome. “open architecture”, meaning modularity and ability to pick and choose modules from vendors, which would be interesting. “open data”, meaning that access and use of data generated by the platform is free, which I guess not.
While I’m pleased to see progress between airlines and technology providers towards the implementation of digital retailing solutions, I can’t help reading between the lines to find out for information. Can you?
