Details are slowly emerging about both the bomb that shattered government buildings in the heart of Oslo and the awful tragedy which occurred at Utøya and it will be a long time before the destruction is repaired and the full truth of the incident is known.  But throughout Norway, and around the world, people have yet again been in a position to need emergency contact with their loved ones.

As part of the Voyage Manager family, ShoutSafe was one of the services used by survivors to make sure that everyone knew they were ok. ShoutSafe is a free emergency communication and travel monitoring service which allows you to send one message into the system and then have it automatically sent to everyone on your important contacts list to tell them you are ok – eliminating the need for numerous messages at an already heightened time of communication.

With the globalisation of technology and communication, we are all so accustomed to immediate knowledge and contact. But these advances also bring with them broader threats and concerns as well. So no matter where you are travelling or how long you are gone, having a system like ShoutSafe in place is just peace of mind – for you and your loved ones.

Applications

WorldMate (www.worldmate.com)
WorldMate is a mobile application for business travellers. The service helps travellers build their itineraries through its website. The website provides tools to plan trips, view items on a map, search for hotels, locations etc. and more. Worldmate then provides the itinerary in a mobile application on BlackBerry, iPhone and other smartphones. It also provides real-time info like flight delays, weather forecasts, maps and directions and much more.

FlightTrack Pro (www.mobiata.com/apps/flighttrack-pro)
FlightTrack Pro is the most comprehensive flight tracking application on the market, with over 5000 airports listed and over 1400 airlines tracked. FlightTrack Pro can integrate directly with TripIt, giving automated itinerary creation and monitoring. FlightTrack Pro is available on the Android, iPad and iPhone platforms.

XpenseTrkr (www.silverwaresoftware.com/XpenseTracker.html)
An inevitable part of travelling is accounting for expenditure on expenses. XpenseTracker is an all-inclusive expense tracking and reporting application for anyone wishing to track their expenses & mileage. The application can export expenses to your desktop in an Excel friendly format,  and photo copies of receipts can be exported to a PC as well. XpenseTrkr is available for the iPad nad iPhone platforms.

Websites

Dooplr (www.dopplr.com)
Dopplr is a service designed for international travellers. Users share personal and business travel plans privately with their networks, and exchange tips on places to stay, eat and explore in cities around the world. Dopplr provides the travel patterns, tips and advice of the world’s most frequent travellers – as a Social Atlas. The service is available online and through mobile phones.

ShoutSafe (www.shoutsafe.com)
ShoutSafe is a web based emergency and travel communication service that provides users with an easy to use and efficient method of communicating with friends and family. ShoutSafe is a free service created in response to the 2004 Asian tsunami as a tool to help those affected by disasters. The service also provides location based diary and itinerary monitoring and communication services. The service sends messages to contacts by SMS, email and through the website and is available online and through mobile phones.

TripIt (www.tripit.com)
TripIt is a service that helps people organize their online travel plans, be that flights, hotels, rental cars, trains, car services, cruises, restaurants, events and meetings. Travellers forward their travel confirmation emails to TripIt and TripIt processes these emails and automatically creates a master itinerary. The service is available online and through mobile phones and users can share itineraries through social  networks.

• Passive
• Active
• Automated

As well as the travel tracking systems there are also device tracking systems. All of the system described in this document refer to business services. I will look at some consumer systems in a future blog.

Passive Travel Tracking
Passive travel trackers are basic systems with very limited functionality. These systems only allow users to view the assumed locations of travellers based on the travellers’ itineraries that are stored on the booking systems(GDSs). Providers of  passive travel trackers include travel agents and travel security companies. Companies providing passive travel tracking include:

• American Express Travel
• Anvil Group
• HRG
• iJet
• Red24

Active Travel Tracking

Active travel trackers are travel trackers that continuously manage trips. They require a lot of manpower, as the companies have teams of people managing the trips. Providers of active travel trackers include security                 companies. There is currently a shift to active travel tracking by several providers of passive travel trackers. Companies that are currently providing active travel trackers include:

• International SOS
• Control Risks Group

Automated Travel Tracking
Automated travel trackers take the active travel tracking to the next level. These systems can be partially or completely automated. The automation can encompass several aspects of the travel tracking process. The automation may include :

• Itinerary input (from GDSs, TripIt and other services)
• Flight tracking
• Itinerary monitoring
• Regular check-in

Companies that provide automated travel tracking include:

• Voyage Manager

Device Tracking
Device tracking services provide services that track the location of devices. They are not strictly travel tracking services, but they complement travel tracking services, especially in very hostile locations. Device tracking services can be based around proprietary devices, or for lower end systems, they can be based around GPS enabled mobile phones. Whereas mobile phone based tracking relies of the mobile phone network in order to communicate, a lot of the proprietary systems use both mobile and satellite networks in order to communicate, making them more resilient.
Companies are are currently providing device tracking include:

• Track 24
• GeoCritical

On the 20th of March 2011 the BBC reported “The destruction of the mobile phone network means people are queuing for hours to make their allocated phone call of one minute.” In this instance the residents were only given a single, short call in which to notify family and friends that they were OK. In this scenario having a trust contact who could relay the message to others would have been immensely useful. One free service, ShoutSafe, deals with this issue head on by introducing the trusted contact model.

The trusted contact model or TCM is designed to be used in situations where the communication channel between an individual and the outside world is severely limited or compromised. The individual may not be able to access a system directly and therefore relies on someone else accessing it on the person’s behalf. The trusted contact is someone the individual trusts implicitly and who does not have the communication restrictions as the individual has. In a personal setting the trusted contact could be a family member or close friend, while in a business setting it may be the travel coordinator or a health and safety contact. The TC model is ideally suited in the aftermath of events like natural disasters, terrorist attacks and armed conflicts.

Some may argue that  social networks can provide the same service, but that is generally not the case. Social networks do not support the trusted contact model, and their scope is limited to the friends that are set up on their network. Most social networks have large followings within certain geographical  region, but not globally. It is also common be connected to friends, but not family and colleagues, again reducing the reach of the social network.

With the current situation of different countries in America and Middle East, we need solutions which provide convenience, choice, security and control.  Each of these elements is vital to the success as the new economy takes shape, which demonstrates that travel management technology has anticipated the different requirements and new approach by business travelers.

In addition to unique location-based messaging capabilities, the pioneering solution includes full integration of travel plans and destinations which enhance the traveler’s experience through provision of timely and relevant information delivered to a mobile device. Importantly, security of data has been considered as part of this development, which provides a global solution through handling of trip data from multiple sources and compatibility with iPhone, Blackberry, Android and Windows Mobile devices and most mobile web browsers.

With a wide array of tools, offering capabilities from booking, reporting, safety precautions and tracking, both in house tools and third party products and services can be integrated to form a customized solutions which travel management technology is all about. The new technology also enables users to personalize their homepage, choosing from content such as city and airport guides, weather forecasts and time zones. Combined with the existing multi-language capabilities, it can provide all users with an enhanced experience, whether their need is to book their next trip or make a management decision.

Are we ready for the future of travel management technology? The answer is “Absolutely YES!”, giving business travellers the safety, security and controllability of the new technology will only not ensure the success of the travel, but also provide guides and communication linkage if assigned to foreign countries. This is a great step in a better, safer and pleasurable business travel for all of us.

As the world is reeling from the devastation caused by the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, many companies and individuals are reaching out to help in whatever way they can. Global influences such as Google are stepping forward to assist people who are searching for their loved ones. Humanitarian organisations are mobilised and sending aid. The world media are focused on attempts at recovery and the potential for further damage.

For those with family, colleagues, or loved ones that were travelling in Japan, this is a terribly tense time. Fraught with nervous energy, there simply isn’t the infrastructure at the moment to allow extensive contact or information; all information is limited and uncertain.

Mentioned in the previous blog entry, ShoutSafe has just announced its sister service Voyage Manager is offering its services for free to all those affected by the Japanese Earthquake and Tsunami. At a time where information is at a premium, ShoutSafe and Voyage Manager are doing what they can to allow people to get that message out to their loved ones which tells of their safety and therefore puts minds and hearts at ease.

One of many companies attempting to help in whatever way they can, it is nice to know that in times of trouble we still value our global community enough to reach out to those in need. It is only unfortunate that it takes a disaster to make us take action.

Though Facebook is a very strong platform which has fairly broad influence, it doesn’t have the means to be a targeted and emergency-based means of communication. Messages can be easily overlooked in the wall based system of information distribution and the more direct messages are not the most effective ways of sending a group a short simple message to let them know of someone’s safety. There have always been concerns about the security of personal information on Facebook and though widespread, not Everyone uses it.

In the terrible circumstance that someone is caught within a natural disaster, such as the current earthquake and tsunami in Japan, or during the immediate aftermath of a terrorist attack or civil uprising, internet access can be limited and difficult to come by – not to mention unreliable. Ideally, you want to be able to contact as many people as possible with the simplest and quickest means of notification to ensure that everyone important to you knows that you are safe.
Though Facebook and Twitter both offer a variety of ways of submitting, you have very little control over who ultimately sees your posts. As much as this sort of communication is about putting friends and family’s worries to rest, it is also about being able to relax knowing that you have managed to tell everyone that you are ok. For this reason, a service which allows you to send out one message (in a variety of ways) but which directs it specifically at all the people that you want to know have received it is extremely useful.
Programs such as ShoutSafe – in the Voyage Manager family– for example, allow you to set up a list of people back home who would want to know your status in the event of an emergency. With one message into the ShoutSafe system, you then trigger a message to each of those people and in a way suitable for them – SMS, email, or on the website. With one message, you have the security of knowing that all your loved ones know you are safe.
So, while advances in social media have made it much easier to spread and share information, in times of crisis, it is still better to have a specifically designed program that you can know you can rely on. Then you can get back to Facebook – you never know, someone may have poked you!

For travel management and travel security systems is an issue that needs to be taken very seriously. Providing too much information to travellers or travel coordinators/security personnel can render a system almost useless. Travel coordinators may end up not being able to react to an issue, as too much information makes them lose focus. For travellers it can be much worse as they may ignore all the information being sent, potentially putting them in harm’s way.

• reduces the workload in employees
• ensures more accurate and complete data
• provides 24 hour operation

With automation the number of actions required by employees and support staff is significantly reduced to only the essential ones. This reduces the workload of both the employees and support staff, freeing up valuable time. As automated systems work 24/7 without a break the need for shift workers is also reduced.
Automation increases the accuracy of the data, as human error is less likely to occur. The completenes of the data is also improved as the automated systems will process all the data in an efficient manner.

Unrest in Libya

Recent events in Libya have resulted in a number of countries extracting their citizens from Libya. Countries have used their military to execute the evacuation.This has left some private security companies unable to get their clients out, potentially putting their clients at risk. See WSJ Blog  ”Foreign Companies to Fly Employees Out of Libya Tuesday“. This raises the issue of whether these types of operations should be left to governments.