Libra OnDemand Embeds Informatica Cloud Services To Offer First Hospitality CRM Application On Force.com
Published on Tue Oct 12, 2010 6:31 am
Source: Libra OnDemand/Press Release
Libra OnDemand Embeds Informatica Cloud Services To Offer First Hospitality CRM Application On Force.com
Cloud integration connects hotel systems for a single view of customer data
Celebration, Fla. — July, 2010 — Informatica Corporation (NASDAQ: INFA), the world’s number one independent provider of data integration software, today announced that Libra OnDemand, a web-based application designed to drive sales and increase revenues for the world’s premier hotel organizations, has signed an agreement with OEM Informatica Cloud Services for its comprehensive suite of hospitality specific applications. Informatica Cloud Services will be the cloud data integration solution for applications including: Customer Relationship Management (CRM), loyalty management, group sales and event management, analytics, email marketing as well as an online consumer-facing customer portal application.
The hospitality industry was severely hit by the recent recession as guest occupancy levels dramatically decreased. Many hotels needed to find new and innovative ways to maintain customer relationships and recruit new guests, which were critical to their survival. In a tough economic climate an application that requires no capital costs and delivers ease of use and lower total cost of ownership is a great advantage for an organization.
The importance of data integration to Libra OnDemand was clear—fragmented customer data exists within and across most hotels, and many host a myriad of disparate legacy systems on- and off-premises. The need for a single guest profile is invaluable for customer satisfaction, loyalty programs and cross- and up-sell opportunities. For example, the Libra OnDemand application keeps track of guest preferences, amenities, flags and specials; manages pre-arrival and during-stay guest services; and tracks guest comment card responses.
“Libra OnDemand was born out of the need to provide Cloud-based applications to the hospitality industry in 2008 when we saw that Cloud was becoming a mainstream option to service customers,” said Gregg Hopkins, CEO of Libra OnDemand. “We looked at a number of Cloud players and it was clear that only Informatica had the heritage, credibility and proven track record that we could rely on to be the integration tool of our hospitality CRM system. Informatica gives us the gravitas to approach hotels considering building their own bespoke applications and offer the best solution for their needs.”
Current alternatives to hospitality CRM exist, but they are incongruent and expensive. Simple interfaces can cost upwards of $15,000 each followed by additional deployment costs. As a result, a hotel’s sales department, front desk and back-office may use different systems for guest profiles with little to no information sharing. Now with “next generation integration” from Informatica Cloud, Libra OnDemand hospitality providers can make direct connections to all of these databases, easily login to their systems, and immediately get results.
With more than 400 customers worldwide, Libra OnDemand is the only hospitality application running 100% natively on the Force.com platform from salesforce.com. Libra OnDemand was named one of the top new products, as well as one of the top “Force 40” applications in 2009.
Utilizing any web browser, there is no software or hardware to buy, install, maintain or support – which dramatically accelerates return on investment. By using Informatica Cloud Services as an integral part of the on-demand architecture, customers will choose Libra OnDemand’s secure, high performance application that is customizable, efficient, and scalable. The relationship between Informatica and Libra OnDemand means hotels now have self-service, business focused universal access to their guest data available through a comprehensive solution.
“Informatica Cloud delivers enterprise-class SaaS integration applications and a powerful platform for developing and deploying advanced, easy to use integration services over the web,” said Ron Papas, general manager, Informatica Cloud. “Libra OnDemand combines years of hospitality industry experience with Informatica’s Cloud data integration heritage to provide hospitality customers with the most robust Cloud application on the market.”
About Informatica
Informatica Corporation (NASDAQ: INFA) is the world’s number one independent provider of data integration software. Organizations around the world gain a competitive advantage in today’s global information economy with timely, relevant and trustworthy data for their top business imperatives. More than 4,100 enterprises worldwide rely on Informatica to access, integrate and trust their information assets held in the traditional enterprise, off premise and in the Cloud. For more information, call +1 650-385-5000 (1-800-653-3871 in the U.S.), or visit www.informatica.com
About Libra OnDemand
Libra OnDemand leverages the power of the world’s most popular on demand platform (Force.com) to provide a comprehensive suite of hospitality specific applications: Customer Relationship Management, Loyalty Management, Group Sales & Event Management, Analytics, Email Marketing, as well as an online consumer-facing application, Customer Portal. Libra OnDemand is a Web-based application that is designed to drive sales and increase revenues for the world’s premier hotel organizations. Requiring zero infrastructure or upfront capital investment, Libra OnDemand is simple to use, easy to customize, and quick to implement. For more information about Libra OnDemand, contact info@libraondemand.com or visit the website www.libraondemand.com
