The contract with TRX to implement a Business Intelligence system is absolutely the logical next step. Even with ETS and DTS, the federal government still has too many vendors transmitting data to effectively track and manage their travel programs. Having a single consolidated data warehouse from which reports can be generated will provide the government the appropriate tool to manage travel.
What was surprising to me about solicitation TFL06-RH-1040 was the vast scope and limited timeline of the project. The project requires that TRX establish data feeds with not only DTS and the three ETS vendors, but also with:
- multiple charge card vendors (presumably GE Capital, Chase, Citibank, US Bank)
- every government TMC/CTO (which I understand there are approximately 100)
- settlement data (i.e. ARC)
- data direct from suppliers (air, car, hotel)
When you step back and think about the scale of the project from a technology perspective, not to mention the privacy and security issues, it is immense. And now for the laughable part: GSA required the contractor to achieve “full operational capability” within 180 days (6 months) from the date of award. That is simply not feasible.
TRX was awarded the contract in December of 2006. That would have meant the business intelligence system was generating reports from all requested data feeds by June of 2007. Credit GSA for implementing what might turn out to be a world class travel management system, but they need to comprehend the scope of their request and establish realistic timelines.
By Ted Schuerman