Expedia

Integrated Communications Helps Expedia Improve Employee Interaction

Expedia provides business and leisure travelers with tools and information so they can easily research, plan, and book travel. Based in Bellevue, Washington, the online travel company operates in the United States and 11 other countries worldwide. Fulfilling customer requests requires gathering material in multiple formats, including e-mail and fax. Agents can serve customers faster when they can use instant messaging (IM) to communicate with colleagues during the course of a phone conversation with a customer. To simplify its communications environment, Expedia deployed Microsoft® Office Communications Server 2007 and Jabra headsets from GN. Agents found that the ability to choose from a variety of communications methods, to see whether colleagues were available for consultation, and to gather information in a single inbox boosted efficiency.

Situation

With Office Communications Server 2007 and Exchange Server 2007 Unified Messaging, we can reduce turnaround on questions from a day to a matter of minutes.  Don Dixon Senior Director, Voice Engineering Expedia

Expedia makes a variety of travel products and services available directly to travelers through its United States–based Web site, as well as through localized versions of its Web site in 11 other countries. The company targets many different types of travelers, from families booking a summer vacation to individuals arranging a quick weekend getaway. Travelers can use Expedia Web sites to research and book travel products and services, including airline tickets, lodging, car rentals, cruises, attractions, and tours. These are available from a large number of suppliers, on both a stand-alone and package basis.

Putting together vacation packages and establishing these business relationships take a lot of communication and negotiation with third parties, says Don Dixon, Senior Director, Voice Engineering at Expedia. These efforts also require internal communications, for which Expedia relies heavily on instant messaging (IM). Being able to communicate quickly―perhaps even while talking with a third party on the telephone—helps Expedia employees respond rapidly to bargains and make quick decisions. “When we’re talking to external vendors, we can communicate publicly as well as privately using primary and secondary communications channels,” says Dixon. “It’s great when someone is in a negotiating situation.”

The company also had a separate voice-mail system, from Octel. Expedia realized it had an opportunity to eliminate that application by upgrading to Microsoft® Exchange Server 2007 and adding its Unified Messaging capability. The company wanted to integrate communications methods such as e-mail, voice, and IM. Doing so would not only expand its employees’ options for communicating, but also decrease the complexity of its IT infrastructure.

Solution

To address its communications needs, Expedia decided to implement a unified communications solution based on Microsoft software. The company deployed Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 and the Microsoft Office Communicator 2007 client. Together, these technologies provide capabilities such as voice over IP (VoIP), enterprise IM, and presence―the ability to automatically see whether colleagues are available. To accommodate VoIP capabilities, Expedia integrated Dialogic® DMG1000 and DMG2000 gateways with its Nortel CS 1000M Private Branch Exchange (PBX) system. “Office Communications Server 2007 was primarily introduced as a foundation to support instant messaging but also to integrate additional services in the future,” says Mark Whitehurst, Director of Applications Engineering for Expedia.

Expedia also deployed Exchange Server 2007 with Unified Messaging, which delivers e-mail messages, faxes, and voice mail to a single integrated inbox. Users can access the information from familiar clients such as the Microsoft Office Outlook® messaging and collaboration client, or from a telephone using Microsoft Office Outlook Voice Access. With Unified Messaging, users don’t have to look for messages in three separate places. It also means that they can identify high-priority voice messages without having to listen to every message sequentially as with a traditional voice-mail system.

“Integrating all those communications methods adds value,” says Dixon. “It really simplifies our work. Anything that keeps employees from having to switch between different applications saves time. With Office Communications Server 2007, you can open a new line of communication directly from e-mail or a document, without having to go to a new application. That increases productivity. We see the potential for significant value from that integration.”

Dixon believes the unified communications solution will be especially valuable to employees when they’re on the road. Now these employees will be able to access all communications from their mobile devices. “Presence will be even more beneficial when you add it to mobility, because employees can contact each other no matter where they are,” he says. On the other hand, if employees don’t want to be bothered, they can set the “do not disturb” feature. They can also set up a profile so that specific colleagues—such as superiors—can contact them if they are online.

With employees frequently communicating with Expedia partners and customers over the phone, Expedia requires highly reliable phone capabilities. Expedia used Jabra GN2000 USB headsets from GN. Because these headsets are designed to integrate with Office Communications Server 2007, they require no driver or Domain Name System information to set up.

Dixon anticipates that USB headsets will also bring value to the organization in the future. “We love their potential, especially when it comes to setting up ‘hoteling’ environments,” he says. In that scenario, Expedia could issue headsets with its laptops, and employees who normally telecommute could simply plug their computers into the network on the days they needed to be in the office and be automatically connected to the network to use the Office Communications Server 2007 capabilities.

Benefits

With Office Communications Server 2007, you can open a new line of communication directly from e-mail or a document, without having to go to a new application. That increases productivity.  Don Dixon Senior Director, Voice Engineering Expedia

The deployment of the Microsoft unified communications solution provides advantages to both end users and IT staff. Employees, even when they are mobile, can see whether colleagues are available and initiate conversations using the most viable option. If colleagues are unavailable, they receive messages in an integrated inbox. The users have more options for communicating with each other, and the IT department has a less complex infrastructure to manage.

Faster Access to Colleagues

With the Office Communicator 2007 presence capability, employees can see whether colleagues are available online. This means they can query colleagues immediately—and get answers quickly. If a colleague’s calendar is booked, employees can choose to leave a voice-mail or e-mail message. The alternative would either be to get up and go to someone’s desk, or send the employee an e-mail message and wait for the message to be retrieved. “Even if someone isn’t available, the person knows immediately that someone has left a message by looking in his or her inbox,” Dixon says. “With Office Communications Server 2007 and Exchange Server 2007 Unified Messaging, we can reduce turnaround on questions from a day to a matter of minutes.”

Fast answers to questions translate into faster decision making. For an international company with executives who travel frequently, it is important to have the ability to see that someone is available, even if that person is in a different time zone. This can reduce the time it takes to reach decisions—often by days.

Flexible, Integrated Communications

Having multiple methods of communication has “unlimited potential,” says Dixon. “You can be on a voice call and getting information from someone else in a sidebar conversation. Even if you’re on a video call, you may be sending text messages on the side with Office Communications Server 2007.” This helps employees present a unified, informed front during negotiations and other discussions.

In the future, when Expedia extends these capabilities to its call centers, Dixon envisions agents serving a customer and getting information from another agent who’s helping. Adds Whitehurst, “For employees in training, IM with Office Communications Server 2007 can also be used as a coaching mechanism.”

The ability to access all voice mail, e-mail, and faxes from a single inbox resonates with users as well. “Because Exchange Server 2007 integrates seamlessly with the unified-messaging system, we can select contacts either from Outlook or from our global address list,” says Andy Lukens, System Engineer at Expedia. Just as with voice mail, the system registers when calls come in and how many times someone called. The integrated capabilities make returning calls easy as well. Lukens says, “To call someone back, you can just click on the caller’s telephone number.” That means employees don’t have to spend time looking up someone’s telephone number, or switching from the computer to the telephone.

Improved Mobility

By deploying USB headsets with laptop computers, says Dixon, “users can take their voice services wherever they go. If they go home, to a hotel, or to an airport, their office goes with them.” That means employees are rarely out of touch, even when they are traveling.

Simplified IT Infrastructure

Although it plans to incrementally make the transition to an IP-based network—in which voice and data communications would run on the same network—the Expedia IT staff can already see that its unified communications system is reducing the complexity of its infrastructure. This means a reduction in its system administration tasks. Eventually, Expedia will be able to eliminate its voice-mail system entirely and rely solely on Exchange Server 2007 Unified Messaging. Also, because more of the servers the company is using are based on Microsoft technology, Expedia can take advantage of its IT staffers’ Microsoft system knowledge.

Future Plans

Dixon expects that Expedia will deploy the federation capability within Office Communications Server 2007, so that the company can communicate in an encrypted environment with partners and suppliers who also have the application. “Some of our partners are in other countries. With distance and time, communications can get strained. With applications like Office Communications Server 2007, we can aid the communication process and help our company’s business.”

For More Information

For more information about Microsoft products and services, call the Microsoft Sales Information Center at (800) 426-9400. In Canada, call the Microsoft Canada Information Centre at (877) 568-2495. Customers who are deaf or hard-of-hearing can reach Microsoft text telephone (TTY/TDD) services at (800) 892-5234 in the United States or (905) 568-9641 in Canada. Outside the 50 United States and Canada, please contact your local Microsoft subsidiary. To access information using the World Wide Web, go to:
www.microsoft.com

For more information about Expedia products and services, call (425) 679-7200 or visit the Web site at:
www.expedia.com 

Microsoft Office System

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For more information about the Microsoft Office system, go to:
www.microsoft.com/office

This case study is for informational purposes only. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS SUMMARY.

Document published October 2007