Expedia.com Expedia Corporate Travel Leads Industry in Bringing Standards-Based Security to Online Corporate Travel Marketplace
BELLEVUE, Wash. and DENVER, Colo. – October 26, 2004 – As part of a keynote session at this week’s Digital ID World conference, Expedia® Corporate Travel’s vice president of product development will announce that the company is taking a primary role among online corporate travel management agencies by applying industry-standard, single sign-on technology within its full-service solution.
“We are always looking to raise the bar on our full-service corporate travel offering and provide cost-savings for customers by leveraging cutting-edge technologies,” said Simon Tam, vice president of product development, Expedia® Corporate Travel. “Our single sign-on solution uses open-standards to integrate seamlessly with the various identity management solutions of our customers. It also adds a new level to Expedia Corporate Travel’s full-service offering and addresses the security concerns of today’s corporate management.”
Single sign-on saves time for Expedia® Corporate Travel customers while improving identity security and facilitating employee access to Expedia® Corporate Travel’s website and other trusted services. Since an Expedia® Corporate Travel customer’s identity is validated by single sign-on when signing on to the company’s intranet, the traveler never needs to enter or remember an additional password to begin researching and booking a trip.
Based on Security Authentication Markup Language (SAML), an open industry-standard, single sign-on works behind-the-scenes with a company’s identity management solution to provide travelers instant account access from any location worldwide. In addition, SAML ensures that the Expedia® Corporate Travel customers have a secure network that is protected against unauthorized access, making it easier and safer to work with online business partners.
“The ability to have our travelers use a single sign-on solution is just one reason we recently moved our travel to Expedia Corporate Travel,” said John Harner, director of travel management services at Indiana University. “We’ve had early success in the areas of online adoption and service, and look forward to moving Indiana University to single sign-on in the near future.”
The inclusion of single sign-on in Expedia® Corporate Travel’s full-service solution also allows the company to build upon an open-standards technology infrastructure that drives savings for customers by enhancing data-sharing capabilities across platforms and internal departments. SAML is universally supported by leading identity management vendors, giving Expedia® Corporate Travel customers the option to choose the security solution that best fits their management needs.
Expedia® Corporate Travel is currently partnering with identity management companies such as Oblix, Inc. to help customers easily install single sign-on starter kits into the corporate intranet. Oblix is providing its starter kit, based on the Oblix SHAREid federated identity server, to Expedia® Corporate Travel customers at an exclusive, discounted price.
“Federated identity management provides a fast, easy and cost-effective way to open up new business opportunities and strengthen relationships with trusted business partners,” said Ken Sims, vice president of market and business development, Oblix. “We’re excited to be a part of Expedia Corporate Travel’s single sign-on solution, which opens the door for initiatives such as the auto-provisioning of profiles, and secure sharing of travel profiles that are needed to complete trip bookings.”
For more information on Expedia® Corporate Travel and its single sign-on solution, please visit www.corporate.expedia.com or call 1-866-328-0110.
About Expedia® Corporate Travel
Expedia® Corporate Travel is a full-service travel management company operated by Expedia, Inc., the world’s leading online travel service and the fourth largest travel agency in the U.S. Expedia® Corporate Travel brings together the best of technology and corporate support in a single-source solution that drives down costs. Business travelers have access to specialized tools, while companies can take advantage of rich management and reporting features. Expedia, Inc. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of IAC/InterActiveCorp (NASDAQ: IACI). CST: 2029030-40
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