While only a minority of corporations use automated tools to analyze their travel data, the proportion of such software-equipped companies is rising.
That's the good news.
The down side is that the percentage of travel managers who value the benefits of such tools is falling.
These were some of the conclusions in a whitepaper released by AirPlus International, a provider of business travel payment soltutions, at an Association of Corporate Travel Executives conference in Prague.
In its survey of 1500 ACTE members in 15 travel markets covering every continent, AirPlus found that 41% use data analysis tools, up from 35% in the 2008 study.
But AirPlus noted that the percentage of travel managers who agree with seven possible advantages to using these automated tools to parse their travel data fell across the board.
For example, only 57% of respondents agree or somewhat agree that these data analysis tools identify business travelers' compliance with corporate travel policy. That was down from 65% a year earlier.
The benefit that scored the highest was optimizing cost transparency, at 65%.
Although the increased use of these tools "might encourage providers of data analysis tools, it is clear they still have some work to do to communicate the value of the technology they provide," the AirPlus International Travel Management Study concludes.
AirPlus International might be among those software providers which have "some work to do" as the Virginia-based company offers the AirPlus Information Manager, which is said to enable travel managers to slice and dice their costs.
One consistent pattern among the responses about data analysis tools is that the biggest-spending companies express a greater appreciation for the tools than companies with lower travel budgets.
For example, 66% of the high-spenders agree or somewhat agree that the tools are effective in helping control negotiated quotas with preferred suppliers compared with 56% among low- and medium-spending firms.
Still, despite the decreasing appreciation for data analysis tools, these software vendors still have ample opportunities in corporate travel.
The AirPlus study pointed out that while a "relatively low" 41% of travel managers use specialty tools to analyze their travel data, 82% analyze their spend in some manner.
That means half of travel managers who analyze their spend might be open to using an effective tool to help them crunch the numbers.