Addison Lee CTO looks to API integration for global expansion
The organisation, which was founded in 1975, said that the integration platform will help speed up the technology integration of its network of private vehicle fleets, while the Open API will make it easier for partners - including airline and hotel aggregators, global distribution systems, airlines, rail companies, travel agents, corporations, and startups - to connect to Addison Lee's data and services to develop their own applications and websites that offer Addison Lee ground transportation to their customers.
CTO Ingram said: "We can reduce integration times at Addison Lee potentially from several weeks to days , allowing the business to be more nimble than ever before in delivering new products and offers, and supporting new third-party integrations.
Ingram is the latest CTO in the travel and transport industry to herald the importance of APIs to deliver transformations to their customers and business processes. In his CIO 100 Q&A and reported on last week, CTO of hotel business glh Chris Hewertson told this title APIs were reducing manual processes and enabling the hotel to retain more revenue itself rather than pay third party providers.
"MuleSoft came out on top of the integration and API offerings we considered in terms of technical capability, total cost of ownership and vendor support."
"It's an exciting time for both Addison Lee and the car service industry as a whole. We see full API integrations and MuleSoft as key to our growth aspirations. Our aim to set a new standard for fleet connectivity worldwide."
More than 50% of Addison Lee's bookings are made through digital channels, while the premium minicab firm was the first organisation of its kind to launch a mobile taxi app in 2009 and, more recently an Apple Watch application.