As new markets are opening and borders are gradually becoming less imposing, ICSA T intends opening further overseas offices. With more than 7 years experience on applications, close collaboration with customers and a clear idea of the future needs of the travel industry, a revolutionary new product named ACE was launched in early 1999. It is written in Progress 4-GL and Central Reservation Systems. ACE offers a fully integrated solution to travel agents worldwide but the investment required for that solution is too substantial for most small to medium sized travel agencies. Belgium and Luxembourg are up and running while other countries are being evaluated.
Travel agencies connect to the system through a private frame relay network.
For this they only need a PC on which the thin client is installed. They pay ICSA T a monthly fee for the use of the system depending on their size and the volume of their transactions. Prior to the release of ACEnet, travel agents had to invest in in-house software solutions, only some of which were linked to accountancy systems. They had to make their daily back-ups, employ people to keep the system running, pay for upgrades, pay for the use of a help desk, etc. In short they spent too much time and money keeping their system running with a resultant impact on their operational costs.