The dawn of the 80’s saw the rise of videos and the slow demise of the radio, which led to one of the greatest hits of that era, “Video killed the radio star”, by the Buggles. The song doesn’t welcome the change that motion pictures brought into the entertainment industry and is, in a sense, a sort of farewell to the radio, that was present in every home at the time. However, the takeaway from this is that some 30 years later, today, video has become the most popular medium of entertainment and information.
A decade ago, Hotelogix set out on mission to revamp the way the hospitality industry used technology. Hotelogix was born on the cloud as a purpose-built system, aimed at assisting hoteliers conquer this ever-changing hospitality landscape. As we’ve seen over the last decade, the rivalry that was created between the on-premise systems and Hotelogix cloud has been a major topic of discussion. Most frequently, the debate ends in a deadlock which translates to a difference in opinion and a matter of an individual’s perception.
To avoid falling into this monotonous tone of comparison and barely doing justice to the article, I’ll attempt to illustrate the real power of Hotelogix.
What sets Hotelogix apart from other PMS systems is the seamless flow of data. Cloud enables collecting data from multiple sources in real-time, giving you the ability to analyse this data in the moment. Let me start by showcasing the power of a cloud system and then tie it to how Hotelogix shows its strength.
Speed boat racing, as a sport, takes place simultaneously in several different geographic locations and involves broadcasting data to the team, with a video feed for the spectators. Add to that, the commentary required for broadcasting the event on television. The cloud funnels upwards of a 100 contrasting datasets at once, for analytical purposes.
Now, Hotelogix is built on primarily the same platform we are talking about here. Think of it as a machine that’s constantly pulling in and interpreting data, tirelessly. The data could be from your channel manager, POS outlets, website and any other systems that your PMS may be connected to. Hotelogix has around 200K system users currently and this single platform supports all of these users without breaking a sweat. This not only speaks about the storage capabilities but the quality of engineering that goes into building a system like Hotelogix.
Hotelogix supports an average of 16K concurrent users, at any given time. These 16k users suffer no loss of performance with a desktop application-like experience. An on-premise PMS was not built to cater to more than 50 concurrent users.
So, no, it hasn’t been built keeping in mind smaller hotels or properties. In fact, it is an enterprise-grade system, built to withstand much more than what we are handing out to it. But that’s not to say that smaller hotels and accommodations cannot run their daily operations on it, or use it as a part of their expansion strategy.
Another facet of Hotelogix cloud PMS is its ability to access data in real time. Take a look at on-premise systems and you’ll see that they enable the access of data in batches and barely close to real-time.
Now, you might wonder how a cloud system is capable of achieving such feats? The answer is that the cloud replicates data. And how does that help? Well, Hotelogix system is constantly pushing data back and forth from the cloud and also simultaneously saving this data in several locations. What this translates to is that, irrespective of hardware maintenance or software upgrades, Hotelogix’s systems don’t see any downtime. This lets us boast of an uptime of 99.98%. What’s more is that even if any of the data centres should collapse or cease functioning, your data will still remain safe. That’s definitely something an on-premise system can’t boast of.
Hotelogix backs up data on a daily basis and depending on the number of customers, more than 1600 backups take place every single day. Even with the most effective IT environments within hotels, you will see that the data is only backed up once a month.
Here’s something I’ve been told a lot about cloud systems – that they’re just not safe enough. Well, I beg to differ. And no, my opinion doesn’t emerge from the fact that I work with Hotelogix. I have research backing me up. It is true that an on-premise system gives the user more control when it comes to the security measures being set up. Any mishaps that happen will probably land the hotel’s IT team in a soup.
Hotelogix, however, has a different approach towards security. Unlike the on-premise system, it is not a reactionary one. Let me elaborate. Unlike most systems that focus their security measures on the entry points, cloud focuses on the overall application. This is possible due to the visibility that cloud enables on every level, which ensures that the IT manager can view exactly who is accessing the data, at what time and the purpose of doing so. Thereby, regulating access based on the role of the personnel. What’s more is that one can also analyse patterns of attackers and provide more proactive measures to reduce instances of data phishing and phone fraud. Overall, it acts as a deterrent for attackers.
Another home run for Hotelogix is the possibility of integrations. Think of it as a custom-built ecosystem, tailor-made for a hotel. Be it the budget that’s the decisive factor or the features that you are looking for, you can design the ecosystem based on your priorities. Application Programming Interface or API, as we call it, is what enables the cloud to be so versatile. Take an on-premise system, for example. The features and applications have to be built into the system and is not an add-on that will make life simple. Now, the downside to this is that you pay for a bundle of features, which may or may not be of use to you. Hotelogix, on the other hand, integrates with leaders in the space– For example, a finance tool, a booking engine, a reputation manager and the likes. So not only do you pay for what you choose but also integrate with best tech that will definitely give you an edge over the competition.
Hotelogix uniquely offers APIs for hotel brands to develop their own apps and this has led to the development of an ecosystem around the PMS. Hotelogix receives more than 3 million API calls/day. It gives rise to the possibility of mobile apps centered around the staff-facing aspect in order to smoothen operations. It also enables hotels to plug in Hotelogix into your existing MIS system, exchanging feeds in real time, for brands to take strategic decisions with agility. On-premise systems are built on platforms that are not capable of such feats.
10 years in the game and we’ve watched the landscape change drastically. The interesting thing is that even the on-premise players have started to build their own cloud platforms. I’ll leave it to you on what to decipher out of this, but to me, it seems like the cloud has cemented itself as the future of hospitality technology.
In these 10 years that we’ve been in this space, we’ve seen the market evolve and change immensely. Watched the millennials become a major customer to hotels and have seen the struggles that hoteliers have faced trying to adopt to this new category of customers. Just like video killed the radio star, the cloud will replace these on-premise systems in time. Hotelogix has evolved into this machine that is capable of computing on an enterprise level. We are one system functioning across a 100+ countries, with more than 1600 customers and over 200K system users. 16K concurrent users on the platform and still providing a desktop application like experience with zero down time. Hotelogix has evolved into a stellar product that comes at a great price, without compromising on the quality of the features that it provides.
What’s interesting is the road that lies ahead of us. An ecosystem built for hotels with tools integrated into it, that will make managing hotel operations a breeze. Customizations, based on needs and scalable as per the times to come. We aren’t here to fix something that’s broken, just around to make things better.
