Extensity, Inc. today announced that the University of California has selected Extensityç Expense Reports as their travel cost management application. Three University facilities will implement the Web-based enterprise application to reduce the costs associated with processing travel reimbursements, establish uniform compliance with travel policies, and consolidate purchasing data for maximum vendor leverage, with expected implementation at additional University locations throughout the course of the agreement. Extensity Expense Reports, Extensity?s flagship product, helps organizations achieve optimal financial performance and process efficiency in the report creation and the auditing and management of travel and entertainment-related costs. The application yields dramatic savings at a low cost of ownership for a fast return on investment.

By deploying Extensity Expense Reports to UC employees, administrators hope to significantly reduce the costs and cycle times associated with processing reports. Previously, UC travelers relied on a manual, spreadsheet-based system to report travel expenses for reimbursement. The time required of staff personnel to prepare travel expense reports, as well as double-checking them for compliance with University travel policies, resulted in a slow and costly process.

Extensity Expense Reports replaces manual systems for processing travel-related costs with a highly efficient, automated transaction flow. Travelers use an intuitive browser-based interface to complete expense reports pre-populated with credit card charge data. Reports are checked for business rule compliance at the point of entry, audited automatically according to customer-specified parameters, routed to managers for approval, then fed seamlessly into the customer?s existing financial systems for reimbursement in a fraction of the time required by paper-based systems. The application?s Web-based architecture centralizes administration for a high level of control, while its browser-based interface streamlines maintenance and provides extensive scalability. An expedited implementation process ensures fast results, as underscored by the company?s 90-day Extensity Expressç Guaranteed Implementation Plan.

“In addition to cost savings, tracking University travel and entertainment expenditures was also a key objective in choosing and implementing a travel cost management system,” says Gary A. Mack, Contract Specialist in Material Management at the University of California?s Office of the President. “It is important that we implement and maintain both travel policy and comprehensive record-keeping,” says Mack. “Extensity?s centralized administration and data collection are both built into the system.”

Extensity?s open architecture and platform independence were critical considerations in the vendor selection process. Because of the diverse systems in use throughout the University of California system, administrators needed a solution compatible with Unix, Macintosh, and several Windows platforms. On the back end, the solution needed to be capable of close integration with both the Oracle Financials and PeopleSoft financial systems in use among the facilities.

“This is not an easy environment to implement an enterprise application in,” says Mack. “Our multi-platform environment calls for a robust Web-based application, and Extensity provided a live enterprise-wide implementation that proved their solution could handle it.” In addition, Mack cites the value of centralized policy enforcement and data capture in gaining leverage in vendor negotiations. “Every percentage point we can shave through consolidated, systemwide purchasing is a big help in reducing our costs while making our travel budget go further,” he says. Extensity?s use of 100% Pure Javaç enables extensive interoperability with other enterprise applications, as well as providing for a high degree of customization, including the development of customer-specified business policies and custom features for the University.

Says Extensity Founder, President, and CEO Sharam Sasson, “The deployment of Extensity Expense Reports at University of California facilities is a great illustration of the application?s benefits in a diverse computing environment. The openness and scalability of our Web-based architecture lets these separate facilities consolidate on a single T&E application, so their travel policies can be uniform even if their IT infrastructures aren?t.”

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