Dear customers, dear partners,
in this edition of our newsletter, we would like to share with you a glance into the progress of our DaVinci NT development: We have reached important milestones in the creation of PLUTO, an – in our opinion – extremely smart consulting platform.
We also highlight a new customer success story with BEWOTEC solutions and are particularly pleased to introduce our competent and likeable new team members to you, whom we have recruited for DaVinci development and our Competence Center. We are sure you will feel in good hands with them!
And yes, we of course have also released DaVinci version 1098. The new features and optimizations implemented are described in detail in the release notes.
Best regards
Michael Becher
CEO BEWOTEC GmbH
Content
From Vision to New Standard Application – Sneak Preview DaVinci NT
• Interplanetary travel? What the new PLUTO consulting platform can already do
Winterfreeze 15.12.2023-26.01.2024
News about DaVinci and Dynamic Production
• Center Parcs goes CRS: Available in Bistro Portal, bookable in Amadeus Tour Market and BEWOTEC myCRS
• Upgrade for the OTDS player: access to non-bookable services
• Pleased to meet you: the new members of the DaVinci-Team
Technical Data
• System Requirements DaVinci
• Advance Notice
• Release Dates DaVinci
From Vision to New Standard Application – Sneak Preview DaVinci NT
Our new tour operator software “DaVinci New Technology” has left the visionary stage in many areas and, as a cloud-based “Software as a Service”, delivers solutions for the requirements of our pilot customers that are as powerful as they are user-friendly. Our aspiration is to have DaVinci NT eliminate the boundaries between classic and dynamic production and to redesign the relevant processes in travel production in a new and stringent way.
At irregular intervals, we would like to share with you here what is happening around DaVinci NT.
Interplanetary travel? What the new PLUTO consulting platform can already do
Of course, PLUTO is an acronym and we are ready to tell you what it stands for: Platform for Users of Tour Operator Systems. But you can forget that right away, because it is much more exciting to see which functions and options we are already combining in this central tool of the new DaVinci NT world and where the further journey with PLUTO is going (spoiler: rather not into space – but that’s not the fault of our tool…).
PLUTO is our new consulting platform that covers the process from searching for and providing consultancy to new or existing customers, to shopping cart, checkout, and booking – all in one stringent, intuitive application.
For this purpose, PLUTO combines functions from the classic DaVinci and the new DaVinci NT world and interacts with DaVinci (e.g. for master data), OTDS players and DaVinci NT elements (such as the Content Layer or the Campaigns tool). In other words: we have placed a smart, modern consulting platform over the BEWOTEC system landscape. PLUTO thus becomes a working tool for tour operator employees and, in later variations, also for travel agencies.
Here are the functions we have equipped PLUTO with so far:
Search and Consultancy
When working with PLUTO, there is no need to know any booking codes: All service components can be selected via searches and filters, currently for Cruises and Flights. For this purpose, PLUTO sends queries the tour operator’s player. During the booking process, consultancy elements such as marketing and sales campaigns defined in the DaVinci NT “Campaigns” layer are imported. In the well-structured display, the salesperson can see which campaigns are applicable and may possibly be combined.
PLUTO’s uniqueness is also evident at the detail level: By linking the Content Layer from DaVinci NT, in which the complete non-bookable content is located (and may also be provided by external parties), maps, hotel descriptions and photos, for cruises also deck and cabin plans, cabin photos and descriptions are integrated into the consultancy process.
Shopping basket
The selected trips are collected with all service components in the well structured shopping cart and await the final booking action there. During the check-out process the booking request (BA) is started. Changes are possible at any time and even now a code from a marketing promotion can still be activated. Before the booking is completed, comments and important information are made clear to the salesperson.
Booking
Clicking on “Booking” finalizes the process in PLUTO: The booking is transferred to the conventional DaVinci system, where it is ready for further processing.
By the end of the year at the latest, these functions will be rolled out at our pilot customer for Cruise and Flight. Insurances and hotels are at the top of the ambitious roadmap to make PLUTO usable for package tour operators as well.
With our approach to create a modern consulting interface that draws on existing as well as new features and layers, we believe we have found a viable way for quick wins: Our customers can work with the powerful PLUTO tool while we successively transfer the underlying functions into the new DaVinci NT world…
Cruise search in PLUTO
Cabin selection
Winterfreeze
Please note: from 15.12.2023 to 26.1.2024 there are no software updates!
News about DaVinci and Dynamic Production
Center Parcs goes CRS: Available in Bistro Portal, bookable in Amadeus Tour Market and BEWOTEC myCRS
Center Parcs stands for an innovative, successful vacation concept: The combination of cozy vacation homes, tropical swimming paradise, weather-independent “Market Dome” and a wide range of activities not only appeals to families, but also fulfills the vacation wishes of many travelers from different markets. To date, the now 27 parks in Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France were bookable exclusively through Center Parcs’ own sales channels. Soon, the parks of the Dutch tour operator with all offer variants will be available in Bistro Portal for travel agencies and bookable via the reservation systems Amadeus Tour Market and myCRS from BEWOTEC.
BEWOTEC’s continuous conversion of offer data into OTDS format ensures the optimal visibility and high data quality of Center Parcs’ offers in Bistro Portal and in Amadeus IBEs. The offer data is delivered to Amadeus on a daily basis and distributed to the connected sales channels.
Center Parcs also entrusted BEWOTEC with the connection to the CRS systems Amadeus Tour Market and myCRS, which presented a special challenge: Since the reservation system of Center Parcs is not STADIS-compatible, the BEWOTEC development team placed a “translation gateway” between the CRS systems and the reservation system. This gateway – like all new services and software components from BEWOTEC in the meantime – is located in the Microsoft Azure Cloud. In the future, by the way, CRS requests to other users of BEWOTEC tour operator software will also be submitted via this cloud-based gateway.
The project to connect Center Parcs to STADIS has been completed in September. The official activation for Bistro Portal and the CRS systems is to follow in the course of the fall.
Upgrade for the OTDS player: access to non-bookable services
BEWOTEC’s OTDS player has also received an exciting enhancement: Until now, via the player only bookable offers could be distributed to travel agencies, websites or other sales channels. Now, non-bookable services such as fully booked offers, blocked, or not yet released contingents can also be found here, which are definitely interesting in the B2B business.
For example, sales partners can create waiting lists for attractive offers that have not yet been released, or compile interesting alternatives for fully booked destinations.
Pleased to meet you: the new members of the DaVinci-Team
Over the past weeks we have successfully reinforced our team and gathered new skills! These new colleagues have joined us for translating your requirements into software solutions and provide you with consulting services:
Sabrina Löhndorf
As a UI/UX designer, Sabrina Löhndorf incorporates efficiency and aesthetics criteria into the design of our software’s interfaces so that they not only look good, but are also intuitive and efficient to use.
With BEWOTEC since June 1
Fun Facts: Sabrina’s stylish user interfaces are mostly created after sunset: she likes to work in the dark and has designed her home office almost like a nightclub with soft, atmospheric lighting and her favorite music in the background.
Dave Jindal
Dave Jindal, as a Java front-end developer on our DaVinci NT team, programs the features behind the responsive, functional new interfaces that Sabrina designs.
With BEWOTEC since September 1
Fun Facts: Dave likes to get to the bottom of things. Whether it’s game strategies, day trading or human anatomy: Dave wants to know the background and researches additional knowledge, which is why he is also known as an “encyclopedia” among his friends. He also plays several instruments and was a drummer in a band until recently.
Jonathan Gras
We have recruited Jonathan Gras for our “Competence Center”. He will familiarize himself with the complete range of tasks in our “Consultancy” area and will then as part of the team work independently with you, our customers.
With BEWOTEC since September 1
Fun Facts: Jonathan’s enthusiasm for travel has just taken him to Japan for an extended period of time. But no matter where: he just likes to travel to get to know different cultures and people and try new things. What he doesn’t like: spicy food.
Caglar Citir
Caglar Citir strengthens our backend team with his longtime developer skills. Caglar’s particular strengths lie in the C# area and his CRS experience, which he will bring not only to the classic DaVinci software, but also to the new DaVinci NT.
With BEWOTEC since September 1
Fun Facts: Caglar is a passionate hobby carpenter. His latest project: a wooden bar for his garden. Those who understand Turkish may also smile at his last name: it means “crispy”.
Our recruiting measures continue at a high pace. We will be hiring for additional positions in the coming weeks and months and will introduce you to our new colleagues in the next editions of our newsletter.
Technical Data
System Requirements DaVinci
Please note: Since version 1097 SQL Server 2016 is no longer supported!
By the way, as an ISV partner of Microsoft (Independent Software Vendor) we can pass on our favorable BEWOTEC conditions for SQL Server 2019 up to 2022 to you. So if you want to host your DaVinci system yourself and upgrade your SQL servers, contact our Director Sales Rüdiger Schmidt for an attractive, non-binding offer or create a ticket.
As of version 1098, the following system requirements apply:
- OS: Windows 10 / Server 2016 / Windows 11 / Server 2019
- SQL: Server 2017 / Server 2019 von 15.0.4236.7 (incl. full text search)
- ODBC Driver: SQL Server Native Client 11.0
- Microsoft Framework 3.5 SP1 / 4.8
- Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable Package (x86) 2010 / 2013 / 2015 / 2017 / 2019
- Reporting: Crystal Report Runtime 2013 / QRCodeWindowsFontEncoder
- Microsoft ReportViewer 2015 Redistributables (when using Reporting Services Reports within DaVinci)
Advance Notice
As of DaVinci version 1100 SQL Server 2019 is required.
Release Dates DaVinci
- Version 1095: June 28, 2022
- Version 1096: November 29, 2022
- Version 1097: May 8, 2023
- Version 1098: September 5, 2023
