BYLYNNWOODSSybaseInc.beganitsglobalroll-outofExtensityExpenseRe-portabitunconventionally.De-partingfromthenormforU.S.companies,thesoftwarefirmdeployedExtensityinEuropefirst,offeringitto700employeesinFrance,GermanyandtheUnitedKingdom.ThesummerlaunchontheConti-nentwasfollowed,earlierthismonth,byimplementationintheUnitedStatesandCanada,whereExtensitywillbeaccessedbyap-proximately2,500trav-elers.Withinthenextthreemonths,theEmeryville,Calif.-basedtechnologycompanyplanstorollouttheprod-uctinfouradditionalEuro-peancountries,beforetakingittoAsiaand,eventually,LatinAmerica.AutomatingtheexpensereportingprocessinEurope,wherepreviouslyemployeesfilledoutpaperformsandsnail-mailedthem,wasinitiatedbe-cause“wehadneedsinEuropethathadtobesolvedrightaway,”saidSybaseglobalcorporatetravelmanag-erPatriciaCarlin.LastJune,whenSybasesigneditsagreementwithExtensity,thecompa-nywasconsolidatingitsEuropeanac-countingoperationsintoacentrallo-cationintheNetherlands.Movingtoacentralized,automatedexpensere-portingsystemfitneatlyintothenewscheme,despitethefactthatthecom-panyhasyettoimplementacorporatecardinEurope.Sybase,however,al-readydidhaveaglobalback-endaccountingsysteminplace.“Extensityshowedustheirprod-uctinEurope,andwegottheEuro-peanstobuyinfirst,”Carlinsaid.Already,almost200reportsarecom-inginperweek.Indeed,akeyreasonforchoosingExtensity—oneoffourvendorcandi-dates—wastheglobalreachoftheJava-basedproduct.“Extensitycouldbuildintothesystemvarioustaxlawscountrybycountry,”Carlinsaid.ExtensityteamedupwithPricewa-terhouseCooperslastyeartobuildintoitsproductthetaxandlocalbusinessregulationsfor29countries.Theeuro-compliantsystemalsokeepstrackofperdiems.Byyear-end,expensere-portsalsoshouldbeavailableinFrench,GermanandSpanishversionsthatincorporatenotonlythenativelanguageofeachcountry,butalsosuchdetailsasthecorrectformatfordatesandplace-mentofcommas.Cutting-edgetechnol-ogywasn’ttheonlyreasonSybasepickedEx-tensity.“They’reveryknowledgeable.Theyun-derstanddifferentpracticesinothercountriesandtheyunderstandSybase’sobjective,”Carlinsaid.Extensity’sprofessionalservicesteamwasanintegralpartofthemostimportantaspectoftheEuropeanroll-out:gettingthebuy-in.Fromdayone,Carlinhadthesupportoftopcompa-nyexecutives.ButshealsoworkedhardtoincludetheEuropeansontheTMTHENEWSPAPEROFTHEBUSINESSTRAVELINDUSTRYFebruary21,2000Issue455•Vol.17•No.4T&ESoftwareServesU.S.-BasedCorp.OnGlobalLevelSpecialReportCorporatePaymentSystemsSpecialReportglobalteaminchargeofdevelopingtheautomatedglobalprogram.ThegroupincludedrepresentativesfromIT,fi-nanceandprofessionalservices.“PatriciaidentifiedindividualsinEu-ropewhowouldwanttoparticipate,”saidHenryDear,Sybase’sdirectoroffinanceandassistantcorporatecon-troller.“TheycametotheU.S.,satinonmeetings,andlookedatthetech-nology.Itwasaneducationalprocesstohelpthemunderstandthebenefits.Theygottoparticipateversushavingthecorporateorganizationsay,‘Thisisthemandateworldwide.’”Dearalsonotedthatanothercrucialaspectofasuccessfulbuy-inforaglob-alexpensereportingsystemisformu-lating,tothebestextentpossible,onepolicyandoneglobalbestpractice.“Youhavetobewillingtolookatallpracticesdevelopedineachcountrytoleveragethesystemanddriveinoneprocess,”hesaid.“Toouradvantage,wehaveafairlymatureprocess,”addedTomCarey,Sybase’sdirectorofpurchasingopera-tions.“Asmuchaspossiblewebuilttheapplicationtoonest...
