At Your Service

摘要

Patrick grady wants his software to be your travel agent; maitre d', best pal and mailroom. He also, wants it to make him rich and turn the high-tech world on its ear. "I'm going to build a reservation system for all services— it is a $50 billion opportunity," he says from a bland office in San Mateo, Calif. He sounds a bit hyperbolic, but there's math behind this. U.S. companies spend $1.5 trillion a year on services like travel, entertainment and package delivery. Since $600 million of that is spent outside of purchasing departments, without heed to preferred vendors or negotiated discounts, up to $60 billion is wasted.