Mr. Offutt brings over 20 years of experience in information technology, IT management and travel industry dynamics to Phocuswright. He was most recently the chief architect and senior vice president for Sabre Holdings where he defined the strategy and plan to migrate from a monolithic Mainframe environment to distributed open systems and a service oriented architecture. Prior to being Sabre's chief architect, Bob founded and led Sabre Labs, a technology incubator that made Sabre the industry leader in new online products and services. Before Sabre, he spent 26 years in the U.S. Coast Guard, where he led the agency's information technology unit. Bob has also served on the faculty of the University of Puget Sound, George Washington University and the University of Southern California. His education includes a B.S. in engineering from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy and a master's degree in management science from the U.S. Navy Postgraduate School.
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Bob Offutt's Areas of Research
Bob Offutt is a travel technology visionary. His vast experience and hands on leadership in travel distribution make place him firmly at the forefront of innovation in travel. In his role as editorial director of Phocuswright's Innovation Edition and a leader of The Travel Innovation Summit, Bob Offutt knows how to identify the trends, technologies and platforms that will define the future of travel.
Road to 2030: The Future Travel Experience
Category: Technology Innovation Published: February 2022 Analysts: Norm Rose, Bob OffuttThe travel industry is due for significant change. The pace at which technological advancement unfolds will impact every part of the travel journey, from planning to post-return. Thanks to developments...
Will Privacy Restrictions Help Democratize Digital Marketing?
Category: Destination & Activities Marketing Published: December 2020 Analysts: Norm Rose, Bob OffuttPrivacy legislation in Europe and the U.S. have altered the digital marketing landscape. These legal requirements, along with moves to block third-party cookies used for identification and tracking,...
The Future Travel Shopping Storefront
Category: Technology Innovation Published: December 2019 Analysts: Bob OffuttInitially overlooked in the excitement of NDC is the user interface. Shopping is the first engagement in the customer experience. Intuitive interfaces go a long way toward making the customer trust that...
Along Came a Standard: Air Travel Distribution Redefined
Category: Technology Innovation Published: November 2019 Analysts: Bob OffuttEvery once in a while, the earth, moon and stars align and a new standard is created without fanfare, angst, parochialism or self-serving politics. This appears to be the case with Routehappy, a New...
Edge Computing: Hype or the Next Big Thing?
Category: Technology Innovation Published: July 2019 Analysts: Bob OffuttThe changing world of technology deployments started 50 years ago with a computer deployment reference architecture that provided terminal access to a centralized server. This terminal was only a client...