American Express Business Travel this month expanded its automated small meetings technology to the midmarket as part of a service relaunch.Rebranded as Axcentis in Australia, Canada and the United States, and Axcent in France, the Nordics and the United Kingdom, the midmarket offering is designed for corporations that spend up to $10 million in U.S. booked air volume annually, according to John Berkley, vice president and general manager of Axcentis for the United States. One-third of Amex's midmarket clients do business in more than two countries.A main goal of Amex's rebranding is to standardize its midmarket service offering globally, including its technology.The travel management company released Small Meetings Expert in the United States last April. Built on the Worktopia platform, the tool is designed for planning and booking meetings with fewer than 50 attendees. Through the technology, planners can manage sourcing and attendee registration, and book sleeping rooms, venue space and audiovisual services.The Amex version can temporarily hold meeting space without completing the online transaction, as per Amex's negotiated agreements with hotels and meeting venues. An exclusivity agreement with Worktopia prohibits other travel agencies and Worktopia distribution partners from using the feature.Berkley said that expanding the availability in the offering is an important step for clients' small meetings management, which "has been very decentralized, especially in middle market companies because those meetings are organized by the executive assistants and the 10- to 50-person meetings are usually negotiated in a decentralized fashion because they haven't invested in meeting planners or centralizing that function."Originally published Feb. 15, 2010