Airline takes off with managed network
Qatar Airways signs five-year outsourcing deal
Qatar Airways has signed a five-year, $30m (£15.5m) outsourcing deal to build and maintain an advanced global telecommunications network infrastructure.
The deal will connect all of the airline’s offices, including London, to its reservations system to create a fully-managed networked environment.
The global intranet will operate over vendor Sita’s IP virtual private network (VPN), the largest such network in the world.
Qatar Airways chief executive Akbar Al Baker says the network will seamlessly connect offices in the Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific and Europe.
‘The network will improve the effectiveness of business applications and help bridge the information and communication barriers that in the past have typified far-reaching global operations,’ he said.
The network provides high performance and secure access between locations around the world.
Sita will also provide the VPN at airports, which enables access to the airline’s private network over a shared airport infrastructure, reducing telecommunication costs by more than 30 per cent without compromising quality of service or security.
And it will connect Qatar Airways’ terminal equipment to its data centres over AirportConnect Net, a multi-airport extranet system.
AirportConnect allows airlines to share passenger handling facilities while providing access to their own applications for functions such as check-in, boarding pass and baggage tag issuance and other departure control services.
This can increase an airline’s productivity by up to 25 per cent while minimising passengers’ queuing time.
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