IBM signs $300m agreement with Emirate Airline

IBM on Tuesday said it signed a US$300 million, ten-year technology services agreement with Dubai’s Emirates Airline.

IBM will provide information technology services, allowing the airline to improve efficiency on its passenger support systems and functions, a statement from IBM said.

Under the managed services agreement, this will include assistance in encrypting the airline’s data in near real-time and systems which allow different software components to communicate more effectively, the statement said.

In October 2015, IBM signed a US$700 million deal with Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Airways for a range of IT services and infrastructure.

Emirates, the world’s fourth-largest carrier of international passengers reported a profit of US$1.93 billion for the financial year to March 31, a jump of 56 percent over the year.

The agreement will see IBM provide IT infrastructure delivered as a service, enabling the airline to improve efficiency on its passenger support systems and functions. Furthermore, the agreement provides fully-managed services for the IBM mainframe and storage that will help Emirates encrypt data in real-time.

Additionally, the platform allows the airline to build new apps that will support the API economy, a commercial exchange of business functions, capabilities, or competencies as services packaged in APIs.

Emirates also collaborated with IBM earlier this year to enhance its Passenger Service System (PSS), where IBM technology will enable Emirates to re-design its business processes and streamline airport operations. By moving its IT Infrastructure delivery into a managed services model, the airline will benefit from improved business application performance, resilience, scalability, an agile service delivery model, and significant operational savings.

Emirates has run its ticketing and reservations system on the IBM mainframe for more than 30 years. IBM’s z Systems is the foundation for all of the airline’s mission critical data and transactions.

z Systems technology has enabled Emirates Airline to process ultra-high volumes of real-time business transactions including flight reservations, inventory, check-in, ticketing, and flight information. Emirates Airline has selected IBM technology to provide its travellers with the benefit of reliable, secure ticketing and gate information when and where they need it, anywhere in the world.