The airline business is about as lean and mean as a business can get (look at the size of those pretzel bags you get in coach), so it's interesting to see the uptake of SOA practices that has been going on in that industry.
In the latest announcement, EDS, an HP company, which has been providing IT services to Virgin Atlantic Airways since its inception in 1984, announced a new agreement in which EDS will upgrade Virgin's reservations system with service oriented architecture.
EDS also said will employ what it calls its "airline service-oriented architecture" (AirlineSOA) to connect software and systems to integrate Virgin Atlantic's operations and help meet the airline's unique needs.
EDS has published a white paper (co-written with Microsoft, so expect a lot of plugs for the Microsoft platform) that makes the case for AirlineSOA, and makes some interesting observations about putting SOA to work in environments as complex as reservations systems -- in an industry as cutthroat as airlines:
"By consolidating systems and modernizing applications, airlines can give their employees better access to information and thus deliver superior services to passengers and freight customers. ...This new SOA approach allows air services companies to extend the life and value of existing IT resources, leverage outsourcing options, and create and wield true competitive advantages. ...By adopting a multiyear approach, air services firms can complete initial application rationalization and modernization in about a year, thereby realizing rapid savings in operating, maintenance and training costs. Air transport companies can then extend the reach of an SOA to realize measurable long-term returns across their organizations."
Mike Cope, IT director at Virgin Atlantic, sees SOA as a way to help the airline "provide improved customer services, greater agility and lower costs."
EDS also recently worked on an SOA-based implementation with Lufthansa Airlines, which provides a structured flow of information between the airline's new inventory system and 40 other client applications.
Leave a comment