Business Agility for the Aviation Industry Lies in the Cloud
Cloud computing is not a new concept to the aviation industry. With online bookings, real time flight reservations, and travel management solutions, the aviation industry was one of the first to jump to the cloud. Like most other industries, the aviation sector found three important factors that can impact business performance and success: scalability, pooled resources, and business agility.
Scalability to boost service levels
The aviation industry can be a volatile business, and so scalability matters a lot. You never know when traffic will fluctuate, and certain factors cannot be predicted. There are sudden events or crises like ash clouds, bird flu, and cyclones — and in such cases people typically start calling the customer center to find out if there have been changes that affect service. In a traditional setup, it is not easy to quickly set up a new call center. But with cloud computing, airline companies can rapidly create a new call center to attend to a surge in customer calls. By scaling up resources as required, companies can provide better customer service, boost service levels, and optimize infrastructure costs at the same time.
Business process integration
In a traditional organizational setup, information silos impact business performance. Employees have to organize disparate data collected from various departments. The airline industry requires an intuitive organizational setup because booking offices and travel agents are not in the same location. With a cloud-based service, silos are effectively eliminated. Organizations can integrate business processes to provide higher customer service at improved service levels.
Implement world-class technologies
Cloud-based services enable airline companies to work with world-class technologies. In this industry, intuitive and highly efficient business applications are required. Before cloud computing came along, companies had to invest huge amounts on in-house projects. But now they can enjoy highly efficient, cutting-edge software that is available at cost-effective prices. With business processes working at a smooth pace, companies can leverage resources while making use of the best available technology. Updates and software patches are taken care of.
Shared resources to optimize costs
The aviation industry is presently experiencing a huge economic crisis. With heated competition, increasing taxes, and rising fuel costs, airline companies are looking for ways to minimize expenses. Cloud-based services provide an optimized infrastructure that integrates business processes to reduce infrastructure expenses. At the same time, scaling resources enables companies to reduce their costs by paying only for services used.
While rapid scalability and agility are achieved, data security is a high priority. Automatic backups and disaster recovery solutions take care of data integrity and security.
Cloud-based computing offers a win-win situation. Fleet managers are able to predict traffic loads and plan accordingly. OEMs can assess the end-user experience to improve quality, and airline operators can concentrate on providing highly efficient services. At the same time, customers continue to receive quality services which make their travel experience enjoyable.
With high-end computing resources, innovative applications, and enhanced security, cloud computing will be a mainstay in the future of the aviation industry. Companies that ignore this fact will be left behind. Embracing the cloud at the earliest opportunity is, of course, a wise decision for aviation companies.
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About the Guest Author:
Kaushik Das is an engineer, research analyst and a technical writer in the areas wireless, IT, enterprise software, next-generation hosting, storage and renewable energy. He specializes in competitive analysis, market research, industry insights, white paper and actionable web content development.
