International Business Machines (IBM), a US-based multinational technology and consulting company has announced the signing of a tech deal worth US $700million with Etihad Airways, United Arab Emirates’ second largest airline.
The 10-year deal is aimed at improving the airline’s operations and security, and also to cut costs from its network.
The deal will see IBM build a new data centre in Abu Dhabi, the capital of United Arab Emirates (UAE) to help with analytics of customer data and the prediction of weather patterns to better manage the airline’s flights at its Abu Dhabi hub.
As part of the deal, which covers seven partner airlines in which Etihad Airways has bought minority stakes, about 100 Etihad staff will move to IBM.
“This is a movement across the industry. You need an IT infrastructure that’s available around the world and the applications and technology that allow the airline to find out the preferences of their guests,” Senior VP at IBM Global Technology Services, Martin Jetter told The Wall Street Journal.
Late last year, IBM signed a similar deal with Deutsche Lufthansa AG worth about US$1.14billion which, according to the airline, would save costs of up to £70million a year.
IBM, founded in 1911 and headquartered in New York, US, specializes in the manufacturing and marketing of computer hardware, software and middleware, and offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services to various clients.
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