Platform for predictive, prescriptive modeling will include artificial intelligence technology to help the airport better anticipate and meet passenger and airline needs.
BENGALURU – Unisys Corporation announced that it has entered into an agreement with Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL) – operators of Kempegowda International Airport, Bengaluru – to develop an Analytics Centre of Excellence.
The Analytics Centre of Excellence will support a business intelligence and advanced data analytics platform for BIAL to consolidate and rationalise the Airport’s strategic, tactical and operational reporting – enabling Airport staff to make faster and better-informed business decisions, process air travelers more quickly and enhance the airport experience for the customer.
The platform will allow the Airport to provide real-time content information pertaining to Airport services and flight information. The services will also provide travelers access to improved airport navigation, communication of airport services and proactive and personalized retail offerings based on passenger preferences and past spending history. This not only offers passengers greater visibility into airport amenities and services, but it also establishes an avenue for BIAL to generate non-aeronautical revenues.
Satyaki Raghunath, Chief Strategy and Development Officer, BIAL said, “BIAL is committed to being a data-driven organisation that will create a smart, futuristic and intuitive airport journey for passengers. Unisys brings a strong combination of in-depth understanding of the aviation industry and proven experience in delivering digital transformation for organisations of all sizes. Unisys’ solution will provide us with intelligent and intuitive data and analytics that will support the enhancement of the customer experience we provide.”
As part of the new data-driven airport framework, the Unisys-developed platform will allow BIAL to generate more than 150 insightful, interactive business intelligence reports, using artificial intelligence and machine learning to forecast future travel patterns and traveler trends. This will enable the airport to shift its strategy from hindsight to foresight, predictive to prescriptive and improve future decision-making processes. Hosted on the Microsoft Azure cloud platform, the solution employs Azure capabilities such as Azure HDInsight, SQL Data Warehouse, Azure Machine Learning and Azure Advanced Data Analytics services.
“BIAL is a perfect partner, committed to meeting the growing needs of today’s connected traveler,” said Tony Windever, Vice President and Managing Director, Asia Pacific, Unisys. “This strategic collaboration leverages Unisys’ deep domain expertise and digital transformation capabilities, like the Analytics Centre of Excellence, to create a more agile, predictive business model for travel and transportation customers. Supporting BIAL’s innovative vision, this has the potential to become one of the most advanced deployments of data and analytics for any airport in India, and potentially in the world.”
BIAL is a public-private consortium that owns and operates Kempegowda International Airport, Bengaluru, the third busiest airport in India by passenger traffic. According to BIAL, the annual passenger traffic through the Airport is expected to grow from 26.91 million passengers in FY2018 to over 65 million passengers in the next decade. To meet growing passenger demand the airport will introduce a second runway by 2019 and open a second terminal by 2021.
Unisys has more than 55 years of experience providing innovative IT solutions to the travel and transportation industry. Nine of the top 10 airlines depend on Unisys solutions.
Vicky is the co-founder of TravelDailyNews Media Network where she is the Editor-in Chief. She is also responsible for the daily operation and the financial policy. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Tourism Business Administration from the Technical University of Athens and a Master in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Wales. She has many years of both academic and industrial experience within the travel industry. She has written/edited numerous articles in various tourism magazines.
