Amadeus Cloud, Community and Collaboration
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Transcript of Amadeus Cloud, Community and Collaboration
Airline benefits of using the Amadeus community cloud
Cloud, Community and Collaboration
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Index
Index ........................................................................................................................................................................................................ 2
Overview ................................................................................................................................................................................................. 3
What is ‘cloud computing’? .............................................................................................................................................................. 3
Thebenefittobusinesses ...................................................................................................................................................... 4
The downsides of public cloud computing ..................................................................................................................... 5
The Amadeus Community private Cloud ..................................................................................................................................... 5
Thebenefittoairlines ............................................................................................................................................................. 6
Amadeus’ data centre – the ‘cloud engine’ ................................................................................................................... 7
Open systems: the ‘building blocks’ of cloud computing .......................................................................................... 8
Virtualisation‘unlockstheefficiencies’ofcloudcomputing .................................................................................... 8
Amadeus’ SaaS Portfolio ........................................................................................................................................................ 8
Glossary of terms ................................................................................................................................................................................. 9
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OverviewCloud computing has been an information technology
buzzword for many years. Succeeding the mainframe, the
PC and the World Wide Web, cloud computing is now going
mainstream. Some say it is the latest and loudest technology
trend transforming the way we do business on a global
scale. But others say cloud computing is hyped, and will
complement traditional models of computing rather than
replace them.
The provision of IT services over the Internet and networks is
not a new concept, although the name ‘cloud computing’ is. In
fact, Amadeus is an innovator in cloud computing and has been
providing cloud Software as a Service (SaaS) to customers for 20
years with its range of airline IT solutions – such as Altéa - and
its distribution services. Both IT and Distribution services have
allowed customers to access computing resources remotely, from
a private cloud, and to pay for them on a variable transaction basis.
What is ‘cloud computing’?Computing ‘clouds’ are network connected data centres,
containing up to hundreds of thousands of servers hosting
multiple web applications, which enable users to obtain
computing capabilities regardless of their physical location,
thanks to the internet.
Put simply, the ‘cloud’ provides cheap, easy, on-demand access
to unlimited IT infrastructure and applications, anytime,
anywhere and from any device that can access the Internet.
Businesses are constantly striving to consume IT services in
the most cost-effective way, while not compromising security, servicequality,operationalstability,speedorflexibility.Public,
private or hybrid cloud computing, dynamic IT, Software as
a Service; these are all different ways of looking at the basic
problem of providing the right computing capacity, at the right
time, and at the right price.
One reason that cloud computing is such a hot topic is because
of its current and predicted growth. As a cheaper way for
businesses to acquire and use IT, its adoption is expected to beamplifiedduringthecurrentperiodofcostreduction.The
keybenefitsofcloudcomputingarethatthehardwareand
software are managed on a shared infrastructure, and it works
just like a utility – you only pay for what you need, upgrades are
automatic and scaling up or down is almost instantaneous.
Microsoft International President, Jean-Philippe Courtois, said the company will spend 90% of its $9.6 billion research and development on cloud strategy this year.
(source: Bloomberg news, April 2011)
Cloud computing is one of the four big trends that will change IT in the next few years and the analyst house estimates the cloud market at $150 billion by 2013.
(source: Peter Sondergaard, SVP of research, Gartner 2010)
Worldwide, the cloud computing market is growing at a rapid rate and is expected to exceed $25 billion by the end of 2013.
(source: Renub research, 2010)
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The benefit to businesses
Thebenefitofcloudcomputingtobusinessesisfive-fold:
cheaper, quicker, up-to-date, scalable and accessible from
anywhere.
l An IT provider will host services for multiple companies;
sharing complex infrastructure is cost-efficient and businesses only pay for what they actually use.
l The most basic cloud services work out of the box; for more
complex software and database solutions, cloud computing allows companies to skip the hardware procurement and capital expenditure phase.
l Most providers constantly update their software offering,
adding new features as they become available, negating the need to perform software loads on servers and PCs spread across multiple locations.
In 2009 cloud services made up 5% of global IT spend, andthisfigureisexpectedtodoubleby2013.
(source: IDC, Cloud Computing 2010)
l The provision of a scalable system allows companies to scale
quickly – supporting fast business growth or seasonal spikes -
because cloud systems are built to cope with sharp increases in workload.
l Cloud services are designed to be used from a distance, so
mobile workforces can access most systems ‘on the go’.
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The downsides of public cloud computing
The very nature of cloud computing is that it is a utility
offering a standard product at a reasonable price. As with
any commodity supply model, it suits the vendor to be at full
capacity. If more than one customer wants extra capacity,
resources become scarce.
Then there is the issue of security and compliance. As an
example, airlines and their suppliers deal with a huge raft ofconfidentialcustomerdataandmustcomplywitha
huge variety of international and supranational regulations.
Complying with these regulations can be a very costly exercise
and one that public cloud providers might not want to bear.
Indemnity is another point; if a cloud service fails, who is
responsible? While it may be possible to replace one’s own
in-house computing capacity with cloud services, who manages
the agreements, and can cloud providers afford to offer service
level agreements that give the sort of indemnity that some
businesses will demand?.
In short, whilst public cloud computing is suitable for the
horizontal applications that all industries use such as messaging
or Customer Relationship Management platforms - it may not
be suited to high-demand, highly regulated applications where compliance,indemnityandprivacyareallsignificant.
The Amadeus Community private CloudThe Amadeus Community Cloud consists of Amadeus’ portfolio
of SaaS (Software as a Service) solutions, and its community
hosting and data processing facility based in Erding, which
delivers on airlines’ IT hardware needs. The community cloud is
supported by Amadeus’ technology leadership in open systems
architecture, virtualisation, software development, secure
networking and resilience.
Business critical applications – such as reservations, inventory
management and departure control – are best suited to
dedicated IT resources managed in a private environment.
Amadeus’ Community Cloud model delivers the equivalent
of private cloud computing, which is the right approach for
airlines’ critical systems because it provides the software and hardwareeconomyofscalebenefitsofthecloud,withoutthe
downside of security or performance risks.
For example, if an airline attempted to run its own systems, the
TCO (total cost of ownership), would be much higher.
88% of airlines will have, or plan to have, SaaS by 2014. The top reasons for adoption of SaaS were to reduce costs (72%) and to increase service levels (61%).
(source: SITA IT Trends Survey 2011)
Amadeus’ ultimate goal is to have the capability to adjust
infrastructure capacity dynamically and in real-time, to adapt
to changes in workload and demand. Thanks to Amadeus’
investment in open systems (96% of Amadeus’ infrastructure
runs on open systems), scaling up at times of peak demand and
adding additional hardware for airlines is a quick and simple
exercise. Amadeus has been providing cloud computing related
services for 20 years with its range of airline IT solutions – such
as Altéa - and its distribution services.
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The benefit to airlines
Airlines want their IT costs to be variable as their business
demandsfluctuate.AirlinesusingtheAmadeusCommunity
Cloudbenefitfrom:
l A variable cost model allowing them to pay for what they
consume. Amadeus runs a transaction business model so
airlines’ IT costs are in line with their business volume and
therefore revenues.l Pooling IT resources in the data centre and making use of
virtualisation means IT costs are reduced, when compared to each airline attempting to construct its own data processing facility.
l Increased flexibility - by delivering software, data processing
and IT as a service, Amadeus can service its customers quickly,
effectively connecting and migrating them.
l Amadeus’ Community Cloud means airline IT teams can concentrate on strategic initiatives – the maintenance of the
systems is handled by Amadeus.l Scalability - being able to access additional computing power
on request, is of great importance to airlines.
93% of airlines will have, or plan to have, IaaS (Infrastructure-as-a-Service) and virtualisation by the end of 2014. The top reasons for adopting IaaS were for improvedflexibility(81%)andtoreducecosts(61%).
(source: SITA IT Trends Survey 2011)
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Amadeus’ data centre – the ‘cloud engine’
One of the main risks for airlines that adopt cloud computing
is a service outage, which is not something airlines can risk as
business critical passenger service systems are the lifeblood of
airline operations. Amadeus’ Erding data centre is designed to
minimise the risk of failure with:
l Multiple independent data centres and server rooms within
the same complexl back-up generators that have 3 days of diesel supply in the
event of a power outagel four separate major telecoms links from multiple suppliers to
prevent network failurel server architecture designed to ensure there is no single point
of failure
In the unlikely event that the main data centre in Erding is
unavailable due to a major disaster, Amadeus also maintains a
separate disaster recovery site over 40 KM away.
Amadeus’ data centre in Erding is one of the largest civil data centres in the world and boasts 5 petabytes of storage.
1 petabyte is equal to 1 million gigabytes.
To put that into context, if you shoot 100 photos a day for 80 years at 5 Mb per photo, you’d still have 985,000 gigabytes free.
(source: Amadeus, 2011).
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Open systems: the ‘building blocks’ of cloud computing
Open systems are the technology building blocks based on
universalstandards,whichoffercompleteflexibilityand
interoperability between different IT environments, solutions
and products. Amadeus’ open systems are like LEGO bricks.
They provide the ability to easily build and reshape solutions to
meet changing traveller needs.
Virtualisation ‘unlocks the efficiencies’ of cloud computing
Virtualisation is one of the main cornerstones of cloud
computing that allows the creation of multiple virtual servers
– or virtual machines - inside a physical server. Virtualisation
has been in use in Erding for over 10 years, allowing servers to
handle multiple applications, rather than just one. Previously a
server may have only been used at 5% capacity with no ability
to access the other 95%. Now server resources can be used to
their full extent with excess capacity being applied to manage
other applications. Each deployment of a Virtual Server saves significantamountsofelectricityandsubsequentlyCO2
emissions per year.
Amadeus’ SaaS Portfolio
Amadeus provides a range of SaaS or software solutions as a
service to airlines, hosting the applications in Erding.
l The Altéa Customer Management Suite, a full suite of
solutions to manage all elements of the customers’ journey
from booking to baggage collection including Reservations,
Inventory and both the Customer Management and Flight
Management modules of Departure Control.
Today, 96% of Amadeus technology operates on the latest Open Systems technologies, and Amadeus is on target to operate completely on open systems far ahead of its competition.
(source: Amadeus)
55% of airlines have already moved onto new generation IT infrastructure by implementing virtualization in their datacentres.Thatfigurewillbecomealmostuniversalover the next few years with only 6% of airlines having no plan to migrate.
(source: Airline IT Trends Survey, SITA, 2011)
l Amadeus’ e-Commerce suite, a set of solutions including the
e-Retail booking engine which can manage an airline’s entire
e-commerce operation. l Amadeus e-Ticket Server, which enables airlines to issue and
manage e-tickets.l Revenue Integrity, a suite of solutions to improve the integrity
of data which minimises revenue leakage.
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Glossary of terms Cloud terms and acronyms can be confusing. The cloud is often referred to as a private, public or hybrid cloud and essentially that
means the following:
l Private cloud is when a business receives its applications, storage and data processing capability from a dedicated infrastructure
which can be provided internally or by an outsourced provider, such as Amadeus providing services from our Erding data centre.
Infrastructure is shared amongst authorised users dynamically, but is not available to the public.
l Public cloud means applications and computing services are provided across the public internet in a shared infrastructure
environment, for example Google Apps or Amazon EC2. This tends to be suited to less business-critical applications, and is a
popular choice for SMEs (Small & Medium Enterprises).
l A hybrid cloud is a combination of the two approaches where some IT services are provided by dedicated IT infrastructure and
some, usually less business critical, are provided from a shared provider like Amazon or Google.
l Virtualisation and hypervisors: Virtualisation allows the creation of multiple virtual servers – known as virtual machines - inside
a physical server. These virtual machines are managed by a hypervisor, which allows multiple operating systems to share a single
hardware host. These two technologies allow cloud providers to create and manage virtual machines easily and quickly for
customers.
l Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) refers to companies making use of centrally managed hardware and data processing services
run by a third party supplier. Infrastructure services are accessed via private networks or the internet.
l Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) is a software distribution model in which applications are hosted by a vendor or service provider and
made available to customers over either a private network connection or the internet.
l Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) is a way to rent hardware, operating systems, storage and network capacity over the internet. Whilst
the user does not manage or control the underlying cloud infrastructure, they do have control over the deployed applications and possiblyapplicationhostingenvironmentconfigurations.