Xchanging, the telephony service provider, is leading a contract that will see Fujitsu and Cisco modernise London’s Gatwick Airport’s communications infrastructure to create a platform designed to support a fast paced, dynamic environment. The five year project supports an airport-wide transformation programme, which will see Gatwick continue to heavily invest between 2014 and 2020, as it moves toward becoming London’s airport of choice.
As the UK’s second largest airport, Gatwick currently serves 34.2 million passengers a year, with traffic set to increase to over 38 million by 2020. Following a review of its existing communications model, Gatwick recognised the need to update the technology originally installed in the 1950s and bring performance levels up to a standard capable of underpinning a 24/7 environment.
Under the terms of the five year contract, the partnership with Fujitsu and Cisco will provide collaboration services, including voice, video, instant messaging and presence to 1,100 of Gatwick’s staff initially, before extending the services to all 2,500 end users and the airport’s commercial customers. Moving away from a traditional on-premises telecom setup to a cloud-based consumption model, Gatwick hopes to enhance the user experience, enabling staff to collaborate in a more effective way.
This will aim to reduce costs and mobilise the airport’s workforce, enabling staff to work from anywhere, by connecting through any device. Staff will be able to collaborate with each other via smartphones and video conferencing. They will also be able to work from any location and still access the full suite of collaboration tools, improving productivity and helping to ensure business continuity for the airport.
Michael Ibbitson, CIO, Gatwick Airport comments on the partnership: "This is a crucial investment for Gatwick, as we focus heavily on making Gatwick the airport of choice, not only in London, but in Europe. A key focus for me at the moment is how to improve integration of the massive amount of data and IT services we have available to us, so we can offer a better service to passengers. By adopting this new approach, we’ll be transforming the way our staff operates – video conferencing with each other for instance and working from home effectively during snow days. This slicker operation will have a significant impact on passenger experience – which is what we’re always striving to improve".
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