Extracting data from these many different internal silos can be extremely complex and time-consuming. This makes it difficult for airlines to get the complete, current data sets they need to use advanced analytics tools to their full potential. Without the insights that these tools provide, customer experience personalization efforts start to break down.
Modernize digital infrastructure to optimize passenger experience
As enterprises pursue digital transformation, they all recognize sooner or later that they need to replace traditional centralized data centers with distributed, interconnected digital infrastructure. Airlines are distributed businesses by definition, since their customers, assets and employees are constantly moving between different locations. This means that the need for globally distributed digital infrastructure is especially acute in the aviation industry. Airlines simply can’t reinvent customer experience without it.
Airlines and their ecosystem partners also need distributed infrastructure to support “airport edge” use cases such as biometrics and video surveillance for enhanced security. These capabilities help keep passengers safe without causing long bottlenecks at security checkpoints. The AI models underlying these capabilities need to be trained using a constant stream of data. Deploying distributed cloud-adjacent infrastructure in proximity to airports helps move large volumes of data into the AI models without the latency and costs typically caused by a long network backhaul.
The previously mentioned IDC study detailed how Delta Airlines redesigned its entire digital infrastructure for a more distributed approach. In the past, employees in airports across the US and working remotely relied on a centralized data center hub in Atlanta. Delta replaced this legacy infrastructure with a distributed edge-to-cloud environment.
With new regional nodes and direct fabric connectivity to cloud service providers and other ecosystem partners, Delta now gives employees much faster access to data and applications from wherever they are. This means employees can get insights into customer preferences and take action to meet those preferences quickly.