IBM and Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL), the operator of Kempegowda International Airport, Bengaluru (KIAB/BLR Airport), have announced a 10-year partnership under which IBM and offshoot Kyndryl will provide IT solutions to create a new ‘Airport in a Box’ platform that it is hoped will power a transformation of the end-to-end travel experience for passengers at BLR Airport.
According to BIAL, BLR Airport needed a nimble, scalable and cost-competitive technology and operations environment to increase its agility and operational flexibility to handle future growth in passenger traffic. To achieve this goal, BIAL selected IBM Global Business Services, IBM hybrid cloud capabilities and Kyndryl, a new, independent company that will be created following the separation of IBM’s Managed Infrastructure Services business, to design and implement a next-generation architecture with a robust, dynamic delivery model. The new platform should also enable BIAL to improve employee productivity, better utilize IT assets, reduce costs through streamlined inventory control and improve incident management.
The platform IBM is developing to support BIAL’s business growth will be enabled by a comprehensive set of technology and services, leveraging an open hybrid cloud approach and supported by specialist Red Hat’s Ansible Automation platform. The system will also generate AI-powered insights via IBM’s Maximo enterprise asset management technology to optimize inventory management and total cost of ownership.
Once the platform is fully operational, IBM and BIAL plan to explore opportunities to advance the Airport in a Box platform across the wider global travel and transportation industry. “We are excited to partner with IBM as part of our vision to make BLR Airport the Smart Airport – a digitalized, seamlessly connected, intuitive airport,” said Hari Marar, MD and CEO of BIAL. “BLR Airport is a pioneer and leader of change in the Indian aviation industry. Our aim is to introduce more digitally advanced, innovative services and products at BIAL to ensure that the passengers and partners have the advantage of future-forward technologies in a seamless operating environment.”
