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AIR TRANSPORT IT REVIEW ARTICLE ISSUE 1 : 2013
AIR TRANSPORT IT REVIEW ARTICLE
ISSUE 1 : 2013
TACKLING THE TRENDS – TABLETS
The boom in tablet computer sales brings to the fore a new mega-trend in IT called bring-your-own-device (BYOD). With more and more employees eager to bring their smartphones and tablets to work, companies are examining how to utilize these devices in the enterprise.
BYOD – HYPE OR REALITY?
The key questions for airlines, airports and ground handlers are these: “What does BYOD in the air transport industry look like?” Which applications and processes will be impacted by this trend? And crucially, how can CIOs plan for this change?
For the air transport industry, there are two areas of impact for BYOD:
• Passenger-owned devices
• Employee-owned devices
PASSENGER: TIPPING POINTPassenger-owned devices are already being used independently for in-flight entertainment. This trend is set to expand. Imagine being able to do everything from purchasing your ticket and checking in to ordering food and starting your in-flight movie while still at the gate – all on your iPad, Android or other device.
EMPLOYEE COMPROMISE?Recent studies show that companies around the world are embracing some form of BYOD. Globally, 89% of IT
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BY 2016, 370 MILLION TABLETS WILL BE SOLD. WHAT DOES THAT IMPLY?
leaders support it to some extent; 69% view BYOD ‘somewhat’ or ’extremely’ positively. A straw poll at the 2012 Air Transport IT Summit suggested similar support in the air transport industry.
“We’re definitely seeing more employees using their own devices at work,” says Paul Boyle, Portfolio Director Mobility, SITA.
”Email and calendar access are now fairly common. But interestingly we’re not seeing heavy adoption beyond these applications. Company devices remain the norm for operational processes and the majority of airlines plan to stay with this model for the near future.”
BEST OF BOTH WORLDS?Allowing employees to access enterprise applications via their own smartphones or tablets undoubtedly offers many benefits to the company and the employees. Among them are:
• Increased worker satisfaction – employees are using the devices they know and love.
SEE ALSO:
Read our ‘Digital Cabin Crew’, ‘Time for Change’ and other mobile workforce papers.
Download from
www.sita.aero/mobile-cabin
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TACKLING THE TRENDS – TABLETS
AIR TRANSPORT IT REVIEW2
• Up-to-date devices – BYO devices are typically more cutting-edge than IT-issued ones, allowing the company to reap the benefits of the most modern features, capabilities and upgrades.
• Higher productivity – familiarity with their devices means employees spend less time accomplishing tasks and responding to requests.
Some airlines are seeking a ‘best of both worlds’ scenario. That’s a compromise between full ownership and BYOD. Airlines are retaining ownership of devices but giving employees ‘a sense of ownership’ by allowing personal apps for music, e-mail and movies.
This personal content allows employees to feel they own the device which in turn leads to fewer faults and higher satisfaction. Blurring between actual ownership and sense of ownership can deliver real operational benefits.
CONCERNSWhether IT departments like it or not, the trend to employee-controlled IT is already common. Yet despite the obvious potential many challenges exist.
A disconnect was captured in a recent study by Blue Coat Systems. It said nearly twice as many employees (71%) reported accessing their corporate network with their personal device than IT administrators believed were doing so (37%).
Allowing employees to add their own content also highlights security concerns. While 88% of employees believed their mobile device was “somewhat or very secure,” only about 22% of IT professionals categorized the risk of malware spreading from employee devices to the corporate network as “minimal” or “no risk.”
Not surprisingly, far more IT staffers (37%) than employees (12%) wanted to impose restrictions on the type of sites or content employees could access.
JUMPING HURDLES Whether companies are providing devices or implementing BYOD policies the Blue Coat Systems study highlights some of the challenges and concerns in increasing employee control:
• Security – how do you secure and control data on devices that need updating every 18-24 months?
• Data privacy – especially in enterprises that span geographies, as data privacy laws are determined locally and vary from market to market.
• Personal vs. professional use – trying to set policy on the use of tech gear is a sand-trap, especially if users include board members or C-suite executives.
AIRLINE APPROACHESThe most common method of overcoming these hurdles is to use a solid Mobile Device Management Platform. One way, of course, is for the enterprise to retain ownership of the devices.
Emirates Airlines has decided to do just that. In a recent announcement, Emirates said it’s issuing a new tablet to crew that’s light, attractive and has a long battery life – ideal for non-stop flights.
The device, produced by HP and available to customers in January, is built specifically for business users.
American Airlines is providing its onboard staff with Samsung tablets during flights to help improve customer service. The trial program also aims to improve pre-flight activities, ultimately reducing the frequency and number of delayed flights.
Emirates and American are just two airlines looking to capitalize on the benefits of workforce mobility while avoiding the risks of BYOD.
TABLET TRIALSThere’s no doubt that mobile devices are changing the air transport industry a radical way. The growth in tablet sales and their use as operational devices, combined with cloud computing, offer great promise and potential benefits to air transport.
Today’s tablets are allowing airlines and airports to start mobilizing a raft of new business processes. Consider the impact and potential for crew processes, check-in and boarding and electronic flight bags.
Showcasing the promise and potential are many tablet and cabin application trials by SITA Lab with several airlines.
“ AT EASYJET IT IS ALL ABOUT FLEXIBILITY. WE NEED TO BE AGILE AND MOBILE, PROVIDING THE SAME GREAT SERVICE TO OUR PASSENGERS AT, AND WITHIN, ANY AIRPORT TO WHICH WE CHOOSE TO FLY. WE’VE DEVELOPED OUR HALO APPLICATION TO PROVIDE EMPLOYEES WITH A RANGE OF APPLICATIONS VIA MOBILE DEVICES.”
TREVOR DIDCOCK CIO, EASYJET
EASYJET GOES MOBILE ACROSS EUROPE • When easyJet wanted to deploy an innovative mobile
services solution it decided to use company-owned rugged devices.
• SITA provides easyJet with Motorola Solutions ruggedized mobile computers that have built-in barcode scanners, WLAN and WWAN capability, and chip and pin readers. These devices help easyJet provide full passenger services from anywhere in the airport.
• The airline now runs its in-house applications on these mobile devices at over 130 airports in Europe from which it flies.
• easyJet’s rollout of mobile services uses a fully-managed solution from SITA. It includes 3G and wireless connectivity across 190 countries. It offers cost-effective and seamless roaming for mobile usage.
• The airline will use SITA’s services to access its in-house Halo application, which allows the airline’s airport agents to be fully mobile using handheld computers.
Standard MDM solutions provide remote ‘over the air’ features such as application distribution, configuration management, security and more.
For many airlines, tablet management is part of the complete end-to-end mobility solution and they are already outsourcing to mobility integrators in the same way as they work with third parties to manage their networks.
Passenger-owned BYOD is likely closer to the tipping point, as customer-driven apps are already flooding the market in other industries.
As consumers become more accustomed to using their tablets and smartphones to access everything from their accounts and stock portfolios to their favorite TV shows and movies, they’ll expect this level of connectivity in the air. (See ‘BYOD in the air’page 32.)
Whether or not the industry adopts widespread BYOD at the enterprise level, there will be a strong need for Mobile Device Management (MDM).
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The rise in industry trials like this suggests we’re close to a tipping point en route to widespread acceptance.
NO ONE-SIZE FITS ALLBut before we cross that tipping point, airlines, airports and other industry players need to make a decision: whether to provide employees with these devices or simply allow them to use their personal devices to access enterprise systems and applications.
It’s a complicated question that won’t have a universal answer: there’s no one-size-fits-all solution.
“ COMPANY DEVICES REMAIN THE NORM FOR OPERATIONAL PROCESSES AND THE MAJORITY OF AIRLINES PLAN TO STAY WITH THIS MODEL FOR THE NEAR FUTURE.”
WORKFORCE MOBILITY VIDEOS, WHITE PAPERS, DEMOS AND MORE AT:www.sita.aero/mobile-workforce
A NEW NECESSITYMobile Device Management has become a critical must-have. Optimize functionality and security but minimize cost and downtime:
Find out more at www.sita.aero/air-transport-it-review
© SITA 2014 All trademarks acknowledged. Specifications subject to change without prior notice. This literature provides outline information only and (unless specifically agreed to the contrary by SITA in writing) is not part of any order or contract.
For further information, please contact SITA by telephone or e-mail:
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SITA AT A GLANCE
The air transport industry is the most dynamic and exciting community on earth – and SITA is its heart.
Our vision is to be the chosen technology partner of the industry, a position we will attain through flawless customer service and a unique portfolio of IT and communications solutions that covers the industry’s every need 24/7.
We are the innovators of the industry. Our experts and developers keep it fuelled with a constant stream of ground-breaking products and solutions. We are the ones who see the potential in the latest technology and put it to work.
Our customers include airlines, airports, GDSs and governments. We work with around 450 air transport industry members and 2,800 customers in over 200 countries and territories.
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