IBM signs 10-year partnership with Bangalore Airport for digital transformation

Tech major IBM and Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL) -- operator of Kempegowda International Airport, on Wednesday announced a 10-year partnership under which IBM and Kyndryl will provide IT solutions to create a new ‘Airport in a Box’ platform that will support transforming the end-to-end travel experience for passengers at BLR Airport. 

The financial details of the deals were not disclosed. 

The new platform will also enable BIAL to improve employee productivity, better utilisation of IT assets, reduce costs through streamlined inventory control and improved incident management, IBM said in a statement.  

The platform IBM is developing to support BIAL’s business growth will be enabled by a comprehensive set of IBM technology and services, enabled by an open hybrid cloud approach from IBM and supported Red Hat Ansible Automation.  

The platform also will generate AI-powered insights from IBM Maximo enterprise asset management technology to optimise inventory management and total cost of ownership, the statement added. 

Once the platform is fully operational, IBM and BIAL are also looking to explore opportunities to advance the ‘Airport in a Box’ as a cornerstone of innovation and transformation for the global travel and transportation industry. 

“This long-term project capitalises on our proven ability to deliver a combination of advanced technologies and services that enable the world’s leading travel and transportation companies to innovate and transform their businesses,” Mark Foster, senior vice president, IBM Services and IBM Global Business Services, said. 

“IBM Global Business Services and Kyndryl will apply our expertise in hybrid cloud and building business platforms to help BIAL innovate, improve its operational efficiency and deliver exceptional experiences to its growing passenger base,” he added.

IBM works with more than 150 airports globally and helps the aviation industry to innovate and transform. 

Last month IBM teamed up with the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) to launch an innovation lab for advanced research in hybrid cloud technologies.  

During the same time, IBM deepened its collaboration with Pune based information technology (IT) services company Persistent Systems to accelerate hybrid cloud adoption, core IT modernisation and digital transformation for customers across the enterprise.