Virgin Atlantic Airways outsources digital transformation to Tata Consultancy Services

Virgin Atlantic Airways (VAA) outsourced IT to Indian services giant Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) as the UK airline introduces a raft of digital services for customers.

The long-term contract will see TCS set up a private cloud for the airline and it will provide infrastructure as a service (IaaS), user computing services and application support.

VAA will also have access to TCS’s Airline and Digital Innovation Labs. This helps customers develop technology to address the changing needs and expectations of the new digital consumer.

David Bulman, CIO at VAA, said the company wanted to simplify IT processes and benefit from a more agile technology infrastructure. “TCS has a strong reputation in the aviation industry and from our previous work with the company," said Bulman. 

"We look forward to working closely together to improve the experience we deliver for our customers, through the development of new digital systems.”

S. Sukanya, global head of travel, transportation and hospitality at TCS, said the digital consumer economy is creating opportunities and challenges for businesses across all markets and industries. “To succeed in this new era, organisations need to fully embrace a digital-by-default approach,” said Sukanya.

TCS recently won a deal with Qantas. The Australian airline upgraded its Oracle enterprise resource planning (ERP) platform and moved it into the cloud with the deal.

TCS commissioned research – carried out by ResearchNow in 2013 – that found airlines will spend more than any other sector on technology to help them engage digitally with mobile consumers.

The mobile consumer global trend study revealed that energy and telecommunications businesses were the other sectors investing heavily in winning business with mobile digital channels.

The spending will include investments in app development, customer service delivery through mobile devices, and mobile-friendly marketing campaigns.