TCS supports Malaysian Airlines with overhaul of IT architecture
Marking a significant step towards cloud-based operations, Malaysian Airlines (MA) has completed a full migration to a cloud platform, making it one of the cloud frontrunners in the airline industry. The migration was overseen by professional services giant Tata Consultancy Services (TCS).
Kuala Lumpur-based MA and Indian consulting firm TCS have further evolved their long-standing relationship through their latest collaborative project: MA’s complete transition to cloud-based operations. MA currently operates with an infrastructure of around 200 applications, executing key functions and hosting a number of crucial corporate systems. Each one of these applications has now been migrated to a cloud platform, which makes MA, according to its own records, one of the first full-service airline in the industry to have replaced all of its existing data centres with cloud-based services.
The migration took place using a hybrid model, entailing that 80% of the applications now run on public cloud platform Microsoft Azure, whereas 20% have been transferred to a private cloud network. In order to bring about a smooth and cost-effective transition, the consulting firm collaborated with a number of other service providers including, but not limited to, major players such as Microsoft and SAP.
Specifically, the project not only involved the relocation of so-called ‘legacy applications to the cloud platform, but also involved providing network service to the entire scale of operations. The initiative was undertaken with the objective of cutting costs and improving service, and the results are reportedly more than satisfactory.
The migration has already put MA well on track to achieve a 51% cost-reduction within five years starting 2016. Moreover, the productivity of more than 80% of MA’s core applications has improved significantly, reducing the delivery time "phenomenally" from days to hours in some cases. Other ancillary benefits of the migration include enhanced capability in the fields of security, compliance, and reporting.
MA has been delighted with the transformation efforts, as expressed by Tan Kok Meng, the Chief Information Officer for MA. “We set out with an ambitious goal to digitally transform core IT operations to an as-a-service model, to achieve a quantum leap in cost savings, scalability, efficiencies, agility, and other key factors. TCS has been an integral component of our success in our shift to cloud, serving as trusted partner throughout the journey. I am proud to say that together, Malaysia Airlines and TCS have created a solution that helps position Malaysia Airlines as a leader in digital capabilities that ultimately deliver a better customer experience."
Long-standing relationship
Meanwhile, TCS Asia Pacific president Girish Ramachandran commented, “We are delighted to have successfully assisted our long-time partner Malaysia Airlines to develop an innovative, industry-leading cloud-first model that is helping it reinvent itself and gain an edge in the highly competitive global full-service airline sector. This industry-first transformation not just drives improved value and enhanced operational efficiencies, but equally important, it enables Malaysia Airlines to deliver a better customer experience that results from a digitally-reimagined all-cloud IT model.”
The project is the latest in a long-standing relationship between the firms, starting in 2010 when they signed an initial five-year agreement for the transformation of MA’s IT service infrastructure. The transformation was completed three months ahead of schedule, and helped bring about a 90% increase in MA's capacity to monitor IT components.
Such success with IT transformation, combined with their experience and expertise with cloud platforms will help boost TCS’s local operations in India as well, particularly in light of the fact that the country’s cloud market is expected to hit $1.9 billion in value by 2019.
