SITA Aero

SITA Aero Case Study

Onepoint helps client set up effective architecture capabilities

Our client is a multinational information technology company providing IT and telecommunication services to the air transport industry. It was founded in February 1949 by 11 airlines in order to bring about shared infrastructure cost efficiency by combining their communications networks.

It differentiates itself in the market by the following value propositions:

  • The company provides its services to over 430 members and 2,800 customers worldwide, which is about 90% of the world’s airline business. With 11 European airlines being part of the founding group, our client was the first company to handle data traffic in real time via a packet switched network over common carrier leased lines,
  • Presently having 4,700 employees and 2,800 customers, it operates in over 200 countries and territories, handling 30 billion business and mission critical messages for Air Transport, where its customers include airlines, airports, air freight — international freight forwarders, travel and distribution; Global Distribution Systems, governments, aerospace, ground handlers; and Air Traffic Control.
  • Its efforts have been recognised by winning the IT company of the year 2016, 2015 and 2013, and the Smart Technology Award, to name but two.

Business Drivers

Our client was undergoing a significant organisation transformation. In order to compete more effectively and remain the market leader, there was an increased pressure to:

  • Reduce cost of transformation by promoting reuse
  • Align IT transformation projects to business goals and objectives
  • Improve efficiency of project delivery without increasing technology debt
  • Use advances in technology to innovate

The Challenge

Until recently the client was a dominant player within its domain and hence had little or no need to transform significantly. The advent of new players providing cost-effective and innovative technology-based solutions within the domain has slightly dented the dominance of our client. Our client needed to transform significantly in order to compete in this new world of innovative technology solutions.

One of the several functions that was identified as requiring transformation was the architecture function within IT. It was deemed that the architecture function could help our client to innovate, align IT transformation to business objectives, reuse existing assets and support the business decision-making process.

The Solution

Onepoint adopted the following value stream process: Understand -> Analyse -> Decide -> Respond in order to assess the existing architecture capability, define the vision for the architecture team and produce an action plan (roadmap) to reach the target state. A capability assessment-based approach was used to identify the current maturity and the required maturity across the identified capabilities.

The Outcome

The delivered maturity assessment, architecture vision, architecture capability map, organisation structure, architecture governance and action plan are being used by the architecture function to improve identified capabilities and measure improvements. Onepoint continues to be engaged in validating strategies and tactics to implement the action plan.

Case Studies Category

Industry

Travel & Logistics

Solution

EA Enabling Solution

Technology

Service

Architecture Services