Today “Aeroflot” is the leading Russian carrier and IBM announced the completion of the first stage for creating a corporate integration system of software built on the basis of IBM Websphere technology. Entrance into the operation of an integration system of different kinds of key business software based on service-oriented architecture, which maintains cohesiveness and actuality of the data used by the informational analytic complex of the “Flight management center”, of a management system with planned economic activity and corporate data protection was the result of the project.

For Aeroflot, the constant modernization of IT-systems, automatization of production, financial, and managerial processes is a vitally important condition for the development of the whole Company. On the highly competitive carrier market, with a constantly increasing passenger flow and freight volume, it is necessary to change business processes. Requirements for the IT-infrastructure are always increasing. Business requires a lot of flexibility, operative and accurate representation of the necessary information and the possibility to easily adjust solutions to scale, while ensuring the possibility of effective progress in the future from IT.

Sergei Kiryushin, assistant IT general director for OAO “Aeroflot – Russian Airlines” notes that “the task of building a single informational space for a company required a solution to the issue of data integration for the numerous working business software programs. Entrance into the OAO “Aeroflot – Russian Airlines” operation of a Corporate Integration System makes it possible to deal with this problem, and offer quality, modern IT services, which speed up and optimize the entrance into valid new informational software and minimize losses in the future progress of our IT-infrastructure. With the entrance into the operation of a Corporate Integration System, we will be able to ensure users with a reliable supply of actual and valid information necessary for the Company to work efficiently.” 

The work on the project included the creation of an integration concept, developing requirement specifics as well as project and testing systems. As a result, within the framework of the project, IВM was tested and entered into the operation of the Enterprise Service Bus (ESB).  It is IBM’s main integration solution, with a central component, which ensures data exchange between software applications. The quantity and complexity of interfaces radically decrease because in this architecture, each software application will only interact with ESB. In order to add a new IT-software application to the system, it is sufficient to hook up a standard adapter to the ESB.

The variant on the IBM WebSphere base was attractive for this project primarily due to the opportunity to deploy service-oriented architecture in order to integrate various systems of a commercial scale. IBM’s experience in doing similar projects and the opportunity to use its own service led to the project’s success.

According to Leonid Altukhov, IBM software sales director, “We’re glad that IBM’s technology and experience in data integration and software applications are used by Aeroflot. A significant simplification of the integration process of various software applications on multi-platform environments is the main goal for technology implementation based on service-oriented architecture. We believe that IBM WebSphere technology is a tight-knit collaboration with IBM specialists and Aeroflot, which will ensure that the new system for satisfying the Company’s business tasks works efficiently.”

About “Aeroflot – Russian airlines”

OAO “Aeroflot – Russian Airlines” (РТС: AFLT) is the largest Russian airline. 51% of shares belong to the State. Aeroflot was founded in 1923. It controls about 11% of the internal 39% of the international market of Russia’s carriers. The net profit for 2004 was 6 330,143 million Rubles (219 million US dollars). It is in the list of the world’s 25 leading airlines in terms financial indicators (according to the ATW version).  In 2005, Aeroflot transported 6,707 million passengers. The park contains 83 airplanes. It is based in Moscow at Sheremetevo airport. Aeroflot plans to build its own terminal - “Sheremetevo-3”- by 2007.  Detailed information about the airline can be found on the following websites: www.aeroflot.ru,  www.aeroflotbonus.ru.

IBM WebSphere platform

IBM WebSphere offers Clients integration equipment, which increases flexibility and business efficiency to the maximum level. The understanding that a flexible IT-infrastructure is an integral part of a business and determined the leading position of IBM WebSphere on the market of integrative software for uniting people, processes and information, as well as the software applications and the supporting software infrastructure on the most diverse computer platforms.

It is developed to satisfy Clients’ requirements for innovation, based on the standards of reliable and adjusted software. The WebSphere platform is used in tens of thousands of commercial companies and other organizations for complex enterprise integrations.
Source: Press Release