Дата: 21-08-19 12:02

BLOG: ALL ABOUT DATA

BLOG: All about data

David Gammie, CIO at Edinburgh Airport, explains how smart networks help to meet increasing passenger demands for connectivity while delivering 24/7 business critical operations.

The data network is undoubtedly a key asset in any airport. It underpins everything from crucial day-to-day operations such as managing bag drops and security queues, to improving passenger experience, with optimised traffic flows and proactive management. 

It is used by multiple groups within the airport – passengers, third-party businesses, and airport staff. 

Passengers, for example, increasingly carry multiple mobile devices, which they expect to connect not only to the Wi-Fi but to location-specific applications. They also expect live updates on their flights and the airport environment.
Ediburgh aerial
At Edinburgh Airport we use three key pillars to benchmark and continuously strengthen our network performance and keep it robust – resilience, operational efficiency and innovation.

Resilience

Airport networks are subject to strict security and regulatory compliance frameworks and are highly visible. This places additional demands for high resilience on the airport network environment. 

At Edinburgh Airport we run more than 170 applications on our airport network, all managing different core aspects of the airport’s operations. A third of applications are required to be highly available,meaning that the underlying network that supports them needs to be highly resilient.

Operational efficiency

Any forward-thinking airport can now leverage technology as an enabler for optimising and automating processes. 

We have invested in multiple applications to help us achieve this and are highly regarded as an innovative airport that embraces technology that improves our operational performance and the passenger experience. 

In the UK we were the first airport in Europe to implement large-scale, shared airline self-service bag drops, as well as new screening technology for passenger hand luggage.
EDi esc
Our aim is to get people through security quickly and safely with 95% fast-track passengers moving through security in under five minutes, and 90% of regular passengers moving through security in under 10 minutes. 

We publish current real time security times on our website to help passengers plan accordingly. All this demands information in real-time through a reliable network.

Innovation

To ensure we deliver the best possible passenger experience from start to finish we need to understand the passenger journey throughout the airport, identifying and planning for potential bottlenecks before they happen. 

This is tracked real-time to ensure we optimise and stay one step ahead of our passengers. We have invested in everything from online chatbots to trolley tracking applications to manage our assets and sensors to enable proactive bin emptying. 
Edinburgh-sign
These innovations are all running on our network and their use contributed towards Edinburgh being named UK Airport of the Year and Scottish Airport of the Year in 2018.

Adapting to increased connectivity demands

Given that data networks already play such a crucial role in the modern-day airport environment, it is vital that next generation networks are designed to adapt to future challenges.

The growing number of connected devices is placing unprecedented demands on current airport networks. Internet of Things (IoT) sensors and ecosystems have multiple applications in airport operations, from tracking the locations of key assets, to tracking environmental factors like temperature or air quality.

However, IoT technology also increases the volume of connected devices on an airport’s network, the volume of data the network needs to handle, and the dynamism with which devices are added, amended and removed.

IoT requires airport networks to be more agile than ever before, rapidly configured and managed, while retaining watertight security.

Airport networks are now challenged with an unpredictable demand, and solutions need to offer greater flexibility and automation within the network, especially when it comes to managing traffic flows, prioritising traffic and adding new devices, quickly and securely.
Edi field
Software Defined Networks (SDN) can resolve the issues of cost and network scalability without sacrificing the quality of service. At Edinburgh Airport we are investing in our network to ensure we can:

• Handle the increased variety of data connections through IOT and provide granular security

• Provide operations with real time information to make improved decision support

• Manage our growth through deploying change more rapidly

• Improve management and resilience of the network infrastructure.

However, transitioning to SDN technology in a complex IT environment such as an airport is challenging, so we have partnered with independent IT advisers FarrPoint to ensure we have the technical assurance needed to invest in the right solution to satisfy our business needs. 

Investing in new network technology is not only an enabler for increased customer satisfaction and airport growth, it helps to manage the challenges of the future.


Джерело інформації: Airport World

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