Systems Integration
An Airport Systems Integration approach serving the world's busiest airports
Ultra has always been at the forefront of developments in airport systems integration, closely monitoring developments in the IT industry, then applying our expertise and experience to tailor field-proven solutions to the airport environment.
Recent developments now offer airport IT managers the opportunity to integrate legacy and state-of-the-art systems and achieve:
- Maximum operational efficiency.
- A reduced cost of ownership of systems.
- Increased responsiveness to the changing needs of the business.
- Improved services that meet Service Level Agreements.
These developments are: the emergence of off-the-shelf software packages targeted specifically at the needs of systems integration, and the adoption of XML as the de facto international, open standard for information exchange between systems.
Ultra's approach is to select the most appropriate integration product and tailor it, adding airport specific capabilities, using our expertise in airport operational systems, and experience from major integration projects, such as Hong Kong, Zurich and London Heathrow Terminal 5.
This formula results in:
- 'Loosely coupled' interfaces, which makes individual system upgrade or replacement much easier and less costly.
- A system design for the long-term - XML is here to stay.
- Faster implementation of (re-usable) interfaces using standard technologies.
- Commonality with other airports and stakeholders (ACI/IATA standardisation work).
Key to the success of integration projects is Ultra's migration strategy, which allows existing legacy systems to remain unchanged, whilst introducing new systems using the new technology.
"Ultra's extensive airport systems experience and expertise has been invaluable in developing BAA's approach to systems integration"
Head of Systems, BAA Terminal 5 programme
