Emirates to link worldwide offices with SITA Intranet Connect

The new Internet Protocol (IP) network will link all Emirates' bases via SITA's Intranet Connect Service, a global end-to-end managed, secure private IP communications environment

Hani El Assaad, SITA's President Middle East and Africa, said: "For many years we have enjoyed an excellent working partnership with Emirates and Mercator, its IT division.

"SITA's Intranet Connect will give Emirates a reliable, secure high-performance private communications environment. With centrally-managed and shared applications at all its locations, Emirates will be able to maximise operational efficiency, further enhance customer service, and cut costs."

In phase one, Emirates' Dubai base and key regional centres in Singapore, London and New York will be connected together, followed by 130 other sites in airports, cities and elsewhere. The project will be completed by the end of this year.

Hugh Pride, Director IT for the Emirates Group, said: "We recognised that out-sourcing our IP-enabled global network to a single supplier was the right move.

"It will allow our IT people to concentrate on further developing Business Solutions, and we believe SITA is the only company with the global capability to operate and manage our network to our stringent business and service requirements.

"SITA's solution uses secure, layered Intranets to achieve new levels of integration, and will improve communications and applications access throughout the airline. It will be central in enabling us to operate seamlessly anywhere in the world," he said.

Intranet Connect offers a single IP solution in 130-plus countries, using one global IP network and providing unrivalled coverage and support. Used by many airlines, global distribution systems and aviation industry companies, it is fast becoming the industry standard.

SITA provides a single source for network services, IT infrastructure and applications for all aspects of worldwide airline operations. For 20 years it has worked with Emirates and DNATA in Dubai and across Emirates' global network, providing data and ground-to-air communication and applications like Cargo Reservations.