Remote control software an important part of Emirates Airline’s strategy for growth

Emirates Airline’s investment in advanced technology is part of a global strategy for ensuring long-term growth. Part of that strategy includes using Danware’s NetOp remote control solution to reduce the time and cost of providing world-class IT support.

In the wake of September 11 last year, the management at Emirates Airline raised the red flag on new technology purchases. Wisely anticipating a global slowdown in the airline industry, Emirates decided all outstanding projects needed to revalidate their business value before they’d get the green light to proceed any further.

For Keith Gillespie, Customer Service and Support Manager at Mercator, the IT division of the Emirates Group, this meant proving once again why Danware’s NetOp Remote Control software was the right product for the airline.

“Emirates Airline wasn’t as seriously affected by September 11 as some other carriers, but the management was understandably cautious,” recalls Gillespie. “We already had a good impression of NetOp from a few smaller projects. But choosing an enterprise-wide solution’s a different matter. You have to be certain it’s going to provide a good return on your investment.”

Gillespie had already spent several months analyzing the business case for a remote control solution. This had resulted in a long and rigorous evaluation of various solutions on the market, including freeware products like VNC as well as proprietary solutions from Microsoft, McAfee and Symantec.

“We wanted a fast, effective and stable solution,” recalls Gillespie. “It had to support both Windows NT and Windows XP, and it had to work well on low bandwidth so we could support remote laptop connections.”

Other important factors were support for scripting for software distribution and solid security features.

“We checked our facts and figures again. NetOp had the features we needed and Danware came up with the best all-round solution. We resubmitted our case to the management, and got the green light to move ahead at the start of the new year.”

The contract means Emirates Airline will be installing Danware’s NetOp on all its workstations worldwide over the next couple of years. A pilot project has now been completed and the roll out is already well under way.

The primary purpose of the new software will be to improve the IT support that Gillespie’s department provides to the staff at Emirates.

“We’ll be using NetOp to diagnose and resolve problems faster. Very often we’re contacted by staff who know they have a problem with their laptop or desktop computer, but they can’t tell if it’s a hardware or a software problem. NetOp lets us take over their PC and that’s often the fastest and most cost-effective way of solving the problem.”

Last year Mercator’s 24 hour customer care department resolved 89,000 incidents – about 55% of the total - at first level. Gillespie is hoping NetOp will help him progressively increase that percentage. This will reduce the cost of supporting the IT infrastructure that Emirates Airline has developed to give them a edge in the competitive airline industry.

“For us, the cost of sending technicians around the world isn’t as high as it is in other industries. But the time they spend doing it that way and the loss of productivity for our users really adds up,” explains Gillespie. “I believe NetOp can save us time and money, and quickly provide a solid return on our investment.”

For more information about Emirates Airline, please visit www.emirates.com