Successful implementation of NetLine, Lido and SIRAX applications on cloud platform | Improved service quality and level of innovation
Raunheim, Germany | April 17, 2019–Lufthansa Systems today announced that it has integrated its solutions for flight operations (NetLine), route planning and navigation (Lido) and finance management (SIRAX) into a new cloud delivery platform following a successful project phase. The Global Aviation Cloud is a cloud service developed specifically to meet the needs and security standards of airlines. Lufthansa Systems has thus created a forward-looking infrastructure for its customers which deliver administrative, operational and technological benefits. The ultimate goal is to offer the entire Lufthansa Systems product portfolio as a cloud service in the near future.
“The strategic shift from monolithic legacy systems to cloud services is a major challenge in the aviation industry. Technologies such as AIX, which was the basis for the development of our Lido product, are not easy for cloud platforms to handle because they are closely tied to hardware. We therefore completely overhauled Lido’s software architecture so that we could expedite the creation of the cloud,” said Oliver Grimm, Head of IT Infrastructure Development, Technology & Information Security at Lufthansa Systems. “We successfully tested the various solutions from the cloud, and the first customers have already migrated. This has laid the foundation for the innovative and future-proof Global Aviation Cloud.”
Thanks to cloud solutions, it is often no longer necessary to run applications, systems and resources locally on a physical server (on-premise). Instead, they can be provided and used as needed in the form of software as a service (SaaS). “With the SaaS model we offer our customers full service from a single source so they can concentrate on their core business. As the service provider, Lufthansa Systems handles all of the IT administration, including maintenance and software updates,” said Grimm.
A complete cloud governance model was defined and set up as part of the Global Aviation Cloud. This also covers the creation of new teams and roles. The Operations Center in Budapest, for example, is responsible for infrastructure operations and was established alongside the pure application operations. The end-to-end managed service is therefore completely within the domain of Lufthansa Systems.
Lufthansa Systems primarily uses Microsoft Azure as its public cloud provider. Special technical set-ups relating mainly to security aspects turn the public cloud into a virtual private data center. With a growing number of data centers in 54 regions around the world, Azure can provide services in close proximity to customer sites, which enables faster data transmission. The strategic partnership with the cloud provider additionally increases the flexibility, scalability and security of the applications.
By 2021, the more than 70 customers using Lido, NetLine and SIRAX products should be able to access the solutions on-demand from the Global Aviation Cloud.
Airline customers of the revenue accounting solution meet up in Hamburg
Raunheim | June 27, 2018– Lufthansa Systems is hosting its 13th Sirax User Conference this week. The Sirax community is meeting in Hamburg from June 26 to 28. At the event, Lufthansa Systems presents new features for the Sirax product family such as the new X1 Tax Module for automatic tax calculation. Around 50 attendees, including representatives of 20 customer airlines of all sizes and business models, will use the conference to discuss current issues and trends, and define new ideas for upcoming releases.
“Efficient and accurate revenue accounting has to meet requirements that are complex and sometimes change dynamically. Tax regulations and country-specific aspects also need to be considered,” said Andreas Reimann, Head of Finance & Commercial Products & Solutions at Lufthansa Systems. “Our Sirax product family is ideally positioned to meet these requirements with the new X1 Tax Module, and it is continuously advanced, updated and enhanced together with our customers.”
The new X1 Tax Module, which is part of the Sirax revenue accounting solution, calculates all applicable taxes fully automatically based on travel data. The system checks tax regulations and other conditions (YQ/YR conditions) depending on the routing, issue terms and other details of a passenger’s trip and applies the appropriate taxes for the trip. Tax calculation is based on Airline Tariff Publishing Company (ATPCO) tax rules (X1/2) and thus includes all required charges, levies and fees (TTBS/RATD, YQ/YR and PFC). All daily updates provided by ATPCO are automatically fed into the tax module’s database.
The new functionality has been developed on customer request and is now available to all Sirax customers. Many product enhancements such as this new feature are initiated directly by the community, including new functionalities for automatically detecting scheduled changes, bug fixes related to the Fare Calculation Box, and workflow improvements.
Prior to the annual user conference, the community always comes together without Lufthansa Systems to collect suggestions for product enhancements and discuss which ideas deliver the greatest benefit to airlines. These ideas are then presented during the conference. “This approach is unique in the industry and highly appreciated by our customers,” said Reimann. “It enables us to adapt the Sirax revenue accounting solution even more precisely to client-specific requirements.”
In addition to new functionalities, Lufthansa Systems also presents the new Sirax product family portfolio at this year’s user conference. The product family includes revenue accounting products like Sirax/RA, Sirax/Credit and Sirax/Cockpit, services such as providing the new X1 Tax Module as a web service, and encryption systems (pEngine, sEngine). Lufthansa Systems also offers corresponding consulting services.
More information on the Sirax product family is available online at:
https://www.lhsystems.com/
Presentation of new product developments and close interaction with customers
Kelsterbach, Germany | June 16, 2015– Lufthansa Systems is welcoming customers to its 10th Sirax User Conference in Hamburg. This long-standing forum is aimed especially at customers using the Sirax AirFinance Platform revenue accounting solution and offers an opportunity for direct interaction between the provider and the community. Around 70 participants from 15 customer airlines of all sizes and business models will spend today and tomorrow in lectures and workshops learning about new products and features of the Sirax revenue management tool as well as new international standards and legislation for revenue accounting.
Among other things, Lufthansa Systems will introduce the Data Discovery product pillar, which uses the latest in-memory technology for faster data processing. Even large amounts of data can now be evaluated virtually in real time. This speeds up airline accounting processes and enables new forms of data analysis which can offer competitive advantages. In this context, Lufthansa Systems is also presenting its new Sirax/Volume and Sirax/Mobile products. New technologies for boosting efficiency are the major drivers behind the further development of the Sirax AirFinance Platform.
“With our solution, we want to help airlines automate their processes, simplify their accounting and generate higher additional revenues,” explained Tobias Kujac, Director Product Management and Development Finance Solutions, who organizes the conference. The Sirax AirFinance Platform from Lufthansa Systems is the first integrated platform to optimize all of an airline’s finance processes. In close coordination with IATA – which also has representatives attending the Sirax User Conference – Lufthansa Systems works to ensure, that the solution not only meets common standards but also covers the latest and future developments such as Dish 22 and NDC (New Distribution Capability).
“We will naturally talk about trends and innovations surrounding our product at the Sirax User Conference. But the focus is on close interaction with our customers. The revenue management issues they deal with every day are the basis of our work. We want to tailor future product developments to these practical needs,” Kujac said. “The participants really value this interaction.”
Inflight connectivity is about getting data to and from a passenger’s laptop, or getting their voice to the right ear, wherever that might be. The technology behind it may not be interesting to passengers, but it is technological developments, such as TriaGnoSys’ new GSM roaming solution, that drive increased efficiencies, reduce costs and thereby enable airlines to offer more connectivity to more people.”