Intelligent CIO Africa Issue 07 | Page 7

NEWS Kenya Airways to increase group booking revenue with Sabre Kenya Airways is broadening its revenue streams, having implemented the latest group booking technology from Sabre Corporation. The new approach to group bookings will see the airline use Sabre’s AirVision Group Optimizer platform to streamline group revenue management processes and provide a more holistic view of each booking. Sabre’s Group Optimizer will now enable Kenya Airways to compare the potential revenue opportunity from a new group reservation request against the projected revenue for individually sold seats on the same flight, automatically identifying the most profitable option available. This new decision support capability can improve revenue by as much as 2%. Dino Gelmetti, Vice President EMEA, Airline Solutions at Sabre said: “Airlines can increase their revenue using the right technology to provide a holistic view of each traveller – and the same concept applies to groups.” In addition, by implementing Group Optimizer the airline will be able to offer self-service capabilities to its agencies and travel buyers. “With its quick turnaround time, our new group booking tool is able to accomplish group travel reservations in minutes rather than days,” said Sebastian Mikosz, Group Managing Director and CEO, Kenya Airways. “With this new tool, we therefore aim to improve sales effectiveness for our customers as well as increase customer satisfaction by providing tailored offers, while also maximising the revenue contribution from group business.” Sabre’s AirVision Group Optimizer is delivered via a partnership with Infiniti Software Services. Sapiens to leverage Microsoft’s new data centres for cloud-based services in SA Sapiens International Corporation, a leading global provider of software solutions for the insurance industry, has announced that it intends to leverage Microsoft’s two new data centres for its cloud-based services in South Africa. To better serve customers looking for an affordable and flexible option to traditional on-premise IT operations, Sapiens partnered with Microsoft Azure in 2015. Microsoft has recently officially announced that it is opening two new cloud data centres in Johannesburg and Cape Town, and this latest development precedes Sapiens’ imminent establishment of its new head office and an expanded presence in South Africa. Insurer and financial services organisations are hesitant, and many times prohibited legally, from moving sensitive customer data offshore. These two new centres will enable South African companies to enjoy the benefits www.intelligentcio.com of the cloud, which includes cost savings from not having to upgrade and then maintain new IT infrastructure during modernisation projects, while still complying with data governance and sovereignty regulations. Gary Tessendorf, Sapiens’ South African Regional Director said: “There is interest in the South African market in the cloud’s potential to help insurers remain agile, while keeping costs low. I am confident that Sapiens’ robust presence in South Africa, the two new data centres, and the partnership between Microsoft Azure and Sapiens will build upon each other to help create an ideal solution for local insurers.” INTELLIGENTCIO 7