Intelligent CIO Middle East Issue 23 | Page 47

COUNTRY FOCUS: KINGDOM OF BAHRAIN Dr Jassim Haji (left), Director Information Technology, Gulf Air, and Sherif Tawfik, Regional General Manager, Bahrain and Oman, Microsoft Microsoft SharePoint-based website using a powerful combination of Azure and open-source software platforms. “We at Link Development have always strived to offer solutions that cater to the needs of every customer,” said Sylvana Mounir, General Manager, Digital Services, Link Development. “Microsoft innovations, coupled with our inventive ways of engagement, delivery and support, empower Gulf Air to harness technology in order to achieve their business objectives.” Gulf Air’s multilingual site gulfair. com consists of a main corporate site and sub-sites dedicated to other www.intelligentcio.com Gulf Air services, such as its passenger loyalty programme, cargo partners and customers. The main site offers a wide range of responsive features, such as travel data, baggage claim, flight booking and even local-weather information. The flexibility of Azure will allow the airline to roll out other provisions as needed. “We at Link Development have always strived to offer solutions that cater to the needs of every customer. “So much of what is needed to revitalise an organisation – empowering employees, engaging customers and transforming products – is enabled by solutions like Microsoft Azure,” said Tawfik. “Gulf Air’s success is in bringing standout experiences to its passengers. In giving them cross-device flexibility, always-on connectivity and sub-second responsiveness, the airline is successfully future-proofing its IT systems, and we are delighted to have been a part of this process.” Gulf Air’s site gulfair.com consists of a main corporate site and sub-sites dedicated to other Gulf Air services, such as its passenger loyalty programme, cargo partners and customers. The main site offers a wide range of responsive features, such as travel data, baggage claim, flight booking and even local- weather information. The flexibility of Azure will allow the airline to roll out other provisions as needed. Dr Jassim Haji, Director of Information Technology, Gulf Air, said: “The importance of the online user experience and the need for a superior online presence made us decide that a new, modern online presence was a high strategic priority. With the Azure- based portal, our unique visitor numbers have shot up, while we have reduced our backend operational costs.” Sylvana Mounir, General Manager, Digital Services, Link Development, said: “Microsoft innovations, coupled with our inventive ways of engagement, delivery and support, empower Gulf Air to harness technology in order to achieve their business objectives.” Microsoft’s Tawfik added: “So much of what is needed to revitalise an organisation – empowering employees, engaging customers and transforming products – is enabled by solutions like Microsoft Azure. “Gulf Air’s success is in bringing standout experiences to its passengers. In giving them cross-device flexibility, always-on connectivity and sub- second responsiveness, the airline is successfully future-proofing its IT systems, and we are delighted to have been a part of this process.” n INTELLIGENTCIO 47