Charlie Kelly Critique #1

Virgin Blue Group has partnered with Verizon Business in order to better their information systems. In an article entitled Virgin Blue Group Entrusts Core Business Application Monitoring to Verizon Business, found on SunHerald.com, it discusses how the Australian airline is partnering with Verizon Business for reasons being they can, “Provide round-the-clock monitoring of the airline’s critical information systems”. Virgin Blue hopes to gain better revenue management, engineering, air-to-ground data transfers, and better office applications so that their employees and customers will have better access to what they need from the airline.
By improving their information systems through Verizon Business Virgin Blue is hoping to better their airline in many areas as stated before, but it is how Verizon Business plans to do this is the real question. We will start by looking at how Verizon is going to improve the revenue management for Virgin Blue which is no easy task, being that it is an international airline and the owner of three other airlines. Verizon Business is going to help Virgin Blue Group improve on its revenue management by managing its business applications. The new information system will enable Virgin Blue to keep track of its aircraft inventory, manage seat pricing systems, and other core business applications.

New technology allows for a company to expand and become more efficient. The new IT in place will most certainly do this for Virgin Blue especially after the airline just picked up its third airline, V Australia, an international airline which has been rapidly expanding, according to the article, and seems to be the reason for Virgin Blue’s new partnership with Verizon Business. “International expansion through V Australia, prompted Virgin Blue to seek a highly reliable outsourcing partner so it could free up its internal IT resources to focus on its evolving IT needs,” as is explained here, the expanding airline needed something to help with not only the expansion of the company but the expansion of its IT capabilities, just like new and greater revenue is going to be brought into the company and there becomes a need to manage that but there becomes a greater need with engineering of aircrafts, and data.

Virgin Blue Group is doing more than expanding the company with just revenue and customer base, but also through the use of Verizon’s IT capabilities the airline company can keep up with air-to-ground data which is crucial to the safety of the aircrafts in the air and that of the passengers, but also important for the company to know where their planes are flying, how the engines are holding up, and anything they need to know at the drop of a hat. The new technology of today such as Blackberry’s are enabling Virgin Blue to reach its employees whenever needed through its new IT provider so business can be done anywhere at any time, just among a few of the things that Verizon Business is providing for Virgin Blue Group.

“We wanted a partner with the ability, skills and capacity to respond to potential problems at any time of the day.” David Harvey, the General Manager of IT for Virgin Blue is quoted here speaking about Verizon Business and why the partnership began. While Virgin Blue and its other airlines boast, “more than 18 million passengers annually to 42 destinations in 11 countries around the World,” it is plain to see why the need for unparalleled information systems is needed to make them a successful and prosperous company.

Article can be found on http://www.sunherald.com/prnewswire/story/1617199.html