Manchester Airport

The implementation of a managed hosting solution from Vialtus has helped the Group provide:

• Live streaming of flight information.
• An increase in available bandwidth to handle more website traffic.
• Online booking and payment facilities for car parking.

THE MANCHESTER AIRPORTS GROUP
Consisting of the four airports around the UK, more than 28 million passengers go through the doors of the Manchester Airports Group every year. The Group also runs businesses in property development and management, baggage handling, car parking, airport security, firefighting, engineering, advertising and motor transport services. Manchester Airports Group plays a vital role in the success of UK aviation, generating around £3.2 billion for the UK economy and supporting more than 130,000 jobs across the four airports.

IN-HOUSE IT
The Group previously provisioned web services in-house. Aaron Bazler, head of infrastructure at Manchester Airports Group, explains, ”When we hosted web services in-house, there were occasions where demands from customers exceeded the available finite bandwidth to the sites. For example, during adverse weather conditions we typically experienced a surge in web traffic due to customers trying to access updated flight information, so it was critical that we addressed this issue as part of our ongoing commitment to delivering excellent customer service.” Manchester Airports Group required a stable and flexible solution to enable all four sites to be consolidated to just one provider.

A CHANGE OF DIRECTION
Manchester Airports Group put out a full tender for the contract. Bazler adds, “We selected Vilatus’ managed hosting solution as the team was fully flexible and committed to working with us and providing a solution that would meet our objectives.” The fully managed solution is monitored 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year by Vialtus Solutions, and provides internet connectivity and hosting services for all Group public websites. The solution also provides passengers with the option to pre-book their car parking online. Bazler continues, “Having commercial services available on our website allows customers to organise other aspects of their trip in advance. We also offer discounts for booking online, so they can save money as well.” Vialtus’ flexible bandwidth model was also a critical aspect to the solution, for the Group. “Given that demand on bandwidth for our websites can be unpredictable, the flexible bandwidth model that Vialtus offers was a key element for us as it allows the Group to dynamically and economically flex the available bandwidth to match demand from customers.”

FLYING HIGH
Following the implementation of the Vialtus solution, the Manchester Airports Group has seen some key benefits for both passengers and staff. Bazler continues, “The Vialtus solution is more than just a web hosting service – it adds value to our IT systems and helps us provide a better service to those using the websites.” “We have four secure websites hosted in a secure environment which is of paramount importance to us. Installing the managed solution means we have been able to eliminate a single point of failure and ensure that we have full backup to reduce downtime and all the necessary information is still available to the public.” Another of the key benefits for the Group is the live stream of information that is available to passengers on the website. ” Travelling customers want the most reliable and up to date information on arriving/departing flights. Using a secure IP VPN link direct to Vialtus Solutions, all of this data is uploaded automatically from the source servers, no matter how busy the site is.” “With the Vialtus solution, we now have in place a flexible hosted web infrastructure, that enables us to offer a reliable, secure and cost effective solution to our customers,” concludes Bazler. The flexible bandwidth model is also critical for the Group to dynamically expand the available bandwidth as required. This means the team at Manchester Airports Group knows that crucial information services will always be accessible to our customers.