Iona, the Enterprise Portal Company, has announced that Southwest Airlines has chosen Orbix 2000, the standards-based e-business infrastructure of Iona`s iPortal Suite, for the continued development of the airline industry`s leading Internet reservation system.
Orbix 2000 will enable Southwest to leverage its existing technology infrastructure and integrate its back-end systems with new Web-based applications to deploy enterprise portals and other consumer friendly e-commerce applications.
Using Orbix 2000`s standards-based open architecture design, Southwest can seamlessly integrate ticketing systems, customer databases and other customer support applications to enhance the ease-of-use of southwest.com and extend greater benefits to its customers.
Southwest was the first major US airline to introduce online ticketing in April 1996, and recently announced it has the largest airline e-commerce site, with revenues of $250 million in online sales during the fourth quarter of 1999. Southwest is expected to record in excess of $1 billion in revenues from www.southwest.com in 2000.
"In today`s competitive market it`s imperative that we offer our customers the same functionality and service online as we would in the traditional ticket sales process," says Joyce Rogge, VP Marketing, Southwest Airlines. "By helping us leverage our existing technology and develop new capabilities, Iona is helping us develop a website that supports our corporate strategies; providing our customers the best service available and offering Southwest Airlines a business advantage."
Southwest`s decision to adopt the latest version of Iona`s Orbix technology is a result of the two organisations` standing technology relationship. Iona began its relationship with Southwest in 1996 when the airline made the decision to use Orbix OTM to create its initial Corba-based infrastructure in the development of its online ticketing system.
With the adoption of Orbix 2000, Southwest is ensuring the strength of its existing e-business applications, including online ticketing. As the foundation of Iona`s iPortal Suite, Orbix 2000 also provides Southwest with a scalable e-business platform that supports the extension of Corba throughout the enterprise, enabling the deployment and management of distributed applications.
"As a leader in the airline industry, Southwest realises how critical e-business infrastructure is to the future of their business," says Ed Gaudet, VP, Worldwide Marketing at IONA. "We`ve worked with Southwest for years, and we`re thrilled to extend our relationship to help them deliver a world-class enterprise portal."
Iona products are distributed in South Africa by CCH Software Development.
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