Etihad Signs USD$700 Million IT Deal With IBM

Etihad Airways has signed a 10-year USD$700 million deal with IBM for a range of information technology services and infrastructure.

The state-owned airline with equity stakes in Alitalia and Air Berlin among others chose IBM to move its IT infrastructure to cloud-based platforms to serve its clients better, a statement said.

IBM will provide a global technology framework for Etihad and its partners, including setting up a data centre in Abu Dhabi that will be developed and operated by IBM, one of the first such facilities in the Middle East.

Robert Webb, chief information & technology officer at Etihad, said the deal would provide the airline and its partners with a secure and resilient delivery platform.

Among the fastest growing airlines in the world, Etihad carried 14.8 million passengers in 2014 and serves 113 passenger and cargo destinations.