Etihad has announced another technology tie-up, signing a three-year multi-million dollar deal with Cognizant as part of the airline's (and its partners') digital transformation.
The consultancy side of Nasdaq-listed Cognizant will take a look at Etihad's current business process and IT set-up in order develop a new platform with "multi-channel distribution, customer persona segmentation and personalised marketing techniques" identified as the project's main aims.
Giving Emirates' Etihad's customer-facing staff access to data and tools as part of the push towards customized and personalized experiences is also on Cognizant's to-do list.
The official release says that "Cognizant will enable Etihad Airways, and subsequently its equity partners, to better understand the needs of their guests..." reinforcing the fact that many of Etihad's new partnerships are signed with a view to strengthening these relationships.
Etihad's chief information and technology officer Robert Webb, highlighting the importance the airline places on having "an exceptional digital guest experience that matches our remarkable in-flight and on-ground experience..."
The theory and practice of digital transformation was discussed at length during IATA's CIO Forum which took place alongside the IATA World Passenger Symposium in Hamburg this October. Webb was one of the speakers, and his presentation was headed Digital Transformation Moving Beyond The Hype.
He stressed that Etihad was not thinking about an "IT strategy" but more along the lines of a "technology and innovation strategy".
The Cognizant deal is the latest technology and innovation partnership signed by Etihad which states that its "partner airlines" are also in line to benefit.
As a reminder the Etihad Airways Partner airlines are airberlin, Air Serbia, Air Seychelles, Alitalia, Etihad Regional, Jet Airways and NIKI.
Meanwhile, Travelport has announced that Etihad has gone live on its Rich Content and Branding product, with the airline's Fare Choices searchable, sellable and bookable on Travelport’s Smartpoint platform.
Related reading from Tnooz:
Etihad (and partners) sign $700 million tech deal with IBM (Oct15)
Keep one eye on Etihad Airways Partners (and Sabre’s supporting role), after IFE deal (Oct15)
NB IATA has made public the presentations which were featured during the CIO Forum mentioned above. Click here to access the PDF, which runs to 368 pages. Webb's slides appear from page 20 to 38.