Airbus - Claranet Provides Hosting Solution

Airbus is one of the world’s leading aircraft manufacturers. Airbus designs, builds, sells and supports the most modern and comprehensive family of aircraft in the world, setting new standards that shape the future of the airline industry. They consistently capture around 50 per cent more of all orders for airliners with more than 100 seats.

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Airbus employs 57,000 people and produces a comprehensive range of commercial aircraft renowned for their efficiency, innovation, economy and safety. It has captured the imagination of the world with the A380 - the biggest airliner ever built - which is setting new standards for the aviation industry. Airbus facilities and personnel are situated in the major airline market areas around the globe, creating an efficient, proactive network for the production and support of its highly successful airliner product line. With training and customer support centres in France, USA and China; onsite support from 29 managers and 160 field officers; and 1,500 suppliers in 30 countries, Airbus relies on the speed, resilience and security of its IT networks to ensure they deliver the best quality of service to their customers and suppliers.

The Challenges

Operating four websites worldwide and dynamic sub-sites for special products or events, Airbus needed a reliable partner to build and manage a tailored hosting service to meet its unique online needs. The Airbus websites need to be available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. They have to be resilient and able to withstand great surges in web traffic. Airbus also needs to update all its websites in real time. Due to the sensitive nature of the aeronautic industry, Airbus's technical partners have to be highly reliable, expert and available at all times. This means going beyond the basic requirements of the contract to ensure all parts of the site are online and working at all times. The high technical and service demands of the project led Airbus to turn to Claranet, the trusted technical partner for national and international businesses.

The Solution

Airbus outsourced the hosting and the management of its websites to Claranet. Claranet worked closely with Airbus to understand its IT requirements before designing, implementing and managing a tailored hosting platform based on three primary elements: improved infrastructure redundancy; dedicated data storage, access and back-up systems; and the ability to update content in real time. To update content in real time, Claranet adapted the platform to be compliant with a worldwide cache solution. The Airbus websites are updated using a tailored Content Management System (CMS). This includes a synchronisation system which Claranet developed to store website edits and updates before they are published. A key advantage of the managed hosting platform is a ‘pre-production' platform, which makes it possible to change and edit the websites with no risk of unavailability. DIAGRAM Dedicated data storage and centralised data access is provided through a NAS (Network Attached Storage) system. NAS enables Airbus to share storage between the back office, the pre-production platform and the front office. This means Claranet can quickly add a new server if needed, as there is no need to copy the website data across. A data backup system safeguards Airbus's business data, and a firewall is deployed as part of a security policy to defend the website from online threats and attacks.

The Result

Claranet's technical framework supports the most appropriate applications to meet Airbus's unique online needs. The principle benefit of the solution is that the Airbus website is available without interruption. The applications are redundant and supported by Claranet's Technical Account Manager. On the day of the Airbus A380's first public appearance, the website received more than 600,000 unique visitors. A further 750,000 visitors flocked to the website on the day of the super jumbo jet's maiden flight. The platform was designed to withstand such dramatic peaks in traffic. The solid and reliable technical framework was closely managed by a Technical Account Manager to ensure there was no degradation in customer experience. Despite this dramatic peak in web traffic, visitors to the Airbus website didn't experience any unavailability.

The close working relationship we have with our Technical Account Manager has helped foster a good relationship with our other web partners and create the feeling of a "virtual web team" around airbus.com. We have been working with Claranet and with our Technical Account Manager for several years now. We have developed a good working relationship, with mutual trust and understanding. - Airbus's Internet Manager