We’re Moving To An Open Cloud Platform With Amadeus: LeylaAkgez-Laakso, CIO Finavia

Finavia, the public limited company responsible for maintaining and developing Finland's airport network, has chosen Amadeus as its partner to modernize the company's technology infrastructure.

Finavia is currently in the final stages of the large development program at Helsinki Airport. For this, the company has been on the lookout for a technology partner who would help it modernize tech infrastructure, including check-in and boarding systems.

Amadeus Flow, an integrated cloud solution by Amadeus, is now all set to modernize all aspects of passenger handling, including software, hardware, and services. The cloud solution will help Finavia connect all the company-owned airports through a single link. In this partnership, Amadeus' Airport Pay solution will also be deployed from the cloud.

"We're moving to an open cloud platform with Amadeus and that means we can roll out new innovations far more easily, without lengthy certification cycles or onsite IT projects," says LeylaAkgez-Laakso, CIO Finavia. "We're now well placed to add innovations like contactless payments quickly and easily without the need for Finavia to become a systems integrator. Airports are digitally transforming and I believe COVID-19 marks a tipping point where our industry goes cloud."

The newly available cloud infrastructure will mean that Finavia, airlines and ground handling companies will be able to easily open, close or move check-in desks, boarding gates or services with agility in response to fluctuating passenger demand caused by COVID-19.

YannickBeunardeau, Vice President Airport IT, EMEA, Amadeus, said: "Airports need to be able to roll out new capabilities quickly and they need to be able to adapt services to changing requirements of passengers. By choosing to run its infrastructure from the cloud with Amadeus, Finavia is ready to innovate for many years to come."

 

 

US retailers shift their focus on natural refrigerant-based condensing units

US retailers in recent times are demanding natural refrigerant-based condensing unit technologies, according to the recent report. The North American Sustainable Refrigeration Council (NASRC) has surveyed 13 food retailers representing more than 17,000 US locations to characterize the retailer demand for natural refrigerant-based condensing units. The report says that the retailers mostly prefer CO2 and the propane-based condensing unit.

The report demonstrates the strong demand for natural refrigerant-based condensing unit technologies in the US, with 100 percent participating retailers indicating interest in these units. Retailers have suggested using CO2-based condensing units to serve medium temperature with the refrigerated display cases. This also includes other natural condensing units, which the retailers have preferred.

NASRC recognizes that the transitioning away from HFCs to natural refrigerants is expensive, and retailers require a cost-effective and modular technology option that allows them to migrate their refrigeration loads and displace the existing system over time. The load type and corresponding capacity ranges (MBTUs) and other mediums can also reduce the cost. The real challenge is how to accelerate missions' reduction in the 38,000 stores that currently exist in the USA.

 

UK’s video game market surges as gaming fans joined by millions of newbies

Recent reports have stated that the UK videogames market hit a record £7 billion last year as lockdown fuelled a boom in the popularity of mobile games, consoles, and virtual reality headsets. The gaming industry has proved to be a coronavirus winner, with millions of consumers looking for relief from indoors. The gaming fans have been joined by millions of newbies seeking entertainment, which has given rise to an unprecedented 30 percent year-on-year increase.

The figures confirm just how valuable games proved to be stress buster across the country during the lockdown. Gaming has become the most pivotal part of UK people's life. The most significant year in UK gaming history was sparked during this fortunate time when Nintendo's family-friendly phenomenon was launched as it crossed on March when the nation went to its first lockdown.

It became the top seller during the first lockdown, outpacing the hardcore gamer favorites such as Call of Duty, Animal Crossing had helped fuel a 24 percent increase in the digital game sales for consoles to  £1.7bn last year. Total digital sales, including mobiles and PCs, have surged significantly and had overall sales of games software, including boxed games.

 

 

Turnkey Consulting collaborates with Legion star to expand its organic reach in the USA

Turnkey Consulting, a UK-based risk management consultancy firm, is all set to expand its US footprint through a joint venture deal with Chicago-based IT consultancy firm Legion Star, focusing on enterprise resource management and risk management. Legion Star provides consulting services in vivid sectors, including management, cloud, and enterprise resource planning (ERP). The platform enables its clients to plan, deploy, and manage cloud access security in different enterprises and organizations.

In partnership with Legion Star, Turnkey Consulting will be aiming to provide managed services and ERP application security, as Legion Star is a pioneer in this sector as it has completed more than 100 implementations. This agreement will also predominantly expand identity and access management (IAM), integrated risk management (IRM), and security services to the clients in the US market.

Both the firms will be looking to improve and stabilize their operations in the US portion. Both the companies will work together to drive business in North America and offer new services to clients globally. Besides facilitating mutual client introductions, the joint venture partners will also collaborate on joint marketing initiatives that include a lead generation and acquisition campaign.

 

 

Nokia’s trio of deals with Amazon, Microsoft, and Google to expand its cloud reach

Nokia Corporation, Finnish multinational telecommunications, information technology, and consumer Electronics Company, struck a trio of deals with the market's largest hyperscale firms, Microsoft Azure, Amazon Web Services (AWS), and Google Cloud. This deal will help Nokia move ahead with the 5G, radio access network (RAN), and edge markets. It also will further enable the firm to bring in innovative technologies and improve its organic growth.

Nokia's deal with AWS primarily focuses on research and development on cloud RAN and opens RAN technologies, which will enable the firm to concentrate on customer-focused 5G platforms. Nokia has stated that it will combine RAN and edge work with AWS's most advanced Outposts platform to mainly target enterprises and target service providers. It will also leverage AWS services, including Outposts, Local Zones, and Elastic Kubernetes Service (EKS).

With Microsoft, Nokia will be aiming to develop 4G LTE and %G private wireless services that target the enterprise space. It will combine with Microsoft's multi-access edge cloud platform and Azure to create a better 5G platform. The Google Cloud deal combines Nokia's RAN and cloud platforms with edge computing systems that predominantly focus on integrating Nokia's 5G virtual distributed units and centralized virtual unit. Nokia will also test its AirFrame Open Edge hardware with Anthos.