Finnair stands out as one of the top global airlines when it comes to harnessing the latest digital advances. One contributing factor is Finnair's decision to migrate its information systems to the cloud. Which factors are key to a successful cloud migration, and what benefits can it yield?
Finnair carried out its comprehensive cloud migration shortly after the coronavirus pandemic began five years ago. The airline took full advantage of that quiet period when flight operations were minimal. However, that was not the endpoint, but part of the company’s ongoing digital development.
"Moving to the cloud was a good strategic decision, but it’s just one part of a long-term process that began almost ten years ago. Scheduling this migration during a period when there were very few flights facilitated project implementation," says Tiina Flytström, Vice President, Common Platforms at Finnair.
Finnair has ascertained that all the targets set for its comprehensive cloud migration have been achieved. The company is now seeing substantial and ongoing business benefits from it.
"The recovery of air traffic and growth in passenger numbers highlighted the benefits of this technology. These include cloud scalability, cost-efficiency and a flexible service model. In the cloud, we can quickly increase or decrease capacity as needed. Business support becomes more efficient. Thanks to the cloud environment, customers also enjoy faster access to digital services as their development work accelerates," says Flytström.
"We are global pioneers in digital development in our industry."
Clear goals are the starting point for success
Flytström says that the cloud migration was like any other project – the keys to success were setting clear goals, good planning, straightforward communications throughout the organisation, support from senior management, the right level of expertise and well-chosen partners.
"It’s essential to define what problem the cloud is being used to solve and why the project is being carried out. We need to look at what the needs and starting points are and take our decisions accordingly."
Organisations migrating to the cloud and working there must pay attention to data security, costs and management. The basic principles of management are the same as in a traditional environment, but because things move faster, tighter control is necessary.
Now that Finnair's services have been centralised on cloud platforms, management and maintenance are simpler and more transparent. For example, server security updates can be conveniently carried out from one location.
Continuous development of the corporate culture is also vital for success
Flytström emphasises that Finnair never considered its cloud migration as merely a technical update. What else does it involve, then?
"This is a large-scale, ongoing transformation project that affects our operating model. For that reason, success hinges on changes in our corporate culture, and this calls for support and training for personnel, and communications about why this is being done. To a great extent, this involves normal change management," says Flytström.
Employees have also felt that these changes are positive. This also serves recruitment.
"We want to ensure that our employees have all that they need to perform at their best. Younger people in particular want to work in positions with state-of-the-art environments."
The public cloud is one such environment, especially with respect to service development. Developers have access to a full suite of application development tools. In addition, Finnair relies on modern development models.
Customer experience as the guiding principle
Finnair has thoroughly assessed the success and impact of its cloud migration. During the project itself, the company monitored issues such as whether the project was progressing on the agreed schedule and whether there were any critical errors requiring a temporary rollback to the earlier system.
Finnair now monitors its information systems using numerous indicators linked to its core business activities. One of the most important factors in air travel is punctuality, which has a major impact on the passenger experience.
"We measure the impact of IT systems on punctuality. Our initial performance was already good, but we’ve seen the number of IT disruptions fall to a tenth of what it was previously," says Flytström.
Over the past five years, cloud technology has developed at a brisk pace. Finnair has been utilising artificial intelligence for a long time in many ways, such as in assisting planning and decision-making. Generative AI has opened up new possibilities. Cloud technology facilitates the rapid deployment of AI tools, increases opportunities for integration and makes data easily accessible.
The guiding principles for development are customer needs and experience, as well as the objective of supporting the company's strategy through digital development.
"Our cloud journey is ongoing. And that’s how it must be, so that we can develop customer-friendly services as technology evolves. Last year, we modernised our networks and network technologies to ensure that the entire system supports our services from the customer interface all the way to the final level.”
How does Managed SASE (MSASE) solution enhance and simplify enterprise security architecture? Read more in our press release.
