Etihad Airways and Kyndryl, the world’s largest IT infrastructure services provider, today announced a multi-year agreement to help accelerate the next stage of its digital transformation journey.

Kyndryl will help Etihad modernise its IT infrastructure by facilitating the use of best-in-breed cloud platforms.

Innovation and technology have been instrumental to Etihad’s agility to adapt within the aviation industry and enhance its world-renowned guest experience. Previously, the airline has relied on a private cloud infrastructure – but to achieve further flexibility, it needed to adopt a cloud strategy that integrates various public cloud environments to support its workloads.

Accordingly, Etihad will tap Kyndryl to work closely with leading cloud providers to select fit-for-purpose cloud platforms that are based on the specific requirements of Etihad’s mission-critical workloads. Over the next three years, Kyndryl will also help migrate and manage Etihad’s workloads across the new multi-cloud environment.

Through a multi-cloud model, Etihad will have seamless access to advanced cloud services and be able to combine the capabilities that each cloud platform provides. This will enable more efficient operations and bringing innovation to market at a more rapid pace.

“As Etihad continues to evolve, its ability to push the boundaries of innovation and digitalisation within the aviation industry is necessary to create the next generation travel experience. The airline looks forward to working with Kyndryl as their expertise in cloud environments will support Etihad in becoming a more agile and sustainable airline,” said Frank Meyer, chief digital officer, Etihad.

“Etihad is long known for embedding innovation into every aspect of its operations and continuously transforming to better serve its employees and guests,” said Vickram Nagi, managing director, Kyndryl Middle East, Africa and Turkey. “We are proud to have been selected by Etihad to help facilitate the next phase of its digital transformation through the use of best-in-breed cloud platforms. This collaboration reaffirms our commitment to support mission-critical technology systems the world depends on every day and to forge strong relationships with leading technology innovators to serve our customers better.”