Xerox's Cloud Computing Capabilities to Aid Airline Safety

May 7, 2012
Xerox's cloud services are helping airlines share critical information, such as their flight plans and passenger details, with aviation agencies, such as the FAA and TSA.
DALLAS – May 7, 2012 – Xerox recently announced it is blending its cloud capabilities with the data expertise of AvFinity to provide airlines with an effective, simpler way to communicate. Built on Xerox’s on-demand cloud infrastructure (IaaS), AvFinity’s patent-pending software technology (SaaS) marketed as AIRS™, seamlessly shares important data and key transmissions from airlines to other carriers and countless flight authorities.While the rapid advance of technology continues to aid the North American airline industry, those same advancements are making timely and accurate communication challenging for some airlines. The pace of change specifically impacts the continual transmissions that occur during every flight, such as relaying key modifications in flight plans or weather and airport updates.

These technological advancements often involve the use of disparate or incompatible communication formats that can inhibit airlines from efficiently sharing information with key aviation agencies and airline partners around the world.

Xerox (NYSE: XRX) business cloud services are solving this problem by helping airlines share critical information, such as their flight plans and passenger details, with aviation agencies, such as the Federal Aviation Administration, the Transportation Security Administration and Customs and Border Protection, of destination countries. This means critical flight information arrives without interruption at its destination and meets each receiving party's format and protocol requirements.

“There is no room for error in ensuring safety in the skies,” said Ken Stephens, Xerox senior vice president of cloud services. “Airlines can now leapfrog to the cloud to expedite their communications and do so at costs much lower than maintaining existing mainframe systems.”

“Airlines have long relied on legacy communications systems to transmit information, However, the skies are projected to become busier as mainstream, low cost and regional carriers all increase in numbers. To manage that growth, the aviation industry as a whole desires to upgrade the way key information is shared,” said Stephens.  

“Now airlines can draw on the expertise of Xerox and AvFinity to provide seamless transmission of flight-critical communication,” said Doug Perkins, chief executive officer of AvFinity. “Airlines can transition from legacy systems that cost thousands annually to continually patch and move to lower cost, secure cloud services backed by data communications experts.”

About Xerox: With sales approaching $23 billion, Xerox (NYSE: XRX) is the world’s leading enterprise for business process and document management. Its technology, expertise and services enable workplaces – from small businesses to large global enterprises – to simplify the way work gets done so they operate more effectively and focus more on what matters most: their real business. Headquartered in Norwalk, Conn., Xerox offers business process outsourcing and IT outsourcing services, including data processing, healthcare solutions, HR benefits management, finance support, transportation solutions, and customer relationship management services for commercial and government organizations worldwide. The company also provides extensive leading-edge document technology, services, software and genuine Xerox supplies for graphic communication and office printing environments of any size. The 140,000 people of Xerox serve clients in more than 160 countries.  For more information, visit http://www.xerox.com, http://news.xerox.com or http://www.realbusiness.com.  For investor information, visit http://www.xerox.com/investor.

About AvFinity: AvFinity makes aviation communications and integration consistent and reliable. AvFinity has multiple communications solutions including AIRS™— the AvFinity software technology residing on an industry-standard Cisco router. AIRS, built by a product team with a century of combined aviation messaging experience, provides solutions that are proven through thousands of hours of operation in actual flight environments. In addition, AIRS is flexible enough to support all communications types and protocols while easily handling the frequent changes and additions to messaging and communications systems that carriers experience. Because of its standards-based design, AIRS is implemented quickly and without any impact to a carrier’s existing IT infrastructure. For more information on all AvFinity’s services, visit http://www.avfinity.com.