Qatar Airways said it has joined hands with Qatar Telecom to successfully complete the migration of its primary IT infrastructure to the purpose-built Qtel data centre.

The Qatari groups have agreed to a 15-year strategic technology partnership, which will see the duo co-operate and explore synergies in the areas of IT infrastructure and platform sourcing and maintenance, contact centres as a service, global connectivity and a whole portfolio of managed services for regional and global enterprises.

As the Qatari airline's primary IT infrastructure business partner, Qtel will provide a broad range of strategic enterprise services, enhancing the performance and redundancy of the airline's IT systems.

The deal was signed by Qtel chairman Sheikh Abdulla bin Mohammed bin Saud Al-Thani and Qatar Airways chief executive officer Akbar Al Baker.

Under this deal, Qatar Airways’ core business systems will now be operated from the Qtel data centre in the capital Doha.

Commenting on the agreement, Qtel CEO Dr Nasser Marafih said, 'Much has been written about how Qatar Airways changed the game in the airline industry. Now Qatar Airways has enlisted the full range of Qtel's IT and communication solutions to help take its business to an even higher level.'

'Our solutions will harness the power of IT to become an enabler for Qatar Airways business,' he remarked.

'The purpose-built facility is connected to some of the most advanced data networks in the world, and supported by a range of world-class solutions, to enable Qatar Airways to continue the ongoing expansion that has made it one of the fastest-growing and most-respected airlines in the world,' he added.

Al Baker said, 'By investing in the world’s best infrastructure backbone supported by a leading Qatari partner, Qatar Airways is ensuring that we have the foundations for the further growth and development of our services.'

'With Qtel’s support, we have successfully migrated our primary IT infrastructure to this new facility and can reap the full benefits of enhanced capacity and improved reliability,' he added.-TradeArabia News Service