Mission Critical app for US Airlines off to Patni

BANGALORE, INDIA: Patni Computer Systems and the Air Transport Association of America (ATA), a trade association for the principal U.S. airlines, today announced that Patni has been contracted to develop, implement and maintain the next generation of the ATA Aviation Marketplace to serve the entire airline industry.

The ATA Aviation Marketplace is a leading industry resource for sourcing aviation parts. The system, used by more than 150 major suppliers and 60 airlines across the globe, contains more than six million records and is a mission-critical tool to facilitate up to 20,000 purchase orders per month for many major airlines. This is the first major upgrade to the system since its redevelopment nearly 10 years ago, adds a press note.

Working together, Patni and ATA have completed the business requirements for the upgrade. Over the next year, Patni will produce specifications for the system and conduct all coding and development in preparation for hosting by early 2011.

“Airlines and suppliers look to ATA for the unbiased information, data and support they need to keep the transportation system operating optimally,” said ATA President and CEO James C. May. “Patni has the skill, knowledge and experience that we are looking for to deliver a world-class system”

The company will utilize its expertise to implement state-of-the-art technologies to streamline the Marketplace’s operations and facilitate real-time updates to support ad-hoc ordering by airlines.  The use of Web services technology will give participating suppliers the ability to provide current information on key business drivers such as on-hand inventory quantities, while Patni’s Marketplace development approach will make the implementation ‘cloud-ready’ for production hosting. The project will also include a new, more streamlined graphical user interface, enhanced data delivery capabilities and improved security features.