UK tour operator riding Linux, cuts 40 pc costs

NEW DELHI, INDIA: Micro Focus, a provider of enterprise application modernization, testing and management solutions, has announced that Cosmos Holidays, the UK’s largest independent tour operator, has migrated its critical Tour Operation System to a Linux operating system using Micro Focus Server Express and Micro Focus Server for COBOL.

As a result, Cosmos Holidays has been able to reduce its operating costs by 40 per cent per year over a three year period. The savings are being re-invested in additional connectivity for Cosmos’ new e-commerce platform, making it even simpler and quicker for customers and agencies to book holidays. The project will achieve positive return on investment within 12 months, adds a press release.

Cosmos Holidays’ Tour Operation Reservation System underpins all the company’s e-commerce, is responsible for handling all reservations made with the organization and is used by up to 300 travel agencies at any one time, making it one of the most critical systems in the entire IT infrastructure. It was previously running on UNIX on HP9000. Cosmos was not only facing increasing hardware costs, but the ageing architecture was lengthening report times. The tour operator was faced with two options – either invest in a new HP9000 system or migrate the application to Linux. Following extensive testing, it soon realised that the Linux option was significantly decreasing report times.

Cosmos Holidays made the decision to migrate the application to Linux and, following a competitive pitch, the company opted to use Micro Focus COBOL on the new platform.

Rainer Kern, IT Infrastructure Manager, Cosmos Holidays said: “Since going live in April 2009, we have been very impressed with Micro Focus COBOL. We are realising significant financial benefits and the new platform has allowed us to considerably increase our efficiency. We are very pleased that we have been able to use our existing systems to generate so much value to our business and, ultimately, enhance the service for our customers.”

As well as the 40 per cent cost saving, report times are now running up to ten times faster, meaning senior management have the latest information on sales and trends at their fingertips, allowing them to make strategic decisions on the direction of the company.