Travelport, the business services provider to the global travel industry, and IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announce they are extending their relationship, with a new hardware and software agreement.  The new agreement continues Travelport’s ongoing program and investment in technology and includes upgrades to existing systems architecture and software infrastructure. 

Through its newly extended relationship, Travelport will continue the transformation of its industry-leading technology platform to vastly increase the amount of information and transactions it processes, while delivering the most efficient next generation travel transaction processing system.

Commenting on developments, Gordon Wilson, President and CEO, Travelport, said:  “This agreement extends a 35-year business relationship between Travelport and IBM. Using the latest IBM hardware, software and middleware allows us to support the more sophisticated functionality required by our customers and the continued growth of Travelport’s business.”  

Specifically, Travelport is implementing a cluster of eight new IBM zEnterprise mainframes, a system designed to secure and manage critical information. zEnterprise will primarily be used to run Travelport's new IBM z/TPF transaction processing system, which enables extremely high transaction volumes and supports Services Oriented architecture (SOA) services that delivers travel reservation functions through multiple channels including mobile devices, kiosks, and the web.  These improvements will benefit customers in all segments of the travel industry, while delivering the most efficient next generation travel transaction processing system.

The company's zEnterprise cluster will be integrated with IBM System x and Power System servers in a hybrid architecture. In addition, Travelport will run an IBM PureFlex system to provide the backbone of a system for its mission critical databases and applications. The elasticity of the system will allow it to quickly scale to meet fluctuating client demands during high-travel periods. Travelport will also use an integrated platform of IBM software including Websphere, Rational and Tivoli as well as IBM Smarter Storage solutions.

“While these transactions are invisible to most consumers, speed, reliability and flexibility are of the utmost importance in the travel industry,” said Marty Salfen, General Manager, Travel & Transportation, IBM. “This agreement further demonstrates our mutual focus on supporting one of the most critical aspects of the travel industry as Travelport continues to introduce new services, while maintaining the travel industry’s most resilient technology platform.”