In order to reinforce the commercial teams’ effectiveness (marketing, sales, after-sales), Airbus wanted to own a tool allowing to simply analyze large statistical data volumes from the civic air navigation market.
The business Information Object (BIO) project lead in an agile way, the development of a decisional solution, DigDash Enterprise. It brings to more than 300 users a solution to transform the huge database (5 billion savings) in relevant information. Today, Airbus’ business units are capable of identifying trends, write key marketing messages, to orient clients on coherent models and to project them on tangible gain leads linked to the exploitation of its planes.
Big Data means big
Statistical data analysis of the global aeronautic market in the last 30 years potentially contains important information to marketing teams. However, until now the aviator did not dispose of a tool capable of treating consequent volumes of information. The main BIO project challenge consists of building a tool allowing to treat very large data volume; without having to reset a multidimensional analytics grid (cube) at each new analytical query. Not having an adapted solution, Airbus turned to SQLI. They intervened on an already existing decisional base and knew the context and the business. Therefore, they recommended DigDash Enterprise, a decisional tool based on in-memory computing technology. A solution that allows creating web consultable dashboards.
Eric Gavoty, VP of sales & marketing de DigDash, specifies: “Our software, DigDash Enterprise, can natively analyze structured and unstructured data and manage very large data volumes (in this case, more than 5 billion lines with almost instantaneous responses). It ensures a top-notch spot as an agile Big Data or Big Analytics software.”
Claudie Costes-Druilhe, director of SQLI decisional unit, adds: “SQLI has rapidly integrated and distributed DigDash Enterprise. The idea was to respond to the dashboard conception and the data exploration on large databases problematics. All of it, considering the complexity of the Information Systems to integrate. This vision has been shared with our clients at a “breakfast”. It was organized in Toulouse in partnership with the editor, and was followed by the successful execution in this project’s scope.”
An agile project in a “plateau” way
More than the stocking problematics, importing massive loads of data was a challenge. More specifically, it was the analysis of crossed imported data with Airbus’ internal data that were primordial. This was especially for the business and IT teams that opted for an agile way. This work has been lead via plateau assembling developers, IT architects, and business experts. In order to favor the exchange of information and to test the product in the development phase.
Integration into Airbus’ IT context
The BIO project has revealed itself to be unusual, it actually was a business-IT project. The mix of business-IT was successful as it perfectly functioned to challenge the conventional methods and the “stamped” tools of the house. Moreover, the guidance team was accompanied by the integrator SQLI. It managed to offer consultants with “soft skills” that were essential to the success of the project. The decisional experts offered by SQLI had been selected for their aptitudes that surpassed the unique technical competences; a mindset focused on innovation.
Users’ autonomy
Lastly, Samuel Picaud, business Project Leader, and Eurélien Turina, IT Project Leader, in charge of the BIO project, won their bet. In fact, by delivering the base making the information available to the teams, the platform enters in the production phase. Recently created, the Data stewards ensure the god and correct object qualification. (geography, accounts, equipment, airports…) All of it comes from the enormous database. A separated team ensures, in parallel, the system governing and decides of its evolution. “With the BIO project, we truly operate a digital transformation. We moved from push to pull information. Moreover, our business teams are no longer waiting for monthly reports in their mailbox. They can directly look for the information when needed. Concerning our users, it still resembles magic. In fact, the tool put in place presents a simple visualization despite the extreme complexity of the backend. Linked to the utilization simplicity, the short response time of DigDash Enterprise’s solution is a key factor that allowed the information consumers to adhere.” Samuel Picaud, business Project Leader at Airbus.