Verizon to manage JetBlue's network, data centers and help desk

Computerworld - JetBlue Airways has signed a six-year agreement giving Verizon Business management of its data center, network infrastructure and help desk, the two companies announced today.

Verizon Business, a unit of Verizon Communications, will design and manage a transition of existing JetBlue systems to a new global IT infrastructure that includes Internet Protocol voice and data to support airport kiosks, Wi-Fi access and an advanced reservation system.

JetBlue employs 12,000 workers and serves 58 cities in the U.S., Caribbean and central and South America.

JetBlue CIO Joe Eng described the agreement with Verizon as a way to strengthen the airline's IT capabilities and prepare for future business.

JetBlue employees currently assigned to IT infrastructure jobs will be allowed to take other roles in IT, other jobs in the company or transition to Verizon Business, Eng said in an interview. That IT group has fewer than 100 members, although a somewhat larger IT group will remain with JetBlue and continue work on business processes, capabilities and new functions.

"This agreement is about Verizon management of IT infrastructure -- the network, data center and help desk -- ...to help reduce the cycle time for delivery of those capabilities and allow the rest of IT to focus on other capabilities," he said.

Eng described the agreement as "sizable" in monetary terms, and said it will bring some financial benefits over doing the work internally, even though cost cutting was not the primary objective.

The changes to the data centers will create more resiliency, but also allow them to scale as JetBlue continues to grow. Eng, who arrived at JetBlue 18 months ago, said he recommended the Verizon agreement to JetBlue's upper management. He based the decision on his notion that JetBlue should buy IT capabilities rather than build them internally and use broad platforms of technology instead of handpicking "best-of-breed" approaches.

JetBlue will still have control over IT, he said. "We own the decisions paths, the service-level agreements and what direction we want to take, but Verizon will be key in the implementation."

Verizon won out over other service providers for the contract because of a range of factors, including its attention to mission-critical components in an IT system. Verizon, because of its operation of networks as a core business, was also more suited to JetBlue's needs as a company that depends on a reliable and growing network, he added.

Conferencing over audio, Internet and video will be supported, along with enhancements to JetBlue's reservation center, Verizon officials said.

One focus of the data center work will be on moving existing operations to new redundant centers to ensure continuous availability and reliability. The agreement also relies on Verizon for security and IT consulting, which JetBlue will use to safeguard company data, including credit card transactions made via phone, online and in person, the companies said.

Eng said that while Verizon will support Wi-Fi operations on the ground at JFK International Airport in New York and in other cities, Verizon will not manage Wi-Fi service on-board JetBlue's planes. That technology will be managed under the airline's live on-board TV subsidiary, Eng said.