Hotelbeds Group reaches landmark phase in transition to the cloud
- Currently more than 60% of the company´s data securely stored in the public cloud
- Transition coincides with change in data center to support Hotelbeds Group’s cloud strategy
- The transition has been made through technology partners Amazon Web Services (AWS) and BT.
Madrid, January 18, 2017– Hotelbeds Group, the number one bedbank worldwide and a business-to-business provider of services to the travel industry, announced today at the International Tourism Fair (FITUR) that it has reached a landmark phase in its migration process to the cloud. This strategic commitment responds to the rapid growth that the business has experienced in recent years, which has led to an exponential increase of the number of data requests received.
Hotelbeds Group began its migration to the cloud a few years ago, thanks to a strategic cooperation with Amazon Web Services (AWS). However, it has been during this last year that the relationship has intensified - also accelerating the migration of the company to the cloud - and has incorporated Software as a Service (SaaS) with suppliers such as WorkDay, Microsoft and Salesforce.
Hotelbeds Group currently has more than 60% of its data securely stored in the AWS cloud and expects to complete this process within a maximum of 3 years.
This transition has also coincided with a change in data center, transferring the entire IT infrastructure of the Hotelbeds Group to several of BT’s Data Processing Centers in Madrid. The move to BT, which has a strong data center structure based on the private cloud, began last June. The first phase of the project was completed in December and is expected to end in June 2017.
Álvaro de Nicolás, CTO of Hotelbeds Group, commented: "Hotelbeds Group’s transition to the cloud is a result of our commitment to technology as a generator of revenue and profitability for the entire business - from the sales platform to the back-office services and everything in-between. Thanks to this strategic change, we will be able to obtain greater scalability and gain in flexibility when implementing the servers needed to store the information. This is especially important given the seasonality of our sector, but also relevant considering that the number of data requests grows exponentially as a result of continuous technological developments. We are proud to say that this technological innovation will enable us to meet our ambitious growth plans in terms of both the number of services offered as well as the volume of sales. I think this change will allow us to stay one step ahead of the industry with one of the most powerful IT ecosystems in the world’s travel industry - and even one of the most powerful in Spain.”
The new structure will allow the platform to respond to the more than 430 million daily requests that the company receives in a faster way and accelerate, at the same time, the growth of the business. It will also allow the company to achieve greater scalability – with a reduction of the cost per request – and gain in flexibility thanks to a payment per use model.
About Hotelbeds Group
Hotelbeds Group is the number one bedbank worldwide and a business-to-business provider of services to the travel industry.
The Group’s proprietary technology helps providers of travel services distribute their offering to travel sellers globally via an easy-to-use, advanced technology platform that increases reach, revenue and yield for both the provider and the seller.
Operating mainly under the Hotelbeds and Bedsonline brands, the company connects 35,000 travel intermediaries across more than 120 source markets globally with travel providers in over 180 countries representing more than 100,000 hotels, 19,000 transfer routes and 12,000 activities.
Additionally, the Group also operates a Destination Services division offering in-bound destination services, such as tours or transfers, in around 40 countries. The Group also owns several other B2B travel brands such as Pacific World (focusing on the MICE area), Intercruises (shore side cruise solutions), TT Services (visa outsourcing) and more.
In September 2016, the company became independent under the ownership of Cinven and the Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB).
The company is headquartered in Palma de Mallorca, Spain and has 6,150 employees working across over 150 offices globally.
In the financial calendar year of 2014 / 15 Hotelbeds Group sold around 26 million room nights and achieved a Total Transaction Value (TTV) of €3.8 billion.
