Wipro subsidiary bags infrastructure deal from Saudi Arabian Airlines

In what is touted as being one of the biggest deals of the summer, Indian solution provider Wipro has won the bid to upgrade Saudi Arabian Airline's whole IT infrastructure. The contract has been bagged by Wipro's local subsidiary, Wipro Arabia.

According to sources, the deal includes equipment from Cisco, EMC and HP, and will be supplied by Wipro's newly formed products division. The deal is estimated to be worth millions of dollars, and is stated to be a part of Saudia Airlines strategy to update its systems even as it gears up for an IPO over the coming year.

Wipro is one of SAP's largest local implementers in the Saudi market.

According to industry sources, despite being the largest airline in the region in terms of passengers flown, Saudia has lagged behind other airlines such as Qatariya and Emirates in terms of infrastructure. It rolled out electronic ticketing just this year, lagging much after other regional carriers.

With Saudi Arabian Airlines set to be split up into a number of separate companies and made public, the Saudi government has been looking to upgrade the airline's overall structure, including its business processes and technology.