Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has confirmed that it has renewed its managed services contract with one of the world's leading long-haul airlines Virgin Atlantic. By entrusting the management of its IT infrastructure and applications to TCS, Virgin Atlantic is in a position to focus on core business activities and flex with the future challenges of the international airline industry.

Under the renewed agreement, TCS will continue to manage Virgin Atlantic's global end-to-end IT systems including a 24x7 service desk, infrastructure and application support services. The company also manages Virgin Atlantic's relationships with other third-party IT vendors to ensure a cohesive approach to the airline's IT ecosystem. TCS' service delivery for Virgin Atlantic is designed around IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL) best practices framework.

"Today, airlines need to effectively exploit IT more than ever to be successful in a very competitive marketplace," commented Mike Cope, IT director, Virgin Atlantic. "Thanks to our ongoing partnership with TCS we have the right partner to enable this," he added. TCS launched a dedicated 'Travel and Hospitality Innovation Lab' in 2007 to help airlines enhance customer experiences and differentiate themselves in an era of increasing competition and new distribution models.