Qatar Airways - Current and Future Use Of Internet Technologies - Case Study Example

Qatar Airways - Current and Future Use Of Internet Technologies Table of Contents 2- Executive Summary 3 3- E-Business background 4 4- E-Marketing analysis 6 5- Web design analysis 8 6- Business-to-Business (B2B) analysis 9 The growth of the Internet has made business markets more competetive than ever before. With the Internet, every organization in the earth is a local competetor. Various business marketers at the present understand that the Internet is a helpful tool for increasing markets and enhanced serving customers. “Business-to-business is the marketing of products and services to individuals and corporations for reasons except personal use” (Summers, Gardiner, Lamb, hair, & Mcdaniel, 2003, p. 67). The B2B is mainly utilized in situation to business or commerce that is carried out on the web among a profitable venture and a customer. The business-to-business application is fundamentally utilized when huge procedures are essential among dealing associates as well as in greatly elevated amounts than B2C applications (Vaskelis, 2001). Business-to-Business is a kind of dealings in which the dealings of services or goods among companies is made (Burger, 2006). 9 With the implementation of the innovative business technology Qatar Airways Corporation survives moreover from empowering in the correct goods organizational areas and products. The technology of cell phone is rapidly becoming the most well-liked device intended for browsing the Internet. Through this technology most of the people are frequently log-on to Internet and search for the information regarding a business, entertainment, and other Medias (Kitch, 2009). In addition, the term and technology of the mobile commerce is utilized to outline the emerging practice of conducting promotional and financial activities through the utilization of a wireless handheld device. The term mobile commerce is recognizing as the transactions can be conducted by means of personal digital assistants (PDAs), cell phones and other hand held devices that can work by means of Internet access. The technology and implementation of the M-Commerce has been the most sophisticated technology that is operational nowadays and going to enhance more and more day by day (Tatum, 2009). Presently the technology of the m-commerce is recognized as the next-generation e-commerce. With the m-commerce technology Qatar Airway’s user can access the web without requiring and discovering a place to plug in the huge system. The rising technology behind m-commerce, which is based on the WAP or Wireless Application Protocol, has made far bigger paces in Europe, where mobile devices operational by means of Web-ready micro-browsers are greatly widespread than in the United States (TechTarget, 2003). However (Stafford & Gillenson, 2003) differentiate between E-commerce and m-commerce by saying that, e-commerce is generally deals with the activities of buying and selling, on the other hand m-commerce is anticipated to be principally data-driven. The scope of mobile future is expected to comprise features of each business model; however the just the feature we can be certain of as it includes in coming days, incorporation with handheld computers and built in concert with database intelligence and networking, on the other words it will provide surprising capabilities (Stafford & Gillenson, 2003). 10 7- Conclusion 11 8- Bibliography 12 9- Appendix 14 1- Introduction This decade is the most important in redefining the customary business practice that was operational from previous centuries. The growth of internet/web based business and implementation of new web based business or ecommerce strategies have totally transformed the traditional business practice. The growth and enhancements in the computer and information technology have offered a great opportunity regarding the potential enhancement of business and its development. This research based work is going to provide a detailed analysis of the Qatar Airways with respect to their “current and future use of Internet technologies”. The basic aim of this report is to provide a deep insight into the presently working Internet technology and future implementations of advanced business support and management technologies for Qatar Airways business. This research will also address the basic idea to develop a novel business model and idea and applying an appropriate Internet solution for the Qatar Airways. This research will present the idea regarding the implementation of the new web based/Ecommerce technology for the potential enhancement of the business and marketplace. This research will discuss and present Qatar Airways present online business technology, its key benefits of using for this business and functional specification and implementation steps, for the implementation of the new Internet and business technology that can enhance the Qatar Airways business support, offer better competitive edge, support business operations and provide strength for effective handling of the business operations. 2- Executive Summary The techniques of e-commerce and web based business have completely transformed the overall businesses structure. At the present, we are living in a remote world that is linked to each part of world and turn out to be a global village. The way of doing business and handling the business activities are presently transformed and lot of new business models and paradigms have emerged. According to Monk & Wagner (2009), the new technology implementation in any business is aimed at making the organizational process and tasks easier for workers or staff. In any business implementation of new technology aimed at enhancing results and offer speedy outcomes. This also intends to build quickly as well as provide value services. These technologies allow a strong struggle that expands the marketplace as well as creates the additional profits of clients. Also, evidently, clients would constantly desire the most excellent services or products for their cash’s value. Every corporation, whether in the area of commerce, administration or non-administration services adopt modern and up-to-date business technology to convene needs of the demand and requirements of the public. Without these novel, advanced Internet and e-commerce technologies, corporations will be obsolete as well as have less hold on to, thinking that the creation of at the moment are fine oriented to business technology. A corporation have to be careful as well as intelligent in every of its investments (Monk & Wagner, 2009). This research presents the Qatar Airways analysis of the present and future use of Internet technologies. This research is indented to provide a deep insight into the Qatar Airways Internet based business. In this report I will analyze the Qatar Airways e-business background, e-marketing analysis, web-design analysis and business-to-business (B2B) analysis. 3- E-Business background Qatar Airways is a fast growing airline in a dynamic region of Middle East as well as it is on the top of its regional business using applications of the fast moving areas of e-commerce and Internet business. Presently Qatar Airways has achieved the honor of a five-star airline. These happened due to implementation of the better management services, enhanced working structure implementation, advanced technology incorporation and mainly through incorporating the high-tech e-commerce business platform that offers the business to effectively manage, handle and control the operations. In business of the Qatar Airways the Internet presence is aimed to match the quality and excellence of international standards of airline business. Qatar Airways’ business is moving the entire pieces in the correct direction by means of new and advanced technology incorporation and implementation (M-Travel, 2007). Stensgaard (2003) has outlined about the Qatar Airways' Internet and e-business business transformation that are complementing additional projects like that: the growth of its fleet, the transformation of the current airports, the beginning of new traveling destinations, as well as development of the new Doha International by spending $2 billion (Stensgaard, 2003). The implementation of the airline’s e-commerce and Internet based structure has offered Qatar Airways’ business to take a huge step forward by means of implementation of the e-commerce operation as well as brought the Internet as a major concern of Qatar Airways marketing and sales efforts. However for an airline company of this volume and ambition we still have to perform contrast to most North American and European airlines in terms of online marketing, website functionality as well as Internet sharing generally. Qatar Airways have a complete e-commerce expansion plan and there are numerous things planned to arise on website: qatarairways.com over the subsequent months (M-Travel, 2007). Stensgaard (2003) has outlined about the utilization of oracle e-business suite facilitates Qatar Airways to get a more advanced and modern view of its business. This new business technology facilitates the business to formulate business strategic decisions throughout the period of investment and development as reorganization business procedures as well as enhancing business profits (Stensgaard, 2003). Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Qatar Airways, Mr. Akbar Al Baker states that the e-business technology at airline management and administration allow direct access to correct business and organizational information that is very important for Qatar Airways effective and on time decisions. It is also outlined that Qatar Airways business embark upon the majority of comprehensive expansion programs ever in the history of Qatar's transportation business area (Stensgaard, 2003). Qatar Airways has been taken a lot of practical steps in e-business applications. They have an online booking engine that permits passengers to search for the flights all through the whole flights schedule network. Qatar Airways has offered facilities to the customers regarding the online booking, pay online as well as have tickets issuance entirely using its website (Qatarairways, 2007). Qatar Airways has also offered the online facility for the lowest fare finder. This offers greater attraction to business customers to have the facility regarding the search for the lowest rates of flights in different dates and regions. This offers the bonuses for online bookings, additional Qmiles are obtainable (Qatarairways, 2007). Online payment is another E-business technology that is implemented at the Qatar Airways business. Through this technology we can book online as well as pay through Visa Credit card enter into a competition. This attracts the customer from all the regions to have an easy way of booking and managing the business in a better and enhanced way. These are the reasons for which airline is trying to promote e-commerce (Qatarairways, 2007). The online customer services are also a main e-business technology that are available on the Qatar Airways business website. In this way Qatar Airways offers the facility to a person to have an easy and enhanced access to the business website and can discuss, resolve and take help in case of any problem or query (Qatarairways, 2007). 4- E-Marketing analysis The section will present the detailed analysis of the e-marketing strategy of Qatar Airways business. Qatar Airways business has taken a lot of intelligent e-business initiatives regarding the enhanced business and organizational management. The most recent e-business initiative taken by the Qatar Airways business is regarding the development of the Chinese language portal of the website. Chan (2009) has outlined about the growing industry of the tourism in China. According to Chan (2009), the world tourism organizations have forecasted about the augmenting tourism in China and outlined that China will generate 100 million outbound tourists till 2020. The administration of the China has predicted and as the china has turned out to be world’s forth major host country for international tourists as well as the main source marketplace intended for tourists in the Asia region, this has stated by the vice chairman of the NTA (National Tourism Administration) Du Jiang. China's tourism business has been powerful expansion newly, by means of more than 40 million outbound tourists in 2006 (Chan, 2009). According to Chan (2009) by seeing the potential growth in Chinese tourism industry, Qatar Airways (Doha-based airline) has launched the Chinese language version/portal of the website intended for the increasing amount of Chinese tourists. This is a major step of the marketing consultants and specialist of the Qatar Airways. The new Chinese version of the website permits clients to perform activities such as reservation online, check ticketing prices and flight schedules online (Chan, 2009). One of main marketing facility established by the Qatar Airways is regarding the establishment of the business attachment with the Asia Pacific travel search engine that will facilitate, access as well as display real-time “Qatar Airways” tariffs and accessibility all through its travelling network, also directly link for the customers regarding selecting similar fares to qatarairways.com plus its newly customized online booking engine (Chhan, 2007). Marcus Chhan (2007) has outlined a major marketing initiative by the Qatar Airways. According to (Chhan, 2007), Qatar Airways has established a major contact with the Bezurk.com regarding the promotions of its fares on Bezurk's web based flights search engine as well as deals channel (Chhan, 2007). Mohale (2009) has outlined another new marketing transformation through which Qatar Airways has initiated a novel section to its business website. The website address of this section is “atarairways.com/corporate”. This section is developed to permit the airline’s business clients to have an easier access to related functions to their travel requirements (Mohale, 2009) This new corporate travel segment merges information all through the Qatar Airways’ complete website into a summarizing reference guide, as well as permits South African business clients to conduct their travel business online exclusive of having to expending time searching for their preferred information as well as jobs (Mohale, 2009). 5- Web design analysis The website of the Qatar Airways offers the greater facility to customers regarding the effective management and handling of the business operations. The website design of the Qatar Airways is based on the good looking user interface and useful information on the front page. The front page opens with a most instructing and main working structure for any website user. This is about the flight search. Mostly 80 % of users of the website open the web-page with the intention to search for a flight schedule. In this scenario the web-page offers to the customers all the necessary options regarding the section of source, destination, time and date. The screen print of the website working is given below. The next and main functionality offered on the website is about the facility of the web based check in system. We select our city. Then enter the given identification and reference number and name. This system will aquatically check-in us the desired flight. If we have a booking and we want to check that if our booking is still available and/or status of booking then we need to enter the booking reference and name. This will offer us a better facility to know and check about the booking status. We can also know about the available flights from any city. This will facilitate us in taking all scheduled available flight to any of the destination city. The complete website design is perfect and presents all the necessary information for the user. We have all the information regarding flight booking, experience, special offers, holidays, private clubs and business information. This also offers the online marketing platform regarding the promotion of the new events in the flights schedule and special offers. The image given below demonstrates all the necessary events, offers and main user interface of the Qatar Airways. 6- Business-to-Business (B2B) analysis The growth of the Internet has made business markets more competetive than ever before. With the Internet, every organization in the earth is a local competetor. Various business marketers at the present understand that the Internet is a helpful tool for increasing markets and enhanced serving customers. “Business-to-business is the marketing of products and services to individuals and corporations for reasons except personal use” (Summers, Gardiner, Lamb, hair, & Mcdaniel, 2003, p. 67). The B2B is mainly utilized in situation to business or commerce that is carried out on the web among a profitable venture and a customer. The business-to-business application is fundamentally utilized when huge procedures are essential among dealing associates as well as in greatly elevated amounts than B2C applications (Vaskelis, 2001). Business-to-Business is a kind of dealings in which the dealings of services or goods among companies is made (Burger, 2006). With the implementation of the innovative business technology Qatar Airways Corporation survives moreover from empowering in the correct goods organizational areas and products. The technology of cell phone is rapidly becoming the most well-liked device intended for browsing the Internet. Through this technology most of the people are frequently log-on to Internet and search for the information regarding a business, entertainment, and other Medias (Kitch, 2009). In addition, the term and technology of the mobile commerce is utilized to outline the emerging practice of conducting promotional and financial activities through the utilization of a wireless handheld device. The term mobile commerce is recognizing as the transactions can be conducted by means of personal digital assistants (PDAs), cell phones and other hand held devices that can work by means of Internet access. The technology and implementation of the M-Commerce has been the most sophisticated technology that is operational nowadays and going to enhance more and more day by day (Tatum, 2009). Presently the technology of the m-commerce is recognized as the next-generation e-commerce. With the m-commerce technology Qatar Airway’s user can access the web without requiring and discovering a place to plug in the huge system. The rising technology behind m-commerce, which is based on the WAP or Wireless Application Protocol, has made far bigger paces in Europe, where mobile devices operational by means of Web-ready micro-browsers are greatly widespread than in the United States (TechTarget, 2003). However (Stafford & Gillenson, 2003) differentiate between E-commerce and m-commerce by saying that, e-commerce is generally deals with the activities of buying and selling, on the other hand m-commerce is anticipated to be principally data-driven. The scope of mobile future is expected to comprise features of each business model; however the just the feature we can be certain of as it includes in coming days, incorporation with handheld computers and built in concert with database intelligence and networking, on the other words it will provide surprising capabilities (Stafford & Gillenson, 2003). Schwiderski-Grosche1 & Knospe (2000) presented some advantages of implementation of mobile commerce at the Qatar Airways. These can be regarding the ubiquity of the Qatar Airway’s Mobile Commerce. So Qatar Airways will take the business and its handling structure. We have the facility regarding the real time handling and access to the commerce. Then another main factor Qatar Airways will have is regarding the accessibility. In this scenario Qatar Airway’ users would be capable to access the information about Qatar Airways at anyplace and at anytime. Next Qatar Airway will also have the advantages regarding the security. Here in aspects of security regarding the business handling structure means mobile device. Here Qatar Airway can implement mobile or access password to restrict the access to business data.(Schwiderski-Grosche1 & Knospe, 2000). 7- Conclusion In this report I have presented a detailed analysis of the Qatar Airways business regarding Internet point of view. This research has offered the detailed analysis of the new development and enhancement as well as future development in the areas of e-business, e-marketing, web-based payment, scheduling, booking and all operations management. The web based business offers a great opportunity including better working, customer retention, enhanced management and effective operations management. This research has also highlighted these aspects and outlined the main advantages in this regard. This research has also highlighted the Business to business context of Qatar Airways and outlined a new business technology “Mobile Commerce or MC”. This technology can offer a greater experience regarding the customer attraction and facilitating them in better and innovative way. I hope that this research will offer a valuable insight into the overall context of Qatar Airways web based business structure and web management. 8- Bibliography 1. Burger, A. K. 2006. The B2B Renaissance, Part 2: Solutions in a Global Economy. Available at: http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/54069.html [Accessed 22 November 2009]. 2. Chan, C. 2009. Qatar Airways launches Chinese portal. Available at: http://www.marketing-interactive.com/news/11063 [Accessed 22 November 2009]. 3. Chhan, M. 2007. Qatar goes Bezurk to drive online bookings. Available at: http://www.marketing-interactive.com/news/1788 [Accessed 22 November 2009]. 4. Kitch, J. 2009. Take Charge of Mobile Commerce . Available at: http://www.entrepreneur.com/ebusiness/ecommercesolutions/article203772.html [Accessed 22 November 2009]. 5. Mohale, M. (2009). Qatar Airways unveils Corporate Travel page on website for business passengers. Available at: http://www.travelwires.com/wp/2009/11/qatar-airways-unveils-corporate-travel-page-on-website-for-business-passengers/ [Accessed 22 November 2009]. 6. Monk, E., & Wagner, B. 2009. Concepts in Enterprise Resource Planning, 3rd.ed. Boston: Course Technology Cengage Learning. 7. M-Travel. 2007. Qatar Airways focuses on `five-star’ Internet presence. Available at: http://www.m-travel.com/news/2007/06/qatar_airways_f.html [Accessed 22 November 2009]. 8. Qatarairways. 2007. Qatar Airways Launches New Internet Booking Engine. Available at: http://www.qatarairways.com/global/en/newsroom/archive/body_aboutus_09apr07.html [Accessed 22 November 2009]. 9. Schwiderski-Grosche1, S., & Knospe, H. (2000). Available at: http://www.isg.rhul.ac.uk/~scarlet/documents/Secure%20m-commerce%20ECEJ.pdf [Accessed 22 November 2009]. 10. Stafford, T. F., & Gillenson, M. L. 2003. Mobile commerce: What it is and What it could be . Communications of the ACM , 46(12), pp. 33-34 11. Stensgaard, A.-B. 2003. Qatar Airways goes live on Oracle E-Business Suite. Available at: http://www.ameinfo.com/32601.html [Accessed 22 November 2009]. 12. Summers, J., Gardiner, M., Lamb, C. W., hair, J. F., & Mcdaniel, C. 2003. Essentials of Marketing . Australia: Thomosn. 13. Tatum, M. (2009). What is M-Commerce? Available at: http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-m-commerce.htm [Accessed 22 November 2009]. 14. TechTarget. (2003, September 10). What is M-Commerce? Available at: http://searchmobilecomputing.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid40_gci214590,00.html [Accessed 22 November 2009]. 15. Vaskelis, D. 2001. B2B: The Real World. Available at: http://intelligent-enterprise.informationweek.com/010810/412feat1_2.jhtml;jsessionid=AQB3YRFVYX5XNQE1GHPSKHWATMY32JVN [Accessed 22 November 2009]. 16. Wang, J., Song, Z., Lei, P., & Sheriff, R. 2005. Design and Evaluation of M-Commerce Applications. Communications, 2005 Asia-Pacific Conference (pp. 745-749). Perth, WA: IEEE. 9- Appendix Figure 1 The screen print of the website working is given below: Figure 1Main Page of Qatar Airways Source http://www.qatarairways.com/global/en/homepage.html Figure 2 Figure 2Source: http://www.qatarairways.com/global/en/homepage.html Figure 3 Figure 3 Source http://www.qatarairways.com/global/en/homepage.html Figure 4 Figure 4 Source: http://www.qatarairways.com/global/en/homepage.html Figure 5 Figure 5Main page, source: http://www.qatarairways.com/global/en/homepage.html Read More