California-based e-business infrastructure company BEA Systems has announced that Voyages-sncf.com, has selected BEA WebLogic Server and BEA WebLogic Personalization Server for upgrading its new online Travel Information System.
Voyages-sncf.com, a subsidiary of the SNCF created in June 2000 to develop the online services of France`s national railway, needs to handle increased volumes of traffic and to launch new personalised services to its e-customers.
Built on BEA, Voyages-sncf.com will provide rapid, real-time, reliable access to tailored information and reservation services, such as travel profiles, departure/arrival times and ticket purchases, or search for the best deals. In addition, BEA Services has been selected to assist SNCF teams during the global implementation of the project.
The SNCF is a major player in the European Transportation Industry, with approximately $16.8 billion (130 billion FF) in total revenues for fiscal year 2000, and a steady increase in passenger traffic. The first-generation Web site (www.voyages-sncf.com) was a huge success, with more than 150,000 visitors per day and 2 million visitors in 2000, making it the most visited Web site in France. Faced with a tremendous increase in Web traffic, Voyages-sncf.com decided to deploy a second-generation Web site built on the BEA platform, a highly reliable and scalable e-business platform that can handle the growing number of simultaneous requests and help accelerate the rollout of new services demanded by the company`s e-customers.
In addition, the system needs to be integrated with the SNCF`s legacy back-office applications, where the database of customer profiles reside. And because BEA is a standards-based platform, it is designed to allow the travel system to integrate with future Web and IT systems of Voyages-sncf.com partners to facilitate value-chain transactions and deliver additional travel- related services to its customers. Building on BEA is important to allowing Voyages-sncf.com integrate its online operations today, and to future-proofing these systems with the ability to flexibly connect with partners tomorrow.
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