December 9th, 2011
"A STREAMLINED IT SOLUTION" | WILLI TINNER, CIO OF MÖVENPICK HOTELS & RESORTS GIVES AN INTERVIEW ON ENTIRETEC
Source: Hotel Management International, Summer 2011, Page 77
Many hotel groups are hindered by a plethora of different information technology systems. Willi Tinner, CIO of Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts, explains how his organisation joined forces with ENTIRETEC to create a standardised all-in-one network solution with that is efficient, flexible and secure.
Information technology is becoming fundamental to the running of many hotels. As well as the traditional functions such as handling reservations and payroll, computer systems are increasingly being used to collect and analyse customer information to facilitate the creation of more focused marketing strategies.
These demands will only increase as hospitality chains become bigger and more geographically diverse. Chains often end up with various unconnected networks and data centres, which make it very difficult to share vital information and carry out necessary functions across an organisation. Most of these challenges were faced by Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts, the upscale Switzerland-based chain.
“We had a very heterogeneous environment consisting of different technologies and services from different providers,” explains chief information officer Willi Tinner. “This is an issue that is very common in the hospitality industry, especially concerning data network and high-speed internet access.” To bring its diverse computer systems into alignment, Mövenpick brought in technology provider ENTIRETEC.
Founded in 2003, the Germany-based company has offices across Europe, Asia, the Middle East, North America and Africa. It also has a track record of providing technical solutions and consultancy for the hospitality industry.
Introducing Core Layer Technology
ENTIRETEC’s main product offering is known as Core Layer Technology (CLT), an enabling layer that sits on top of an organisation’s existing network. Without having to modify or remove any in-place systems, CLT provides a flexible and secure platform from which a host of key applications and functions can be accessed (e.g. SECTOR, Firewall, VPN, etc). The agility of CLT allows a hotel chain to connect many individual site networks, making all content accessible from any location. This has the effect of minimising an IT department’s administrative load and removes the need for heavy investment in hardware.
“CLT can be seen as the major centre for controlling and connecting any kind of guest technology, such as high-speed
internet access, guest information system, entertainment systems and room controls,” Tinner explains. “As CLT is connected to our in-house systems, content and services can be provided according to guest preferences, enhancing their experience.”
Global connectivity
New hotels can be connected swiftly, which for Mövenpick, was particularly important. The chain is pursuing an aggressive course of expansion, with more than 30 hotels currently under development and properties in its core markets in Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Asia.
“ENTIRETEC was the provider of our global data network services,” explains Tinner. “But because of our good partnership and the quality of services provided, we decided to choose them for our high-speed internet access solution as well. As Mövenpick is a company on the growth path, we need network connectivity all over the world.”
ENTIRETEC’s philosophy is focused on the customer, not the technology as is often the case. It understands that many hospitality employees do not have the time or the inclination to deal with the nuts and bolts of their IT systems and so all maintenance, monitoring and upgrades are carried out by ENTIRETEC. The company delivers individual applications as managed services that can be combined in a variety of ways to provide a customised solution, allowing the customer to take full control of systems development.
“We are very happy with the common technology across the whole enterprise,” says Tinner. “Also, due to the fact that we control the system, we can react to the fast-changing requirements of the market. ENTIRETEC is an agile company that provides reliable technology and this flexibility was especially important.”
As information systems become increasingly
heterogeneous, platforms such as CLT could come to play an increasingly important role in the hospitality sector.
