Flexible, ‘bullet-proof' award winning website
"A few years ago our mornings were filled with trepidation as we checked to see if our
website was still operating. Now it is unusual for there to be any problems. It is testament
to Macquarie Telecom's flexible, robust and reliable technology and impeccable service."
David Clarke,
Managing Director, Webjet
Overview
It was a project only the brave would have undertaken: upgrading to a new travel services
platform built on next generation software and involving three different teams working to
an immovable eight -month deadline.
For Webjet, the gamble paid off. In January 2004 it launched its revamped website and watched
the number of visitors jump as word spread of its extensive range of services and rock solid
reliability. A 300 per cent spike in demand following the launch of budget airline Jetstar
was handled with ease, even as Jetstar and its parent company Qantas suffered embarrassing
website meltdowns.
Webjet's website performance was made possible with the help of Macquarie Telecom. The
company's customised, secure and robust managed hosting services enabled Webjet to provide
customers with increased travel options and add more products in response to market demands
without fear of overloading the system. The result is an improvement in the company's bottom
line and a rapidly expanding customer base.
More than two years following the initial implementation, Macquarie Telecom and Webjet
signed an additional contract to overhaul Webjet’s IT infrastructure.
Using Macquarie Hosting’s Dedicated Managed Virtualisation solution, Webjet doubled its
processing capacity and gained greater redundancy and flexibility to meet changing
business requirements.
The Opportunity
Established in 1998, Webjet is an online travel services firm offering
airline, hotel and car hire booking facilities. The company attracts up to 8,000 unique visitors
a day to its website, generating $20.2 million in gross transaction revenue in the 200203
financial year.
Early in 2003, Webjet began developing its own proprietary booking engine using Microsoft
.NET technology. The new platform, called the Travel Services Aggregator, integrated the systems
of Webjet's entire range of suppliers. This would give customers greater control over their
travel plans by allowing them to obtain the best possible deal from a variety of sources.
Simpler pricing and a highly secure credit card payment facility were included for customers'
convenience.
Webjet did not have the technological resources or ability to stay abreast of new developments
that such a business-critical application required, according to the company's managing director
David Clarke. “Hosting the application and all the supporting technology in-house was an unacceptable
business risk,” he said. “We could see little, if any, economic advantage in doing it ourselves.”
Webjet began searching for an outsourcing partner soon after it began work on the software
development.
The Solution
Potential solution providers were closely assessed on a number of criteria.
First and foremost, Webjet wanted a partner who could manage the communications network, servers
and website and maintain links between all three elements “in an intelligent way.” This would
enable Webjet to add new suppliers, products and extra server power without worrying about
system crashes or faulty communications links.
Webjet also needed a high level of redundancy without having to duplicate anything, which would have been too costly.
“It also goes without saying we required a highly secure
solution that safeguarded our hardware and website from physical and electronic attacks,” said Mr Clarke.
Adding another layer of complexity was the website itself. Microsoft had established
what it considered to be the optimum hardware configuration while building the application.
The idea was to replicate that configuration and progressively migrate the software to the
new operating environment. “Any partner had to have the technical skills to configure the
hardware to Microsoft specifications,” Mr Clarke explained.
Webjet selected Macquarie Telecom after an exhaustive evaluation process. “The combination
of solutions that Macquarie Telecom offered fulfilled all our requirements,” said Mr Clarke.
“They had substantial experience in similar complex hosting projects and offered a high level
of engineering and communications skills. Their staff had exceptional technical knowledge
that enabled them to work closely with the Microsoft team to deliver the project.”
Webjet's infrastructure is housed in Macquarie Telecom's Intellicentre, a $35 million dedicated
hosting facility. The solution includes managing clustered SQL and Microsoft Windows 2003
server databases, load balancing and storage services. Symantec anti-virus, firewall and intrusion
detection systems are also provided. The infrastructure is supported by 24x7 security monitoring
and regular patch upgrades and is backed by Macquarie Telecom's Premier-Class service level
guarantee. This was one of Macquarie Telecom's first major .NET installations. It worked with
the Webjet and Microsoft teams on the development, configuration and testing of the application.
The teams also discussed how the website would be monitored and how it could be scaled as
Webjet's business grew. “It was very much a collaborative effort where we each learnt something
from the other,” said Mr Clarke.
During the development period, events such as the SARS epidemic and the war in Iraq hit
the travel industry hard. “There were a number of times when we had to take a different approach
to something or delay a project for a month, and on every occasion Macquarie Telecom extended
maximum cooperative flexibility, often at its expense,” said Mr Clarke. “We found the team
to be understanding and pragmatic. They took a strategic, long-term view of where this project
would lead.
This was unexpected and very much appreciated on our part.”
The new website went live on January 14, 2004, on time, on budget and without any fuss.
Mr Clarke said it has been “bullet-proof” ever since.
Results
The new website went live on January 14, 2004, on time, on budget and without any
fuss. Mr Clarke said it has been “bullet-proof” ever since.
“We've had two minor incidents in that time, in contrast to our previous situation where
we would have experienced almost one incident a day,” Mr Clarke said.
Unlike other information-based websites, Webjet deals mainly in transactions. A typical
user will spend up to 20 minutes researching travel options and conducting transactions. A
site that is behaving even slightly erratically can interrupt a user's complex interaction.
“No-one wants to spend 20 minutes researching and booking a holiday only to have the site
fail on them when they're ready to pay,” said Mr Clarke.
“That's why it's important to have tight session control and continuity. The site has to
be absolutely rock-solid and Macquarie Telecom has delivered on that front.”
The strength of Macquarie Telecom's hosting solution was tested soon after the website
went live when budget airline Jetstar opened for business.
“We experienced a 300 per cent spike in normal traffic but our site held together,” said
Mr Clarke. “Everyone else's site – Jetstar, Qantas and their competitor Virgin Blue – simply
crashed. It was widely reported that Webjet was the only site that continued operating. Macquarie
Telecom's performance over those crucial couple of days in February was particularly exceptional.
“A few years ago our mornings were filled with trepidation as we checked to see if our
website was still operating. Now it is unusual for there to be any problems. It is testament
to Macquarie Telecom's flexible, robust and reliable technology and impeccable service,” said
Mr Clarke.
Solution Update - Virtualisation
Webjet signed a further contract with Macquarie Telecom to consolidate its IT systems
using virtualisation in September 2006.
This included installing an entirely new server facility at Macquarie Hosting's data
centre and using sever virtualisation architecture to double Webjet's processing capacity
in preparation for the launch of a new customer experience initiative. The overhaul also
supported the implementation of new Webjet site software including online packaging.
The processing environment, comprising four, high end, Hewlett Packard Proliant Quad
Dual Core processor servers with associated SAN storage, operates under the server
virtualisation system, VMS.
"Apart from the doubling of processing capacity, the virtual server environment will
provide for greater flexibility, redundancy and dynamic server allocation as our business
requirements change over the next three years," said David Clarke, Managing Director,
Webjet Limited.
"We selected Macquarie Telecom, who has worked with us almost from inception, due to
their outstanding customer service capabilities and commitment to the ongoing provision of
leading edge technical server management and its state of the art facilities," he said. | 
