Flight Centre NZ, part of Flight Centre Travel Group, has started using a new solution to help increase sales, accelerate application performance by 30 per cent to support its participation in Travel Expo events, and empower employees to more effectively meet customer needs.

Application performance company, Riverbed Technology, said Flight Centre NZ has deployed the Riverbed SteelHead appliances, a WAN optimisation solution, to provide performance solutions, improve the performance of its business-critical applications, and increase productivity at 42 of its permanent retail storefronts.

“We’re in a ‘Golden Era’ for travel at the moment in New Zealand, in the last 12 months we’ve seen a number of new airlines choosing to fly to New Zealand and there have been 19 new routes announced, this has made travel more affordable and accessible than ever before, and Riverbed is helping us capitalise on that,” said Angus Armstrong, CTO at Flight Centre.

A cornerstone of New Zealand’s economy, the tourism industry employs almost seven per cent of the country’s entire work force. This sector is expected to grow to more than NZ$41 billion in the next decade, a 37 per cent increase from today, according to Riverbed Technology. Flight Centre currently operates more than 200 retail stores and businesses nationwide, with over 1200 staff across a range of brands serving leisure and business travellers.