INTERVIEW WITH PASCAL CLEMENT, HEAD OF TRAVEL INTELLIGENCE, AMADEUS : 'EUROPEAN DATA PRIVACY RULES WILL BE AN ADVANTAGE IN THE LONG RUN'.

• Position: Interview

Amadeus, a Madrid-based company specialising in offering IT solutions in the travel sector, is seen as one of the European examples in the use of big data. Pascal Clement joined the company recently to maximise the value of the vast amount of information generated by the firm every day.

How do you use big data in Amadeus?

We use quite sophisticated technology to provide almost immediate information when you search for example a plane ticket, buffering data into memory. It's a complicated story because analysing all the different capabilities of going from one point to another, with all the options of airlines, prices, has been an issue for many people.

What is the next step for you?

We operate one billion transactions every day, an enormous amount, with all the data that go with it. The next step for us is to extract value for our customers from these data.

How?

Today, most data are stored in silos. In the travel industry, all the processes you follow are disconnected, since you take a taxi to the airport, and then the plane, until you reach your hotel. We have an industry where the major issue is not mining but...