The IT foundation of a high-flyer: AEC Skyline

AEC Skyline

The employees of AEC Skyline are certainly not unfamiliar with the Dutch armed forces, Have jokes: ‘Just shout ’Attention!" in the workshop and half of them will jump into position. Many of us were in service, we are now civilian but know the ropes and therefore know exactly what to look out for in our service."

Information-driven operations at AEC Skyline

As the third decade dawned for this company, IT came into play. A special branch, also for AEC Skyline. Within their Critical Data Solutions department, a number of services were developed which were ahead of the curve, but have since become indispensable in the field. ‘It is a different approach,’ said Rob van Stappen, IT engineer at AEC Skyline, ‘We facilitate information-driven operations with these services, which is completely different from what we did before.’ The IT infrastructure of the AEC Skyline locations at both airports has been completely overhauled, a smart foundation for the systems and applications running there. "With Critical Data Solutions, we offer services in which we really lead the world. From secured sim and data cards for active missions, to streaming boxes that give you access to the internet even in the most inhospitable areas on earth... we make that!"

Of course, this data has to be representative and up-to-date. AEC Skyline's networks house this data and connect users, platforms and mission systems. For example, ground units including (un)manned vehicles can share live information with each other, from the lowest to the highest level, thanks to this integration of networks and associated data analysis. Thus, information-driven action becomes possible.

Lowland

Another service developed by Critical Data Solutions is Lowland, a S2IX (Secure Search & Information Exchange) based solution for data transfer during combat. "Think of full motion video and other imagery. This data needs to be converted in real time into actionable intelligence to enable any actions, synchronised between different levels in terms of C2 (command & control)." said Van Stappen. This innovative cloud-based combat data transfer solution is so critical that only an excellent data centre can and may host it, in an innovation environment. In actual operations, Defence will of course take care of this data itself.

Data centres

Special cooperation with AEC Skyline

Although AEC Skyline's director Stef Have's credo is “buy or build”, he understood that so much technical awareness was involved in the field of data centres. So he commissioned the search for a data centre close to Breda Airport that set the same high standards for its own services as AEC Skyline's customers set for them.

With low latency a huge efficiency, where 24/7 is the norm and the knowledge is in-house, Previder (formerly Global-e Datacenter) turned out to be an excellent choice. Van Stappen: "It was immediately clear. An approachable organisation with the right high-end technical solutions, with a flexible character and personal touch, we found that combination at Previder."

The fact that the contact between AEC and Previder is between real network guys certainly plays into the choice in terms of in-house knowledge, ‘But the most important asset is the flexibility and thinking along with us,’ says director Have, ‘We are not special, except when things get special with us... and then it becomes fun.’

Meanwhile, AEC Skyline has been running for a while in one of Previder's data centres in Rijen, to full satisfaction.

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