A Networked World Date:   Thursday , May 07, 2015 SITA is the world\'s leading specialist in air transport communications and information technology. We are living in a networked world where we are connected with things we wear as well as things we use. Soon everything that can benefit from a connection will have one. This ubiquitous connectivity, combined with disruptive technologies and Big Data, is affecting businesses of all types, including those in the air transport industry. In our networked world, we have seen a shift from web browsers to mobile apps. We are seeing apps to control everything in our house, as well as apps to control our health. The App for Everything world will complement the Internet of Things, today\'s buzz phrase for an environment in which devices from computers to cars to smartphones to the appliances and apps are connected via the Internet. The Internet of Things is generating a huge amount of data with significant potential business value, which has yet to be exploited. And the air transport industry needs to be in the forefront of this revolution. Using \'Big Data\' to extract business intelligence will create new data sets to feed and control other connected devices. One result will be the ability for the industry to greatly improve disruption management, for example, by linking airport stakeholders such as airlines, immigration officials and ground handlers. With everyone wanting to be connected, anywhere and anytime with ease, wearable technology is also poised to have a big impact on the aviation sector. Examples are the successful Google Glass trials that SITA Lab carried out with Virgin Atlantic, as well with Copenhagen Airport, enabling duty managers to improve customer service by getting fast access to passenger details and a range of operational data. We are also starting to see biometrics used in passengers\' consumer devices, such as phones and tablets, both to authenticate access and to speed up passenger processing. One interesting aspect of biometrics is its integration into wearable technology. SITA\'s strategic research and development arm, SITA Lab, is working with technology company Bionym to explore the use of \'persistent identity\' in the so-called Nymi wristband. It uses your heartbeat like a password and provides authentication with a mobile device such as a smartphone or tablet. As technologies begin to converge, the possibilities to impact industry operations expand. Consider technologies such as the \'connected aircraft\' and proximity sensing. By 2022, commercial fleets will include 10,000 new generation aircraft. These aircraft will be flying data centers. They will depend on IT and data exchange to operate optimally - and they will stay connected in flight and on the ground. To unleash the full potential of new generation aircraft, we need a new approach to how everyone works together. As an industry, we need to take a \'Nose-to-Tail\' approach - a coherent IT and communications platform integrating both the aircraft cockpit and cabin with ground systems. Proximity sensing, which relies on sensors to detect the presence of nearby objects, will also impact operations. For example, linking airport and airline technology to a passenger\'s mobile enables us to build and leverage new data sets that will give unprecedented insights into passenger flow and behaviour at the airport. Using aggregated and anonymous geolocation data, airport operators can keep an eye on passenger flows and adjust operational procedures to smooth out the peaks. For more personalized communications to passengers, there is also the promise of beacon technology. Combined with an app, beacons can trigger context-relevant messages or actions on a smartphone at specific locations. It might be as simple as a welcome message or a flight status update as a passenger arrives at the airport. Or it could be a mobile boarding pass on the smartphone at control points. We are still at the early stages of learning what beacons can do. But the results are encouraging, and SITA Lab is working on trials with several airlines and airports. The convergence of technology trends will keep driving innovation at a faster and faster pace. This means it will be progressively harder to keep up the pace and to identify good innovation from bad. One of the great strengths of our industry, however, is the readiness to collaborate when it is in everyone\'s interests to do so. SITA\'s expertise and experience mean we can continue to work with industry players on pilot projects and trials to validate new technologies. We can use this knowledge to develop new solutions that provide great value for the air transport community.