Every day, thousands of people move through airports around the globe. But what many don’t realize is these transportation centers represent some of the biggest information hubs — all on a schedule that mixes flight times, luggage, tickets, and shopping. Given the right sensors and systems, airports can use that information to improve the customer experience in big ways.

“In Dubai, we’re pushing the envelope in terms of volume, the number of people going through the airport. We also want to make it the best passenger experience we can. … You can get much better throughput if you take out all the queues,” said Michael Ibbitson (pictured), executive vice president of technology and infrastructure at Dubai Airports.

Ibbitson spoke with John Walls (@JohnWalls21) and Dave Vellante (@dvellante), co-hosts of theCUBE, SiliconANGLE’s mobile livestreaming studio, during today’s Splunk .conf2017 conference in Washington, D.C. They discussed the importance of data, where Splunk fits in and the impact of automation. (* Disclosure below.)

Better data, happier customers

Getting rid of queues at the airport is not an easy task, but one solution is automation. Dubai Airports uses sensors through the terminal to measure what’s happening in real time, Ibbitson explained. The data from these sensors can also be used to predict what might happen in the future. In addition, they can improve security by understanding passenger behavior.

To manage this data, Dubai Airports employs two Splunk instances. One handles information technology stuff, while the other runs business services. The business services instance drives debate and discussions about the future, thanks to all the data it collects. For example, the airport can track baggage and predict when a passenger’s bag will come up in the baggage claim.

“No passenger comes to an airport for an airport tour,” Ibbitson said. What’s important for the passenger is that the data they receive is consistent at every part of the journey. Joining data together from the various airlines and presenting it to the passenger in the right way can make that happen.

Even with all this data, there are things the airport doesn’t know. While they cover all the major touchpoints, the airport doesn’t know the customer’s entire journey. That includes things like how the customer moved between points, the route they took, and how they spent their money.

“We’re doing trials of some cool technology to help you plan your whole journey, not just at the key checkpoints,” Ibbitson concluded.

Watch the complete video interview below, and be sure to check out more of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE’s coverage of Splunk .conf2017. (* Disclosure: Splunk Inc. sponsored this segment of theCUBE. Neither Splunk nor other sponsors have editorial control over content on theCUBE or SiliconANGLE.)

Photo: SiliconANGLE