Dubai, United Arab Emirates  - 4th December 2011 - Frost & Sullivan today recognized SITA's leading role providing border management solutions worldwide by awarding it the top honour for commitment to Customer Value Enhancement in Border Control.

SITA is the IT company dedicated to the air transport industry and it provides iBorders, a range of border management solutions, that enhances security through improved detection and risk analysis while, at the same time, facilitating rapid border-crossing of low-risk travellers.

Over the past 15 years SITA has become the world leader in border management solutions. It has successfully provided the infrastructure, along with the passenger and border security technology, for the world's major sporting events including the Olympic Games held in Los Angeles, Athens, Sydney and Beijing. Its border management technology also played a pivotal role in ensuring the security of the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa.

This Frost & Sullivan Global Customer Value Enhancement Award is presented annually to the company that demonstrates excellence in implementing strategies that create value for its customers beyond simply good customer service, leading to improved customer retention and customer base expansion.

Dominik Kimla, Frost & Sullivan Industry Analyst, said: "SITA has excelled in providing high value-added services, integrated products and solutions and in driving innovation and product development through customer collaboration.

"A rare mix of skills and knowledge - sophisticated IT design, delivery and integration skills, air transport industry expertise - and an intimate understanding of the security and policy challenges which governments around the world face underpin SITA's success."

Dan Ebbinghaus, SITA Vice President, Government and Security Solutions, said: "This award recognizes the fact that for more than 15 years SITA has focused on delivering the most sophisticated and advanced border management solutions.

"Over the years SITA has developed systems that allow risk analysis on biographic data including passport and passenger information. Now we are moving to systems that converge this biographic data with biometrics to allow more complex analysis and verification ensuring even tighter security at the world's borders."

SITA was the first to provide solutions for airlines to comply with government mandates for passenger data and continues to pioneer innovative solutions which reduce both the cost and complexity of compliance for its customers.

SITA's border management solutions are widely used in the Middle East, particularly in the GCC countries which demonstrate a global leadership in this area. In fact, SITA solutions are in place, or being implemented, in all of the GCC countries.

Hani El-Assaad, SITA Regional Vice President, Middle East and North Africa, said: "SITA understands the challenges of governments to consolidate security and safety in this region while delivering a smooth and efficient journey for passengers.  We support the efforts of the GCC governments to ensure the region is a secure hub for international business, investments, travel and tourism through the use of state-of-the-art IT solutions to control borders."

iBorders solutions are now used in Australia, Bahrain, Canada, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Spain, South Africa, United Kingdom, United States of America, New Zealand and many other countries. More than more than 200 airlines use SITA to submit millions of messages every week to governments around the world to meet a variety of legal requirements related to border security.

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Watch this short video on SITA's contribution to world sporting events and read SITA's paper Border Management: Keeping Passengers Moving

About SITA
SITA is the world's leading specialist in air transport communications and IT solutions. SITA delivers and manages business solutions for airline, airport, GDS, government and other customers over the world's most extensive network, which forms the communications backbone of the global air transport industry.

SITA's portfolio includes managed global communications, infrastructure and outsourcing services, as well as services for airline commercial management and passenger operations, flight operations, aircraft operations and air-to-ground communications, airport management and operations, baggage operations, transportation security and border management, cargo operations and more.

With a customer service team of over 2,000 staff around the world, SITA invests significantly in achieving best-in-class customer service, providing integrated local and global support for both its communications and IT application services.

SITA has two main subsidiaries: OnAir, which is the leading provider of in-flight connectivity, and CHAMP Cargosystems, the world's only IT company dedicated solely to air cargo. SITA also operates two joint ventures providing services to the air transport community: Aviareto for aircraft asset management and CertiPath for secure electronic identity management.

SITA is one of the world's most international companies. Its global reach is based on local presence, with services for over 500 air transport industry members and 2,700 customers in over 200 countries and territories. Set up in 1949 with 11 member airlines, SITA today employs people of more than 140 nationalities, speaking over 70 different languages. SITA had consolidated revenues of US$1.46 billion in 2010.

For further information go to www.sita.aero

About Frost & Sullivan
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© Press Release 2011