Delta Airlines Technology Strategy: Hard & Soft Systems
This paper examines how Delta Airlines employs both hard and soft technologies across its operations, including aircraft, baggage handling infrastructure, telecommunications, scheduling software, pricing algorithms, and fuel-hedging tools. It evaluates Delta's customer service technology development, its reliance on third-party vendors such as Sabre and Travelport, and the structural barriers that limit technological differentiation in the airline industry. The paper concludes with strategic recommendations for Delta to increase proprietary technology investment, focus innovation on the customer experience, and explore licensing arrangements to recover development costs.
- Hard and Soft Technology at Delta Airlines: Overview of Delta's hardware and software technology assets
- Customer Service Technology and In-House Development: Delta's proprietary speech recognition customer service system
- Third-Party Dependencies and Air Traffic Systems: Reliance on external air traffic and communications infrastructure
- Technology Barriers in the Airline Industry: Limited supplier competition and financial constraints facing Delta
- Delta's Technology Management Strategy: Delta's limited investment in proprietary technology development
- Recommendations for Improving Technology Management: Strategies for in-house investment, customer focus, and licensing
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What makes this paper effective
- Clearly distinguishes between hard and soft technology with concrete, industry-specific examples drawn from Delta's actual operations.
- Moves logically from description to analysis, identifying real structural barriers before pivoting to actionable recommendations.
- Grounds claims in credible sources (Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Sabre) that lend authority to what is otherwise a brief analytical piece.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper demonstrates applied business analysis by framing a real company's operations within a recognized conceptual taxonomy (hard vs. soft technology), then using that framework to expose strategic gaps. This approach — describe, diagnose, recommend — is a standard and effective structure for business strategy papers at the undergraduate level.
Structure breakdown
The paper opens with a survey of Delta's technology landscape, distinguishing hardware from software systems. It then narrows to a specific in-house success (customer service software) before widening again to cover third-party dependencies. A dedicated section identifies competitive and financial technology barriers. The penultimate section assesses Delta's overall technology management posture, and the paper closes with three targeted strategic recommendations. References follow APA format.
Hard and Soft Technology at Delta Airlines
Delta Airlines relies on a number of hard and soft technology elements in its business. Hard technology includes aircraft, baggage handling facilities, airport infrastructure, and telecommunications equipment. Soft technology for Delta includes scheduling software, which is critical to maximizing aircraft uptime and determining how frequently the company should operate each route. Furthermore, pricing algorithms help Delta achieve the optimal balance between ticket prices and passenger miles flown, all of which contribute to the company's ability to remain profitable in a highly competitive market. There are also algorithms that help the company determine how much fuel it should hedge.
Much of the critical software that Delta uses is not developed internally, but rather by third parties such as Sabre, which produces schedule management software (Sabre, 2015).
Customer Service Technology and In-House Development
One critical area of soft technology for Delta is customer service technology. Delta developed this system in-house as a means of gaining competitive advantage, with the focal point being the management of the company's 30 million inbound phone calls per year (Solomon, 2015). A key feature was speech recognition software that helps customers navigate through the automated phone system more effectively than was possible under prior systems. This is one area where Delta has been able to develop its own technology and apply it directly to improving its operations.
Third-Party Dependencies and Air Traffic Systems
Delta also relies on third parties at airports and the relevant air traffic control authorities to help manage traffic in the skies. Satellites and radar are therefore critical hard technologies that Delta depends on, even though it does not operate those systems itself. The airline does make use of communications technologies to deliver in-flight entertainment and to ensure that pilots remain in contact at all times.
References
Carey, S. (2014). Delta Airlines to take control of its data systems. Wall Street Journal. Retrieved October 6, 2015 from http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702303480304579575891541812918
Sabre. (2015). Schedule management. Sabre Airline Solutions. Retrieved October 6, 2015 from http://www.sabreairlinesolutions.com/home/software_solutions/product/scheduling/
Solomon, M. (2015). How Delta uses anticipatory customer service technology to make flying less miserable. Forbes. Retrieved October 6, 2015 from http://www.forbes.com/sites/micahsolomon/2015/03/17/escape-from-voice-jail-how-delta-uses-customer-service-technology-to-improve-life-for-passengers/
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