UK tech firm Unily wins bid to provide BA with new ONE intranet

UK tech firm Unily wins bid to provide BA with new ONE intranet

nily is an independent tech business developing digital workplace platforms for global brands such as McDonalds, Hershey Chocolate and L’Oréal

British technology company Unily has announced it has won a bid to provide a new digital workplace platform known as ‘ONE’ for British Airways.

Formed in 2005, Unily is an independent tech business developing digital workplace platforms for global brands such as McDonalds, Hershey Chocolate and L’Oréal. It currently employs 120 people across the UK, America, Australia and the Middle East.

Unily this year is predicted to hit revenues of over £20 million with approximately 60% coming from the US.

A full-scale re-build of ONE, British Airways’ existing intranet, will provide access to a single channel of digital communications, connecting 44,000 employees across the globe.

The new communications platform follows the UK-based airline’s centenary celebration, in which the company is investing £6.7 billion over five years in new aircraft, cabins, catering, Wi-Fi and routes.

Due to launch to British Airways staff this summer, ONE is a mobile system that manages staff-to-staff communications in one digital platform.

Employees from around the globe will be able to connect, engage and share ideas via ‘chats,’ personalised features and news, as well as access real time company information such as share prices and news feeds and their own TV channel.

Paul Jackson, UK managing director at Unily, said: “British Airways is one of the most important players in global aviation and we are very excited to be involved with taking their internal communications forward with this digital platform designed to connect its employees wherever they are in the world. It’s exciting to see such joined up thinking coming to fruition.”

Director of colleague communication and engagement at British Airways Drew McMillan added: “British Airways is committed to a multi-billion investment programme, focussed on improving the experience for our customers at every stage of their journey.

“By providing this new, mobile Unily intranet solution to our 44,000 colleagues, we are helping them to connect and communicate more effectively, which ultimately means a more consistent, high quality service delivered to our valued customers.”

Unily platforms operate on an individual level, where team members can host personal and professional interactions through email, video and other social media interactions. But the platform can also be used as a tool for group, company-wide communications.

This initiative aids relationships between people whether they’re in the next room or the next country or continent.

This hidden potential to unlock peer-to-peer communication is most prized by Unily’s clients, and its benefits go beyond its basic software functionality, said the company.

Users report that they feel increased trust in a company’s brand when they can see what’s going on 24/7 and are more connected. The businesses that use it also report that this transparency means that employees feel that a company’s ‘ethical code’ is revealed by the way it communicates, which helps retain and motivate staff.

Unily allocates a CSM (Customer Success Manager) to every client to ensure that the client maximises adoption of the features and tools.

In April 2018, Unily launched Unily Success, a success portal for all clients to exchange ideas and best practice. Unique to the market, the portal now hosts users from more than 150 global businesses.