Melbourne Airport democratizes data-driven decision making with Microsoft Fabric.

Melbourne Airport, the second busiest in Australia, is a key connector for the country’s travel and transportation. The operational team needed to upgrade its data analytics capabilities to improve operational efficiency and passenger experience.

Seeking to democratize data across its various departments, the airport found its solution in Microsoft Fabric. Business units can now engage directly with the data, thanks to the intuitive interface of Fabric and its low-code/no-code applications.

Since Fabric adoption, non-technical users can engage directly with the data, and the airport has gained 30% increased performance efficiency across data-related operations.

Airports are indispensable hubs of modern life. Besides providing critical infrastructure for domestic and international travel, they are vital economic engines that facilitate tourism, trade, and commerce. As they keep goods and people moving around the clock, airports are essential parts of global transportation and key players in supply chains. In addition, they are strategic participants in the rapid response to disasters and quick access to advanced healthcare.

As the second busiest airport in Australia, with over 2.2 million passengers passing through monthly, Melbourne Airport is a key connector in the country’s travel and transportation industry. The airport operational team recognized the need to upgrade its data analytics capabilities to improve operational efficiency and passenger experience.

"We were dealing with a vast range of data sources, from parking and sales to airport operational systems,” says Irfan Khan, Head of Data & Analytics at Melbourne Airport. The ability to consolidate and analyze this data in real time was crucial for enhancing our operational responsiveness and overall efficiency." The airport had recently built a modern data analytics platform, but only the Data & Analytics team and tech-savvy users could access it easily.

The Data & Analytics team had to assist non-technical users wishing to run their own data analytics by writing long explanatory emails or by crafting special information resources for requests like creating a simple table. The airport wanted to expand its data analytics capability and make data sets available to other business units—including property, retail, and ground transport—to enable them to use real-time insights to optimize operations. The team needed to find a way to give all its business users the ability to access the data easily and expediently.

Adopting Microsoft Fabric was not just about improving our data analytics. It was about empowering our people with the right tools to make smarter, data-driven decisions daily.

Irfan Khan, Head of Data & Analytics, Melbourne Airport

A complete analytics platform

Seeking to democratize data across its various departments, Melbourne Airport found a potential solution in Microsoft Fabric. Fabric became available in public preview just as the airport was grappling with how to make data analytics easier to use. Khan says, "Microsoft approached us with Fabric at the perfect time. It promised to integrate our data analytics into a user-friendly platform that even our non-technical staff could navigate with ease."

Xianping Wu, Cloud Data & AI Solution Architect at Melbourne Airport, started deploying Fabric workloads during the solution’s public preview and has been streamlining the packaging process to automate deployment across the various business domains within the airport. "Implementing Fabric during its preview phase allowed us to shape the platform according to our specific needs, tailoring workspaces and data models to serve each business unit effectively," says Wu.

Expanding access to data-driven insights

The deployment of Fabric transformed how Melbourne Airport managed and used its data. Business units that previously relied on the Data & Analytics team to extract insights could now engage directly with the data, thanks to the intuitive interface of Fabric and its low-code/no-code applications. These units include Aviation, Ground Transport and Facility Management, as well as the airport’s Integrated Operations Centre and Property and Retail businesses.

One event provided a major test of the new platform and demonstrated the value of Fabric. "During the Taylor Swift 'Eras' Tour,” Khan says, “We expected the airport and aviation teams to experience a surge in demand over the weekend that Swift was performing. What we didn’t expect was the sudden spike in ground transport demand in the week following the concert. With Fabric, we will be able to quickly link the uptick to flight bookings and the online parking, rental car, and other ground transport bookings to see the patterns.” In the future, the ground transport team will be able to use models from the aviation business unit to forecast the weeks ahead, understand the patterns, and optimize resources for busy periods.

It’s a radical and powerful new technology that can feel just like using Microsoft Excel or Power BI. But once in the hands of the user, it doesn’t feel like a new, complex technology at all.

Irfan Khan, Head of Data & Analytics, Melbourne Airport

The response from the staff at Melbourne Airport has been overwhelmingly positive. Business users were particularly impressed by the simplicity of the platform. "It’s a radical and powerful new technology that can feel just like using Microsoft Excel or Power BI. But once in the hands of the user, it doesn’t feel like a new, complex technology at all,” says Khan.

Melbourne Airport has fully integrated Fabric now that it has reached general availability. Looking ahead, Melbourne Airport plans to expand its use of Fabric with additional features like Copilot in Fabric, aiming to further empower its teams by simplifying the data analytics process. This step is expected to boost productivity and enable even faster decision-making.

Since integrating Fabric, Melbourne Airport has seen a 30% increase in performance efficiency across data-related operations. This has translated into quicker access to insights and a more agile response to operational needs, proving that the right technology can make a substantial difference.

Reflecting on the journey, Khan says, "Adopting Microsoft Fabric was not just about improving our data analytics. It was about empowering our people with the right tools to make smarter, data-driven decisions daily."

Microsoft approached us with Fabric at the perfect time. It promised to integrate our data analytics into a user-friendly platform that even our non-technical staff could navigate with ease.

Irfan Khan, Head of Data & Analytics, Melbourne Airport