Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Airways, one of the Persian Gulf region’s largest carriers, has signed a $700 million deal with IBM to develop its security, mobile and analytics technology, according to Reuters. The 10-year service agreement that was signed last month and announced on Tuesday will provide Etihad with a range of IBM services, including a plan for a new cloud data center in Abu Dhabi. Disaster recovery will be managed at an IBM cloud data center in Europe. The two companies also announced they are creating a joint technology and innovation council in the United Arab Emirates’ government hub of Abu Dhabi. Etihad carried 14.8 million passengers in 2014 and serves 113 passenger and cargo destinations worldwide. Its partner airlines include Alitalia, airberlin, Jet Airways, Air Serbia and Air Seychelles.
