Saudia Academy boosts aviation training efficiency by 100% with Netways and Microsoft

Poised for digital transformation

Armed with a team of skilled trainers and state-of-the-art training equipment and facilities, the Prince Sultan Aviation Academy (PSAA) offers a wide spectrum of aviation training and services in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and in the MENA region. 

As the oldest commercial training center in the Middle East with a proud legacy of quality and safety, the academy was looking for ways to streamline its registration process, provide flexible and custom learning experiences, and make its numerous training opportunities more accessible to a wider set of prospective customers.

PSAA needed a training system to deliver effective learning experiences, while providing valuable insights and tools for the academy and educators. It needed an integrated platform to solve core scheduling and service delivery issues, automate the scheduling of 8,000-plus training courses, provide online training sessions, and better respond to recurring queries from trainees and prospective customers. Its existing Training Management System (TMS) front end, hosted on a non-Azure cloud platform, was experiencing an average of three to four outages per month.

Creativity and learning take flight 

To reinforce and reimagine its program, PSAA adopted Netways Intelligent Learning Platform and migrated its solution to Microsoft Azure. 

As a member of the Microsoft Business Applications Inner Circle, an exclusive community comprising top-tier Microsoft partners, Netways specializes in crafting exceptional digital experiences and has delivered high-quality business technology solutions for over two decades. Headquartered in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Netways serves more than 2,500 customers through 12 global locations, with a solid presence in the MENA region and in North America.

"Our collaboration with Netways on the TMS project was a standout experience," said Adel Ahmed, project manager for special projects at PSAA. "The Netways team was with us every step of the way, tackling challenges with a mix of creativity and practicality that made all the difference. Their commitment was profound, from brainstorming sessions to their meticulous attention to detail. They didn’t just work for us; they worked with us, blending their expertise with our vision to create something truly impactful."

Netways and Microsoft spur growth and learning opportunities

Netways deployed its intelligent learning platform, built on an ecosystem of Microsoft solutions. Leveraging a variety of Microsoft products such as Dynamics 365 Customer Service, Dynamics 365 Sales, Azure AI, Microsoft Copilot, Teams, and Power Platform, Netways helped PSAA implement an AI-based automated scheduling platform to replace its existing manual processes. 

This cutting-edge solution not only resolved scheduling conflicts by 100 percent but exceeded expectations and increased course capacity by 10 percent. 

Within three months of implementing Netways intelligent learning management platform, Saudia Academy was able to offer additional learning opportunities and successfully trained 8,110 students. The platform has improved PSAA’s training efficiency by 100 percent and training capacity by 400 percent, resulting in time and cost savings for both trainees and the academy, and it has contributed to the academy’s sustainable digital transformation.

Using Azure AI algorithms and chatbots, TMS analyzed user behavior, preferences, and learning patterns. Based on this data, the academy identified relevant courses and customized learning paths, while implementing continuous improvements in its teaching processes. 

Microsoft Dynamics 365-based TMS, coupled with Azure AI capabilities, solved the critical problem of scheduling conflicts and overlaps. This enabled the academy to offer more effective and flexible learning experiences for trainees and wider accessibility of its innovative aviation program. 

The solution, deployed on Azure, logs 100 percent uptime SLA, while its AI-powered chatbots are providing learners with instant support and guidance.

“Sharing this journey with Netways and Microsoft has not just been about achieving business goals; it’s been about building a relationship based on trust, mutual respect, and shared ambition. I can’t recommend them highly enough to anyone looking to not just navigate the digital landscape but to truly excel in it,” Ahmed said.

TMS helped PSAA achieve the following KPIs and business outcomes: 

KPIs

• 7,000+ courses completed
• 100 percent migration to online payments
• 100 percent migration to automated issuance of certificates
• 100 percent growth in timely notifications to trainees and instructors
• 5,000+ mobile app downloads and web access by users
• 350 instructor schedules managed
• 250 training facilities digitized

Ongoing business outcomes

Sustainable digital business: Achieving sustainability in the highly specialized aviation training business and accomplishing a significant milestone in digital transformational journey.

Inclusive economic access: Ensuring inclusive and democratized access to aviation training.

Efficient session management: Attaining efficient session management through automated scheduling and optimization.

Real-time data handling: Accurate and up-to-date data on trainees, instructors, courses, and scheduling.

Enhanced data security: Achieving data protection and privacy KPIs by assuring authorized personnel security roles are defined and adopted in TMS.

Transparency and compliance: Meeting the requirements of the General Authority of Civil Aviation for transparency and compliance by providing it with dashboards and access to TMS records for auditing purposes.

Optimized resource allocation: Using Azure AI Algorithms, the academy achieved the most optimized resources allocation, maximizing efficiency.