iNM

integrated Network Management

The next generation of network management operational systems

THIS IS PART OF
Optimised operational performance | Network Manager
Network operations
iNM
Read our iNM launch event press release

We officially launched the integrated Network Management (iNM) programme with a hybrid event at EUROCONTROL's Brussels headquarters and virtually on 22 September 2021. The event featured speeches from EUROCONTROL Director General Eamonn Brennan, EUROCONTROL Director Network Management Iacopo Prissinotti and the CEOs of the programme partners. It ended with the signature of the iNM charter. 

Read the press release here

The EUROCONTROL Network Manager (NM) has embarked on a digital transformation journey to replace its core legacy systems which have successfully ensured flow and network management for over 25 years. Known as iNM – the integrated network management programme will put in place a range of innovative digital products enabling EUROCONTROL, in its capacity as the Network Manager designated by the European Commission, to maximise the efficiency, safety and sustainability of the European aviation network through a new generation of cutting-edge, resilient and scalable operational systems.

The ten-year integrated Network Management (iNM) programme envisages by 2030 the incremental renewal of all the NM’s main operational systems, resulting in a new digital architecture that will harness the power of innovation and enable NM to deliver ever more integrated business services and products to its stakeholders.

Business case

NM’s current operational systems have for over 25 years enabled EUROCONTROL to manage successfully the European network, displaying in that time unparalleled reliability and resilience. However, they are now reaching their technical limits in terms of performance and agility, at a time of ever-growing business challenges in terms of new business capabilities, emerging regulatory requirements, and technological evolutions.

EUROCONTROL has entered into a strategic partnership with technology companies Indra and Atos-Cronos to work with established EUROCONTROL partners Cegeka and Sopra Steria to deliver the iNM programme. iNM will result in a scalable solution that meets NM’s performance requirements for decades to come.

At the heart of iNM will be advanced capabilities and new services that support the evolution of operational concepts over the next decade and beyond, encompassing:

  • enterprise architecture;
  • agile development;
  • artificial intelligence and machine learning;
  • big data and data analytics;
  • probability modelling;
  • predictive analysis;
  • cloud solutions;
  • scalable systems;
  • cyber resilience.

iNM will enable NM to transform its business services, resulting in three key deliverables:

  • a single flight manager system that seamlessly manages both flight and flow domains;
  • a unique dynamic airspace system that eliminates overlaps and inconsistencies between legacy systems and databases;
  • one API for internal and external human machine interfaces.

Timeline

  • September 2019
    iNM programme charter developed
  • December 2019
    iNM approved in 2019 by EUROCONTROL’s Member States, following the successful renomination by the European Commission of EUROCONTROL as the Network Manager for a further decade earlier in 2019
  • January 2020
    Issuance of a call for tender calling on IT partners capable of delivering the next generation of digital solutions
  • July 2021
    iNM contracts signature
  • September 2021
    Launch of the iNM programme through a strategic partnership with industry
  • September – December 2021
    Development of an iNM integrated Roadmap for the digital products, the digital platform and the legacy systems
  • 2022
    Work on initial orders
  • Winter 2023/2024
    First operational components come online
  • 2024-2029
    Evolution  of all legacy systems towards the iNM system