It’s no secret that for a travel technology company to innovate, it must keep a keen pulse on tomorrow’s talent, tools, and trends. After all, the future is a lot closer than it appears. It’s unfolding right here, right now.

Fareportal takes pride in having some of the brightest and most innovative minds in the Travel & Tourism industry among its ranks who are dedicated to leading the way as we continue to define the future of travel. One of these shining lights is Ankur Ahuja, CISO and Vice President of Information Security.

Ankur has been working hand-in-hand with the Data Security Council of India (DSCI) for more than eight years. Long recognized as an information security subject matter expert, he is among 27 professionals recently selected by the DSCI to be a startup mentor for the National Centre of Excellence (N-CoE) for Cybersecurity Technology Development, a joint initiative formed by the DSCI and India’s Ministry of Electronics & IT (MeitY). In this advisory role, Ankur will support the growth of approximately 30 early-stage cybersecurity startups of national interest by providing guidance and feedback on the companies’ programs. His efforts will support India’s “Make in India” and “Digital India” initiatives that aim to secure manufacturing investment, bolster economic growth, and improve online infrastructure in the second-most populous country in the world.

Ankur’s mentorship selection gives him the opportunity to reap the rewards that only a select group of individuals can access. He will be able to keep that ever-important pulse on the latest happenings in India’s cybersecurity industry, and he will work directly with startups that address new problems that surface in the rapidly evolving cybersecurity landscape, keeping him at the cutting edge of the industry.

Like Ankur, Fareportal will benefit too. Our cybersecurity team partners with many startup agencies to keep our data safe, and it’s likely that Ankur will mentor startups that will be able to solve Fareportal’s security challenges of the future.

Recently, our Mobile Engineering team successfully migrated the development of our CheapOair apps for iOS and Android to React Native.

React Native is an open-source mobile application framework that provides a single codebase, effectively eliminating the need to code separately for iOS and Android. Our team’s ability to share this codebase across platforms boosts their productivity, improves speed to market, allows for quicker integration with partner offerings, and delivers a greatly improved customer experience.

Our Mobile Engineering team took a data-driven approach and closely analyzed usage in preparation for this awesome migration. They identified engagement pattern shifts that took place throughout the app, and they used the collected data to prioritize development to serve our customers’ evolving travel needs. Once React Native launched, the team quickly rolled out in-demand features and performance improvements – resulting in a double-digit conversion rate gain.

This new architectural foundation places CheapOair in an even stronger position to bring more new travel-related digital products to their customers. Part of an ongoing series of enhancements, Fareportal’s Mobile Engineering team is poised to roll out new travel-related digital products to CheapOair’s iOS and Android apps in its mission to provide an end-to-end, all-in-one planning & booking solution for the traveling public.