EVA Air Improves Data Security by Using Amazon WorkSpaces

By using Amazon WorkSpaces, EVA Air controls the access that external IT contractors have to its proprietary data and resources from remote locations. As a five-star airline, EVA Air is consistently ranked as one of the world’s best and safest. EVA Air uses Amazon WorkSpaces for its virtual desktop environments.

Taiwan’s major international airline, EVA Air, employs an extended team of 40 contract staff to assist with its application development and testing efforts. As external vendors, they are restricted in their access to the airline’s proprietary data and resources. However, the airline has found it challenging to manage the in-office presence of multiple contractors, who could inadvertently view, or access data not required for their work.

EVA Air looked to create virtual desktop environments for its contractors and evaluated several desktop-as-a-service vendors. The airline even considered building its own on-premises solution but found it too costly. Eventually, it chose Amazon Web Services (AWS), which impressed the business with its proven track record of reliability and stability, as well as the breadth and depth of its services. “AWS struck us as a highly mature service with stellar customer support,” says Eric Chiu, IT manager at EVA Air.

EVA Air used Amazon WorkSpaces to create virtual desktop environments in which contractors can securely access the data they need without having to store that data on their own devices. These virtual desktops provide each contractor with access to persistent, encrypted storage volumes on the AWS Cloud. “Everything was so easy to use, and we were able to set up the virtual desktop environments in a week,” says Jason Chen, IT system engineer at EVA Air. 

As a result, EVA Air was able to clearly cordon off the data that would be available to contractors, protecting confidential information and intellectual property while reducing the overall risk of compromising sensitive data.

By taking advantage of Amazon WorkSpaces, EVA Air gains flexible, on-demand access to virtual desktops—a perfect fit for the ever-shifting nature of contract work. As the number of contractors ebbs and flows according to development needs, EVA Air can rapidly provision and deprovision virtual desktops efficiently and cost-effectively. 

EVA Air has recently realized the full extent of this benefit because, thanks to Amazon WorkSpaces, the company’s contractors who were already working remotely could carry out their tasks without any interruption. Chiu concludes, “With Amazon WorkSpaces, our contractors are able to continue their work safely and securely during the pandemic. Everything was up and running and we didn’t suffer any loss in productivity.”

To learn more, visit aws.amazon.com/remote-work-learning.