For four months a year, Peter Vizzard and Judy Lynne, proprietors of Balloon Aloft Australia, run a hot-air-ballooning company in Australia from a barge floating along the canals of France, using Mac technology, according to an article posted to the Australian news Web site, The Age.
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They use a Web-based application built for them with Power Mac G4s by Recall Design in Adelaide. Recall built a multilayered Web interface to connect Balloon Aloft’s network of booking offices around Australia, provide secure and private management tools and in-house messaging, plus public access to a booking system with credit-card facilities, according to The Age. Balloon Aloft went from an single-user database system to a totally Web-enabled business.
Vizzard told the news organization that the centralized system simplifies Balloon Aloft’s booking process, as well as making all important information about the company and its operations available on a need-to-know basis to office staff, pilots, and flight crew. The system has streamlined business operations and reduced costs and errors, he added.
What’s more, the online booking system at balloonaloft.com attracts local and international tourists who find it through Google and book before they reach Australia, The Age reports. The icing on the cake: from their barge Vizzard and Lynne can not only keep an eye on their biz, but also take part in European balloon competitions. Vizzard holds Australian and world championships and recently won the Zagreb Championship in Croatia, The Age said. (Thanks to MacCentral reader Les Posen for the heads-up on this article.)