Page 10: of Marine News Magazine (January 2, 2010)

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10 MN January 2010

About Skymira

Skymira has been in business since 1998. The company’s initial offering was an email service targeted at the mar- itime industry and was successful because the service was priced 90% less than Inmarsat C. It’s founder and CEO,

Robert Landsfield, has an Unlimited Master License and spent nearly a decade sailing U.S. flagged chemical tankers.

How has the current economic situation affected your business?

Skymira’s business is thriving as indicated by our being ranked 265th on the Inc5000’s 2009 list of fastest grow- ing private companies in the U.S. Our products and serv- ices enable our customers to scale their business when times are good and reduce operating expenses when times demand cost savings to maintain profit margins.

What sets Skymira apart in the maritime niche?

In addition to being a service provider for Inmarsat,

Iridium, VSAT, SkyTerra and cellular services, Skymira

TailorFit solutions meet the customer’s exact business requirements rather than the traditional model of attempting to pigeon hole those requirements into canned applications. For example, our electronic forms service enables companies to transform their existing paper-based forms into electronic replicas which streamlines the flow of information between the vessel and company opera- tions. The forms service can also be used to add forms when regulations change in the industry. The service enables companies to easily meet EPA’s Vessel General

Permit regulations for logging and maintaining discharge and other required information.

What has been the biggest challenge in getting your product/service on vessels?

As with most companies, our biggest challenge is getting our foot in the door. Once we accomplish that however, insights

Robert Landsfield Skymira Founder & CEO

MarineNews spoke with Robert Landsfield, founder and CEO of Skymira, a provider of turn-key wireless communi- cation systems, about the company’s offerings, its niche in the maritime industry and its investment for the future.

Marine News

Marine News is the premier magazine of the North American Inland, coastal and Offshore workboat markets.