Page 53: of Maritime Logistics Professional Magazine (Q3 2011)

Just imagine a product that helps organ- ize the sharing and use of informationamong business partners in the Maritime sector, while at the same time pro- viding robust banking-level encryption to all involved. Then, imagine a tamper-proof audit trail of all business activities. Finally, imagine a virtual command center that is accessibleanywhere an internet connection is available, instantly linking you, your partners and scoresof different streams of data as you go about running your business. Finally, imagine that all of that is possible now ? because ShipDecision is already here.Simply described, ShipDecision is a mar-itime Software as a Service (SaaS) solution that helps organize the sharing and use of information among business partners in the Maritime sector. With specific modules for Operators, Brokers, Charterers, Surveyors, Agents, Insurers and Registries, ShipDecision 3.0 saves time, reduces costs, and helps create a competitive advantage. Using an electronic vault, all data ? voyage documents, data and communications ? is safely secured where itcan be accessed by authorized users who needto work with the information. SHORE-BASED BEGINNINGS Started in 1990 as a tool for insuranceclients to make the claims process easier andless adversarial, ShipDecision?s founder Albert Carbone eventually found synergies between its original purpose and the day-to-day operations of maritime companies every- where. Carbone maintains that by more close-ly tracking information, the software also ?bringing together antagonistic parties.? And, because maritime parties to a contract cansometimes be adversarial, the fit was a good one.Evolving from the Stelvio software compa- ny, and strictly adhering to their motto of pro- viding ?industry driven software solutions,? the Montreal headquartered firm has about 30 employees in Canada and now, 7 in Australia. From one original maritime client who was moving steel cargoes between the old Soviet www.maritimeprofessional.com Maritime Professional 53 With some clients averaging 8,000 to 10,000 e- mails managed on a daily basis, ShipDecision?s robust capacity have proven its durability, and easily handles the typical data flow for a medi- um sized ship owner and/or operator. SSoftware ShipDecision: Bringing it all Together Software Combines Security, Transparency and Prevents Data Loss. by Joseph Keefe SOFTWARE SOLUTIONS MP #3 (50-64):MP Layouts 8/17/2011 4:37 PM Page 53