Page 38: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (November 2015)

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

Big IT

How fast, how far will IT drive maritime?

BY STEVE DRIVER he IT industry doesn’t like to asked is how far industry specialization tage in using software that shares best suppliers who are embedded in many stand still. Upgrades, updates, offers value. In the maritime industry, technology practice: the need for replica- industrial sectors, and who have signi? - new versions and enhanced every system must be class approved. tion mastered by shipping operators can cant investment programmes in those

Tfunctionality are released on a That’s clearly not negotiable. But after apply to offshore drilling platforms; the sectors, can deliver greater bene? t to regular basis. New services are enabled, that, the bene? ts of a system that is fo- role of technology in managing health, maritime operators. It’s the same prin- bottlenecks eliminated, more joined up cused solely on maritime but does not safety and environment by drilling op- cipal as the automobile industry, where operations enabled. The underlying plat- draw on other industrial sectors and in- erators can offer signi? cant bene? t to cars built in small numbers with limited form remains the same but, over time, its ? uences is less clear. maritime businesses facing ever-closer markets often lack the latest features and capabilities evolve and stretch to meet The bare minimum for an asset man- scrutiny in these areas. can be less reliable than more popular changing expectations. agement system must be that it gives or- These highly regulated industries also models backed by signi? cant investment

But then, every so often, something ganizations control over physical assets tend to share the rugged environmental from manufacturers. In the same way, far more dramatic comes along. We are by collecting and sharing information on conditions that characterize the maritime software developers that draw on wide- experiencing one of these more dramatic reliability, maintenance, inventory, re- industry. The demands of an offshore ranging expertise and user feedback pro- periods at the moment. The latest tech- sources and personnel, and by dissemi- drilling platform are at least comparable duce robust, reliable solutions that meet nology trends – the impact of mobile, nating and enforcing best operational if not identical to those in commercial actual need. the power of Big Data, the possibilities practice over the lifetime of the asset. shipping. Again, best practice on manag-

The latest technology trends – the impact of mobile, the power of Big Data, the pos- sibilities of the Internet of Things (IoT), the demands of interoperability – aren’t about tweaking, enhancing existing systems and solutions, or adopting incremen- tal upgrades. Instead they are creating whole new meaning from business activity and transforming our understanding of what can be achieved.

of the Internet of Things (IoT), the de- Inevitably, in a maritime environment, ing maintenance schedules, for example, Integration and Interoperability mands of interoperability – aren’t about the dif? culties of ship-to-shore and ship- can be shared to mutual advantage. Se- Asset management software that tweaking, enhancing existing systems to-ship connectivity are extensive, and lecting systems developed with knowl- shares expertise from many sectors ex- and solutions, or adopting incremen- so some form of a robust data replication edge gained from serving a variety of tends the pool of ‘best of breed’ technol- tal upgrades. Instead they are creating capability is needed. The availability of industrial sectors enables maritime ? eet ogies from which industries can draw. whole new meaning from business activ- data is increasingly relevant as more and operators to bene? t from this shared ex- But it’s not the only form of sharing that ity and transforming our understanding more devices that can be remotely moni- pertise. Seen in this light, the focus on is available. Another of the big trends of what can be achieved. tored are attached to the network and software that comes solely from within a now dominating the IT sector is the use

The opportunities for forward-think- produce ever-more data for analysis. single sector appears limiting. of APIs to link together separate systems ing companies are immense, and the But the need for data availability is We are already seeing this type of to create a more seamless whole. Ven- maritime sector is no exception. Systems shared by a number of industries: off- expertise sharing across a number of dors are also making specialist modules that help manage physical assets for shore drilling in the oil and gas business, commercial sectors outside heavy in- readily available to their core product to example are prone to exactly the same remote exploration by mining compa- dustry. Apple is bringing its particular create a more ? exible and scalable solu- transformative trends as the latest start- nies and even long-haul ? eet managers expertise to retail transactions and pay- tion. ups coming out of Silicon Valley. Old need advanced systems that help them ments business, for example. Intel is get- For example, as a standalone system, certainties are being questioned and en- manage plant, production, infrastructure, ting involved in watchmaking. Amazon an asset management solution provides ticing new possibilities are being consid- facilities, transportation and communi- is using its retail platform to become a an important, even necessary function. ered. When looking to review or upgrade cations in far-from-easy circumstances. signi? cant player in cloud provision. When it shares information with and systems, maritime operators should also Data often needs to be examined by Similar levels of cross-fertilization and responds to data from supply chain sys- consider solutions that will deliver the off-site managers or geographically knowledge share can help develop best tems, ? nance applications, enterprise new technology. spread teams in as close to real time as practice among the maritime and other resource planning (ERP) then that func- possible, without the ‘always on’ con- industrial sectors who have similar prob- tionality is signi? cantly enhanced. It

Specialization or Cross Fertilization nectivity that less mobile industries en- lems to solve. means the time and resources required

One of the biggest questions being joy. In this sense, there is huge advan- It’s also worth noting that software to provide an end-to-end asset manage- 38 Maritime Reporter & Engineering News • NOVEMBER 2015

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