Page 67: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (August 2024)

TECH FEATURE SOFTWARE SOLUTIONS

Business deals for digital solutions are fraught with risk and shipping companies need to

Photo: 123RF choose software vendors wisely.

A MATTER OF TRUST:

T e Million-Dollar Question of Software Vendor Selection he rapid pace of technological change makes it amid the cacophony of competing vendors, so due diligence challenging for shipping companies to implement is vital in software decision-making to avoid the pain of sustainable digital solutions that can generate val- wasted resources from failed projects farther down the line,

T ue over time. Focusing on long-term partnerships according to Riaz.

with vendors that understand your evolving business needs This requires a thorough internal assessment process and offer future-proof solutions is a prerequisite for success- prior to making software investment decisions to evaluate ful software investments, says OrbitMI. current systems and work? ows, identify areas for improve- “Tomorrow’s needs will require more innovation, so under- ment, determine the problems that need to be solved and standing a company’s roadmap for digital transformation is establish the desired goals of process automation, such as really important. Close client-vendor collaboration with trust cost reduction, emissions control, compliance reporting or and transparency is necessary to ensure solutions are the right safety improvements.

? t for the company’s process automation requirements and are also adaptable and scalable as needs change,” explains Or- Plotting Course for Tech Adoption bitMI CEO Ali Riaz. “The initial evaluation stage is essential to plot a course for

Technology adoption requires investments in time, money what the company wants to achieve at a strategic level so that and effort but selecting the right solution can be dif? cult it can research solutions able to meet its speci? c needs, look- www.marinelink.com 67

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