Page 68: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (August 2024)

TECH FEATURE SOFTWARE SOLUTIONS “Collaboration between solution providers, shipping and logistics companies, and most importantly, the very people that will be expected to work with new technologies, is key to their successful integration.” – Ali Riaz, CEO, OrbitMI ing at the longer-term gains, and avoid buying into those that the end-user. It is a bit like selling car components and expect- are not ? t for purpose,” Riaz explains. ing the customer to put it together, and not many people want

Shipping companies are under mounting pressure to adopt to do that,” he says.

new technologies for operational ef? ciencies to meet demands This is also an issue highlighted by the Thetius study for regulatory compliance and must also navigate a confusing ‘Avoiding the Digital Divide’ that states: “Many organizations software marketplace following the proliferation of myriad are still implementing digital and automation projects in silos, digital solutions over the past decade or so. largely due to a lack of alignment between departments and

Data from research ? rm Thetius indicates digital transfor- industry-wide fragmentation.

mation in ship operations and management technology is a “Collaboration between solution providers, shipping and $11 billion industry with around 600 players and a compound logistics companies, and most importantly, the very people annual growth rate of about 4.5%. that will be expected to work with new technologies, is key to

Against this backdrop, companies face challenges in ? nding their successful integration.” the best tools and sourcing solutions that remain relevant as Riaz points out that a lack of integration presents a busi- the industry evolves and business needs change. The fast pace ness risk as companies with several ‘black box’ systems from of technological advancement can result in solutions becom- different suppliers may be left high and dry with unsupported ing outdated quickly, according to Thetius’ study ‘Navigating and outdated systems if one or more of these vendors goes out

New Financial Seas’. of business or is acquired.

But Riaz says an abundance of data and rapid adoption of new software do not necessarily amount to digital transforma- No ‘One Size Fits All’ Solution tion, which is de? ned as enhancing business performance by “It is unrealistic to assume that any one vendor can provide integrating people and technology to make operational pro- a 'one size ? ts all’ solution covering all aspects of ship opera- cesses more ef? cient and pro? table. tions. Vendors must realize they are part of an ecosystem and must collaborate within this ecosystem through data-sharing

Vendor Evaluation Criteria to best serve customer needs and deliver value through in-

As well as having a strategic and structured approach to novation,” he says.

technology adoption with clearly de? ned goals, a further pri- The Orbit vessel performance system developed by NYC- ority is proper software vendor evaluation criteria with a view based software-as-a-service company OrbitMI integrates to long-term partnership, he says. multiple APIs from various vendors to create intelligent con-

The ability of a vendor to collaborate, both with clients nected work? ows, using data analytics with AI and machine and other third-party suppliers, should be a key factor for learning to provide real-time actionable insights for faster shipping companies making software investment decisions, voyage decision-making to support ef? ciencies, cut costs and according to Riaz. reduce emissions.

“Without collaboration in the maritime tech industry, the “Integrated, holistic solutions that are also integrable with burden of integration and therefore value creation is left with existing IT infrastructure can provide the necessary system 68 Maritime Reporter & Engineering News • August 2024

MR #8 (66-75).indd 68 8/8/2024 4:36:27 PM