The last few weeks have seen Navarino analyze the 2020 Digitalization Uncovered research report, conducted and carried out by Inmarsat, which gives us a deeper insight into the shipping industries primary drivers for adopting digital practices, procedures, and technology. Previously, we have analyzed and discussed how reducing operational costs acts as a primary driver for digitalization, with 71% of the report’s research respondents agreeing that reducing operational costs and creating operational efficiencies was the top priority in the digitalization process. We have also seen how increasing pressure from regulatory and governmental bodies to comply with mounting cyber and environmental requirements has urged maritime to adopt digital tools and processes which support compliance to these requirements (with 60% of respondents agreeing that this was the second priority for maritime). In the final installment of this analysis, Navarino explore how creating better value for customers is the third-most driver for maritime, with 45% of respondents agreeing.
Creating better value doesn’t just mean saving on cost, it means an increase of choice and availability to products and services which empower business growth. Value also means different things to different customers; whilst some may place a higher value on VoiP, others may value more the ability to have telepresence onboard, and others a strong cyber security package. Therefore, true value is found in the choice customers have and the different technologies available, as well as the quality of these technological products and services; if they can adapt to suit different needs and meet different requirements.
Ship owners and stakeholders ranked creating better value for customers as the third most important factor driving digitalization, at 45%. What this means is with a more mature maritime digital environment, shipping companies can offer to customers more opportunities for things such as real-time data, better visibility along the value chain, and technologies which enable cost-savings. Ultimately, this facilitates the attraction and retention of customers as companies are able to better provide for specific and growing demand.
Taking Navarino’s Quazar as an example, the service takes the complexities of the increasing amounts of maritime technology and compresses them into a single, unified platform, managed by Navarino. With an increasingly digitized maritime environment, IT managers can find themselves preoccupied with working hard to comply with new regulations, optimizing operations in order to remain competitive, reducing costs, and creating efficiencies, all without the proper resources to do so. This makes them oftentimes unable to invest time into developing their business’ IT infrastructure and hinders the company’s opportunity to evolve. Therefore, Quazar creates value through offering a scapegoat – a specialist team to undertake the extras so IT Managers can focus on prioritizing their efforts.
Moreover, Cyber-attacks on maritime OT systems have increased by 900% in the last 3 years, as reported by Naval Dome. Ultimately, this makes cyber security and the proper detect, protect, and response systems vital to ensuring maritime counters this influx of cyber criminals. Thus, Angel’s value to customers is found through its highly effective cyber protection – being the first maritime cyber security solution to the market. Through being adaptable to the unique and diverse needs of maritime, Angel significantly reduces risk and provides that assurance ship owners need to ensure vital assets are protected.
Again, in a different scenario, better value for customers means providing entertainment to crew. Theasis by Navarino offers crew 100 movies upon installation, with 10 extra uploaded every month. With this service, value is formed in the way of crew welfare; a focus of growing importance to the maritime community.
With a diverse range of technological services to sustain differing needs, value can be not only improved but created to serve customers. Ship owners are able to utilize the constantly innovating market and new technologies to improve their business operations, providing better value for their customers.