"Collaboration Challenges in Maritime and Shipping".
Maritime Satellite Communications Optimization.
Collaboration
Users of Mobile Satellite Services (MSS), in particular Maritime users, have had to contend with a very low speed (9.6 Kbps typical), non-IP based infrastructure.
The main consequence is that the remote / vessel collaboration platform has been developed in a proprietary, non-IP, database centric fashion, supplied by small niche vendors with a small customer base.
These proprietary collaboration and data exchange tools are not easily compatible with the shore side enterprise applications. Data has to be manipulated before it can be "read" by such applications and the Business has to carefully consider changing to a new system if the vessel system is not easily capable of migration.
Enterprise Applications were designed for use in offices in a Local Area Network (LAN) and not a Wide Area Network (WAN) environment - especially not a global and/or satellite enabled WAN. Data exchanged and the underlying "chattiness" of such applications make them unsuitable for Vessel deployment.
However from a data migration, exchange and usability viewpoint, standard "office" applications should be deployed across the entire organization, both on ship and shore. Most staff, of any nationality, would be familiar with Microsoft® Office and thus would be able to use the applications within that framework with little or no training.
By eliminating the chatty connectivity of LAN Applications and significantly reducing the data exchanged, whether over a live / "constant on" VSAT or T1 link, or over a demand assigned broadband satellite link, Infonic Geo-Replicator, through its portal content replication technology, enables onboard deployment of Enterprise Collaboration tools such as:
• Microsoft® SharePoint (MOSS 2007)
• Portals and Intranets
• Document Management and Business Process
• Standard off the shelf enterprise software
The satellite element of the WAN need not be the barrier to complete Enterprise Collaboration inclusive of the whole fleet. Infonic’s Geo-Replicator Server to Server and Server to Laptop server content replication solutions enable data synchronisation both ways between remote and central sites, allowing true global collaboration on the Business Enterprise content shore and sea staff working in offices and onboard vessels all over the world.
Customer success story
Dredging International’s (DI) high-tech fleet of trailing suction hopper dredgers and cutter suction dredgers take leading roles in port construction from France to India, Singapore, Australia and Uruguay.
DI was required to comply with ISM regulations including requirements for vessels to hold up-to-date Health and Safety documentation. The company deployed Microsoft® SharePoint as a central repository for this and other information.
To keep the information on board up to date, whilst minimizing the data sent over satellite, DI deployed Infonic Geo-Replicator software for SharePoint server content replication.
"Satellite communication costs were not the key concern at the time of choosing Infonic…", says Peter Warnier, "…those savings just became apparent at the time of testing. The main purpose was the roll out of SharePoint to the vessels in an efficient manner."
For more infomation please contact: maritime@infonic.com or Enquire Online.