Orange
Business Services has joined a European Union-sponsored initiative
to play a key role in the development of new business intelligence and
IT standards that are set to improve management tools used by the
shipping industry. A key goal is to help shipping companies take complex
decisions on the basis of valid, up-to-date information across all ship
management lifecycle processes. This will not only make it easier to
manage vessels, but also seamlessly integrate them into a company’s
corporate infrastructure thereby facilitating real-time business
decisions, enabling cost savings, and improving safety and crew welfare.
As part of the EIS (“Exzellenzinitiative Schiffsmanagement”) initiative,
Orange Business Services will be the sole provider for ship-to-shore,
vessel-based and land-based communication infrastructure. As part of
this project, Orange will implement a cloud-based satellite solution on
several vessels run by COLUMBIA Ship Management, one of the four largest
ship managers worldwide. The initiative includes the support of the
European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the City of Hamburg,
Germany, one of the most influential maritime centers of the world and
home to the second largest container port in Europe. The project will
also strengthen the city of Hamburg’s competency in specialized maritime
IT systems.
The solution provided by Orange comprises the communication hardware of
the vessels, the onshore data center as well as the design and
development of traffic optimization tools. The integration of satellite
communications with Business
VPN, a fully managed IP-based VPN service, with private access to
cloud services will enable COLUMBIA Ship Management to benefit from a
high-performance, secure solution without relying on the Internet.
“Communication at sea constitutes specific challenges and was
historically a source of problems in terms of cost, performance and
support. With the help of Orange Business Services, we want to utilize
this project to test and design solutions that help the industry take a
giant leap forward and set new standards in maritime IT. With this
initiative, we want to build a remotely managed, integrated
communication and application infrastructure onboard that intelligently
connects the vessel to the office at the lowest possible cost. We are
very proud to be a key driver of this project,” said Timothy Scheller,
project manager at COLUMBIA Ship Management.
“With the new cloud-based platform in this project, we can demonstrate
how improved communication between vessels and their management will
streamline business tools and decisions,” said Michel Verbist, Head of
International Business Development, Satellite at Orange Business
Services. “Real-time ship-to-shore communication can provide a
competitive advantage for both large and small shipping companies around
the world. We look forward to providing innovative cloud solutions for
other players in the maritime sector in the months to come.”
Orange Business Services has a strong track record in the shipping
and maritime industries, providing a wide range of services – from
satellite communications systems to telepresence, and now cloud
solutions – to 8 of the top 10 container shipping companies in the world.
Along with Orange Business Services, the five subprojects of EIS will be
implemented by partners such as DNV/GL
Group, evidanza
AG, Humance Maritime Services GmbH, MarDynamics and Portal
Systems. The consortium of partners plans to establish joint sales
activities and agreements in order to conduct joint research and
development activities from Hamburg.
About Orange Business Services
Orange Business Services, the Orange branch dedicated to B2B services,
is a leading global integrator of communications solutions for
multinational corporations. With the world's largest, seamless network
for voice and data, Orange Business Services reaches 220 countries and
territories with local support in 166. Offering a comprehensive package
of communication services covering cloud computing, enterprise mobility,
M2M, security, unified communications, videoconferencing, and broadband,
Orange Business Services delivers a best-in-class customer experience
across a global landscape. Thousands of enterprise customers and 1.4
million mobile data users rely on an Orange Business Services
international platform for communicating and conducting business. Orange
Business Services was awarded four of the telecom industry’s highest
accolades at the annual World Communication Awards 2013 – Best Global
Operator, Best Cloud Service, Best Enterprise Service and Best Small
Business Service. Orange Business Services is a seven-time winner of
Best Global Operator. Learn more at www.orange-business.com
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Orange is one of the world’s leading telecommunications operators with
annual sales of €41 billion in 2013 and has 165,000 employees worldwide
at Dec. 31, 2013. Orange is listed on the NYSE Euronext Paris (symbol
ORA) and on the New York Stock Exchange (symbol ORAN).
Orange and any other Orange product or service names included in this
material are trademarks of Orange Brand Services Limited.
Copyright Business Wire 2014