Digital transformation is changing the way businesses function and provide value to customers. We are seeing this revolution across sectors such as BFSI, healthcare, manufacturing, logistics, and many more. Maritime businesses are no exception either. Digitisation or the use new-age agile technologies has tremendous potential for maritime businesses such as cruise ships, commercial vessels, fishing and offshore oil and gas.

Technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Internet of Things and Blockchain – powered by VSAT connectivity — can find solutions to multitude of challenges faced by maritime businesses.

Let’s look at the issues faced by businesses at sea and how VSAT can be a game-changer:

Maintaining the hundreds of machinery on vessels is one of the biggest challenges. Any breakdown or downtime can mean disruption to business and high expenditure to repair.

How VSAT can help: With robust connectivity, maritime businesses can plug IoT sensors and leverage ML to ensure predictive maintenance. This can monitor machine health and raise a red flag before a machinery fails. Businesses can then take a predictive step, rather than reactive to maintain machines and ensure business continuity, as well as save costs.

Vessels at sea are at a loss because they do not get visibility into vessel parameters such as engine health, fuel levels, weather conditions, etc.

How VSAT can help: One of the key business benefits of digital transformation is visibility and insight into the workings – be it a factory or a vessel in the middle of the ocean. By providing 99.9% uptime with satellite connectivity, VSAT can help monitor and transmit vessel parameters. It can enable real-time navigation, bring fuel efficiencies and reduce costs, while also giving frequent and accurate weather updates.

Without internet connectivity, vessels have to rely on offline applications. This results into discrepancies between ship and onshore databases. This needs admin staff to be duplicated on each vessel. Expensive communication means it is kept limited.

How VSAT can help: IT digitization powered by VSAT can enable cost effective real-time communication of data for improved vessel performance and continued monitoring of sensor data for enhanced operations. It can make the vessel an extension of the offshore office by providing access to business critical applications such as ERP and CRM. Unwavering connectivity means access to public and private cloud as well as 24X7 data, voice and video availability.

Staying away from loved ones for extended periods of time is tough on crew members and brings their morale down. Customers too want to stay online at all times in today’s hyper connected world, and there is a high possibility of losing them without the right infrastructure to deliver what they need.

How VSAT can help: VSAT can play a pivotal role in improving crew welfare by providing them connectivity via voice, data and video at all times to stay in touch with friends and family, as well as to unwind. Access to the internet and on-demand entertainment services can help cruise ships ensure customer delight.

From safety, communication, business continuity to crew welfare and customer delight, VSAT can be the catalyst maritime businesses need to embrace IT digitisation, grow and gain a competitive edge.