Enterprise Resource Planning or Digital Solutions is the integrated management of core business processes that allows an organization to leverage a suite of integrated applications that help in streamlining, automating processes, creating a direct, precise, and efficient operation.
Furthermore, Digital Solutions offers complete visibility in processes and optimizes them via superior resource tracking and reporting, database management and data sharing, and overall improved information systems. Digital Solutions assist businesses to expand without the addition of IT or staff costs.
Now, we are talking about Digital Solutions because our quest The 10 Most Leading Digital Solutions Providers To Watch in 2020 took us to an Digital Solutions provider that serves the maritime industry. It privileges us to commence this edition with MariApps, a pioneer in providing digital solutions to the marine industry.
With inception in late 2014, MariApps is a five-year-old young firm. Within such a short time, the firm caters to over 40 clients both internally and externally. The firm serves the industry with a vision i.e. not to be the largest player in the market but to be the niche player, serving the organizations on a digital journey.
CEO, Sankar Ragavan spearheads the firm and has been visionary in bringing the flagship product smartPAL. He possesses over two decades of experience in the IT leadership role that digitizes the complete ship management operations. Mr. Ragavan has been the towering strength behind the inception of the company, formulating growth measures with a team of highly efficient technology professionals and maritime domain experts.
Thorough Industry Understanding
The firm comprehended that the market they will penetrate has large contenders and players. Perceiving matters, MariApps went in with a different offering. Going an uncommon way, the firm established itself as a partner rather than being a solution provider.
MariApps is not any traditional vendor who walks away from its clients after providing the license. Instead, it stays with the client and provides complete project management. It comes in as a partner and supports in organizational change management, communication management, and project management of the implementation.
Training is another powerful part, which the firm implements across offices and continues to support the application will all the modern features. Hence, MariApps ensures that the client receives the best benefit of the solution.
Meet Leading-edge Software- smartPAL
The first-of-a-kind app allows consumers to monitor ships, obtain real-time finance, performance, and operational data to enable the decision-making process easier, handle market risks, and maximize uptime. smartPAL covers all functions including Crewing, Payroll, Planned Maintenance, Procurement, Finance, HSEQ, Catering, Voyage, Dry Dock, Document management, Commercial, and Insurance in a single integrated solution and comes with standard interfacing to leading banks and major vendors. It also digitizes all ship management functions and along with applications like Business Intelligence, LiveFleet, eConnect, and overall improves stakeholder participation.
More than 1000 vessels run with the help of MariApps applications and mobile applications connect seafarer and staff all over the world. At present, MariApps is in the process of setting up a digital platform, combining data from smartPAL Digital Solutions and telemetry data. Such set up will take the company to the next level of the digital platform, enabling new processes in ship management.
Other than that, MariApps offers:
Application Development
Testing and implementation of leading-edge custom applications to drive innovation and growth across a wide range of architectures, technologies, platforms, and devices.
MariApps Innovation Hub (MIH)
Development of newer technologies such as Big data (using Power BI), IoT, BlockChain, Augmented Reality (AR) etc.
Cloud Storage & Infrastructure
Full support cloud services on Microsoft Azure as a Microsoft Gold Partner and ISV (Independent Software Vendor)
Mobile Solutions
Mobile platform compatibility to make mobile technology easy, reliable and unified.
Business Consulting
Business processes analysis using extensive maritime experience to help clients improve their performance efficiency and bottom line
Data building for PMS and Technical modules
Creating data for the entire PMS data library. Gathering information for the technical form, surveys for the entire fleet.
PMO
Follows leading project management standards (PMI) to execute projects and the dedicated Project Management Office (PMO) manages projects for various customers
Data Migration
Migrate the existing data from any legacy systems in a very systematic and phased manner
A Team that Delivers
MariApps cites its employees to be the biggest strength and greatest assets with the commitment to provide them the best workplace. They are loyal, committed, and hard workers who ensure that the customer is always happy. The company also provides them with a great working environment, pay, benefit, flexible working hours, etc. This is the direct result of the company’s low attrition. MariApps also has its own R&D department which explores all the possibilities of modern technology and adapts best to the smartPAL Digital Solutions suite.
Paying homage to the team, Mr. Ragavan asserts, “Our team is our core strength and we are committed to giving them the best workplace. We are constructing a new campus in SmartCity, Kochi and is expected to complete in the next few months. We are entering new domains like Travel & Insurance which has immediate interactions with the shipping industry.”
Built for Businesses
The applications developed by MariApps are built on the Microsoft platform and hence, suit diverse businesses to gain a competitive edge in the global scenario. Furthermore, MariApps is in collaboration with Navidium, a Finnish fintech company, which specializes in telemetry and performance monitoring, real-time performance monitoring, voyage optimization, fuel-saving, and predictive maintenance.
Behind the vessel command and control center, a technical expert such as nautical engineer or master mariner will provide real-time asset information, fleet analytics to the fleet teams. These teams in the diverse office and in ships aid in making real-time decision-making.
A Step Ahead
In its fruitful journey, MariApps has risen rapidly in the maritime industry through effective research and providing end-to-end digital solutions. It has served exceptionally to every aspect of modern maritime fleet management.
With the inclusion of technologies such as Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning that makes processes easy, error-free, MariApps’s product portfolio is diversified and sets the base for future maritime applications.
“With the Industry experience and the huge data volume with our customers; we are building business intelligence solutions. We are entering new domains like Travel & Insurance which has immediate interactions with the shipping industry,” concludes Mr. Ragavan.
