IT Experts Discuss Cloud Technology for Shipbrokers at AXSMarines Forum in London

IT experts of major leading shipbroking firms from all over Europe met recently at AXSMarine's second edition of its “IT Shipbroking Forum” in London.

The AXSMarine gathering comes at a time when evidence is emerging that cloud technology is the future of IT in most industries at global level. This trend is starting to spread as well among shipbroking agencies. IT Director Lars Henrik Folke Ossum comments: “With many locations on different continents and time zones and always on the move, it is always a challenge to have access to updated information. Cloud based solutions address this problem and offers flexibility that most companies struggle to implement. Cloud based solutions brings both internal and external collaboration to a new level and limit the infrastructure costs compared to an on-site private installation.”

Dealing with e-mail overflow was another issue tackled during the forum. The shipping industry has been struggling for a solution helping shipbrokers deal with the flood of emails they receive daily. It is not uncommon for a broker to receive more than 3 000 e-mails each day. Since 60% of e-mails are already formatted information, it is possible to develop other ways of exchanging data. Delegates agreed that this problem could be solved if the industry gathered and collectively decided on a better way to manage information and looked for alternatives to e-mails.

Hugo Rousse, AXSMarine's London Director, comments: "To manage information we identified two main trends: filtering and sorting e-mails on one side and building consolidated databases on the other. The more e-mails are received the more difficult it is to consolidate all information. AXSMarine provides cloud based systems which give a competitive advantage to shipbrokers. With our up-to-date vessel database, the integration of AIS positions and mobile applications, we strive to meet our client’s demands and constantly invest to develop improved versions of our products.”

AXSMarine plans in hosting its forum annually in a bid to create a think tank community for IT in shipbroking.