The recently launched maritime Software Evaluation Toolkit (SET), which has been designed to help shipping companies make better informed decisions on digital solutions required for decarbonisation, has reportedly experienced a surge of downloads since its launch last month.
According to Get SET Maritime, a joint initiative of various stakeholders set up to promote the toolkit to the wider industry, there has been a substantial number of downloads. The free open-source tool encompasses a workbook with benchmarking criteria to evaluate different software vendors. Reportedly, there has been a conversion rate of around 36 per cent from visits to the getsetmaritime.com website within a few weeks of the launch.
“This has certainly hit the sweet spot in an industry struggling with digitalisation and the level of interest we have seen shows there is a definite need for such a tool in shipping,” said David Levy of Get SET Maritime.
In addition, three other companies – software suppliers Dataloy and Ports+, and media firm Fathom World – have so far come onboard as supporters, in addition to existing backers Kongsberg Digital, DTN, SEDNA, OrbitMI, Stena Bulk, The Digital Ship, Marine Money and Blue-C.
Levy confirms that SET Maritime is intended to help companies make the right software decisions to speed up industry adoption of new digital technologies that are necessary to meet decarbonisation goals, as well as stimulate cost savings in areas such as fuel efficiency.
“The problem is there are now multiple vendors touting different applications within categories such as voyage management, navigation and cargo & vessel tracking, and this makes the maritime technology landscape very confusing for software buyers,” he stated.
“The number of software vendors has tripled to more than 550 in only three years so there are a lot of aggressive vendors looking to capitalise on market demand for digital tools and it is difficult to determine which of these has a relevant product – or just a Powerpoint presentation.”
“Software buyers can become confused over what type of technology is available in relation to what they really need and, consequently, bad choices are made. Ultimately, progress gets slowed down, and money and valuable time are destroyed.”
Screening and analysis
To tackle this industry issue, SET Maritime functions as a screening and analysis tool that enables software buyers to assess up to six different vendors based on criteria such as company profile, solution architecture, and usage and extendibility.
The workbook has a 1-4 scoring system to rank vendors on a checklist according to these criteria and provides a final visualisation in the form of a radar chart showing the relative performance of each vendor.
Levy underlines the tool is provided as a blank workbook with no pre-set weighting or prioritisation of vendors, so companies do their own scoring and can also customise it according to their individual needs and preferences.
SET Maritime supporter Stena Bulk is already far along in its digitalisation journey, and its sustainability and transformation manager Peter Björkborg commented: “Digital solutions will play a vital role in the decarbonisation of shipping as these can address inefficiencies in both fleets and individual ships. SET Maritime is a key enabler for companies to embark on this transition.”
Get SET Maritime now aims to spread the word to put the toolkit in the hands of technology buyers across the industry, as well as attract new supporters to the cause including classification societies, shipowners, managers and software vendors, according to Levy.
