Innovation is something MarineTraffic takes very seriously. Not just in the products they design, but also in the way people here think and work. In my first two weeks in the office, I have heard the word come up often, but even more so I have seen that innovation in thinking is all around me.
On day one, during my onboarding, Chief Operating Officer Nikos Psaltopoulos explained to me how innovation in thinking is crucial to the success of the company.
“We believe and invest in our people and we pride ourselves for having built a culture that fosters innovation.” says Nikos.
He also believes that innovation is in MarineTraffic DNA and says that this super intelligent platform that now has more than 6 million users a month is a game-changing innovation itself.
“We’re constantly improving what we do. The growth of the MarineTraffic platform will be further fueled by continued innovation as we engage our users and the global community to better understand the needs they have and the challenges they face.”
During a lunch break in our Docklands area, one of our Senior Researchers, Konstantinos Chatzikokolakis, told me about our innovative approach to anomaly detection.
“MarineTraffic Research seeks to define the future of maritime shipping. It is an example of an industrial research lab where research outcomes affect millions of users in no time. We are focused on discovering innovative ways of making shipping safer, greener and more efficient through smarter technologies. To this end, the MarineTraffic Research team has been designing a novel anomaly detection service that will improve safety and security at sea.” says Konstantinos.
Now this research project could become a MarineTraffic product helping further the maritime industry in security or safety-related incidents. In fact, that anomaly detection tool was one of the winners of the NATO Defence Innovation Challenge for 2019, a competition celebrating technology excellence and innovation in the maritime sector.
Last Friday, during a chat with the Senior Product Manager Alex Charvalias, he confirmed that innovation in research plays a key role in the products we create.
“Personally I think that innovation and research are so intertwined that basically, you can not have research without innovation, and you can’t have innovation without research.”
During our conversation, he also explained to me how the maritime market is changing and the need for digitisation is getting bigger.
“In the new environment that continually presses for lower margins in the maritime market, efficiencies in all aspects become a survival mechanism. Dozens of technology startups are exploring the space and providing shipping companies solutions to improve their operations, and thus, survive in the competitive landscape.” says Alex.
This is where MarineTraffic steps in, I thought, providing data and products that truly help maritime organisations take their operations to the next level.
“Fueled by an unprecedented amount of data, our products enable users to access actionable detailed insights that add value to their business in many ways. From essential daily operations, such as tracking the vessel’s position, to real-time fleet visibility and next level customer-supplier experiences, our innovative solutions help our customers make smarter decisions.” he added and just like this, he completed my thoughts.
I found out that MarineTraffic is currently working on more innovative projects. Among others, we are working with NAPA in delivering a fully automated Weather Routing system that will improve fleet operational performance for our users.
So, innovation is more than just a word for MarineTraffic. It’s in its culture. A driver that helps not only its people but its users move on and grow.
