“What you want may not be what you get – or the other way around. There could be a mismatch and quite often there may be a larger potential in the software you need.

There are increasingly complex software-embedded systems (safety- and business-critical), requiring your products to be periodically updated, and it is important to get these to function properly in connection with other systems as well. We at DNV IT Global Solutions (ITGS) have a lot of experience of working with other industries, such as the automotive and aerospace/defence industries – both of which are heavily dependent on IT systems and solutions that interact and “speak to” each other. This is increasingly becoming an issue within the shipping industry too. Our challenging and interesting task is to work closely with the industry on this, and we are currently developing recommended practices,” says Mike Pauli, Business Development Manager at DNV ITGS in Hamburg.

“The issue of reliable software (embedded) systems and IT systems integration has become a topic for the IMO too, and there will be more focus on this issue in the future. Many ship owners and yards are challenged to manage the risks related to safety-critical and business-critical software-embedded systems from strategy to operation. This is where we can help our customers to get their IT systems right as we pre-qualify the software and systems during the development process and ensure that they function as expected when the ship leaves the yard. We help operators, yards and system suppliers overcome IT systems-integration issues, based on our long experience of working with the automotive and aviation industries. We usually work in several steps, with step 1 involving an assessment of the situation, step 2 an identification of the gaps compared to best practices or international standards, step 3 a ranking of the gaps into risk elements and finally, in step 4, the creation of action plans with the customer in order to close the gaps and mitigate risks. While following up actions, we at ITGS may give consulting advice and coaching based on our experience,” says Pauli.

“Here in Germany we have 35 highly specialised experts in Munich, Stuttgart, Frankfurt and Hamburg - worldwide we are 300,” he continues. “It’s possible to mitigate the risk involved in complex software-based systems, thus creating value from IT systems and the way in which these are operated. For our customers we are focussed on this – getting the most out of the IT solutions with the least amount of money involved in the process in terms of people, resources and time spent during sea trials and in operation. We’ve recently conducted a risk assessment of a major cruise company’s hotel/entertainment IT and worked together with the yard to facilitate the integration of system suppliers’ software-based components.

“Personally, I’ve worked in IT consulting and sales for more than ten years. I’m the first point of contact for our customers and I come up with solutions that fit the customer’s needs. IT is an important part of our customers’ value creation. For instance, when a car manufacturer develops a new car model, the software and IT solutions account for some two thirds of the development cost. We assist in effectively managing the process of developing and integrating software-embedded solutions in the most reliable way,” concludes Pauli.