Logicalis

SeaMobile turns to Logicalis for application development and IT support so it can focus on seafaring wireless communications.

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The entrepreneurs at SeaMobile knew they had the right idea: provide global communications and content services for passengers and crew on ships anywhere in the world. The challenge was rolling out the right ideas in record time. If they could accomplish this goal it would allow them to announce these new product developments during Seatrade the annual Cruise Shipping Convention, when virtually all their potential customers would converge at this important industry event. SeaMobile needed a maritime cellular service repository and reporting application that would track all calls made from any ship anywhere, and it needed a travel and leisure portal that passengers and crew could use as a gateway to the Internet at sea.

Like a lot of start ups, SeaMobile had neither the time nor the funds to build an IT department with the range of skills it needed to turn its ideas into reality. The opportunity would not wait, however. That’s when SeaMobile Vice President of Information Technology Quais Hassan called Logicalis.

“Because I trust the people at Logicalis,” Hassan says, “it was easy for me to call up and say ‘Hey, I’m between a rock and hard place here. I need to get this done. I know it’s crazy, but what can we do?’ Logicalis has always, always delivered for me, so any time I find I need resources, they are the first place I call.”

IT on Demand
This time he needed several things: in addition to the reporting application and travel and leisure portal, SeaMobile needed a more reliable internal IP telephony system in its Seattle office and had a datacenter in Holmdel, NJ that needed managed services. Could Logicalis help?

Logicalis became an extension of SeaMobile’s IT department. Working onsite at SeaMobile, Logicalis engineers upgraded the IP telephony system; designed, developed, and deployed the reporting application that was a fundamental piece of the service SeaMobile planned to offer; and launched a travel and leisure portal that not only serves as a gateway for passengers and crew to the Internet, but also enables an advertising and sponsorship revenue stream.

Hassan summarizes their accomplishments this way: “Logicalis became our partner to provide key IT functionality so we could focus on building our business.”

As team leader for Logicalis, technical consultant Kevin Peterson not only made the deadline for the reporting application, but the application he and his team created has become an important competitive advantage.

“One of the best things I’ve heard in last couple of months,” says Hassan, “is that the visibility provided by our reporting application is unmatched anywhere in the industry. That’s a real testament to what we were able to deliver.”

Fulltime Collaboration
SeaMobile’s Vice President Digital Media Michelle Saro was the business owner for the portal and worked very closely with the Logicalis team. “I’ve worked with contractors before who are pretty rigid,” Saro says. “You give them the requirement, and they go away and build it. These guys really collaborated. Most people would have thought they were fulltime employees. They contributed so much to who we are…it was priceless.” (Visit the SeaMobile travel and leisure portal at http://cafe.seamobile.com/)

“And the managed services provided by Logicalis,” she adds, “that was huge. There’s a whole network operations center that I don’t have to ever worry about. There are regular maintenance schedules and best practices that we didn’t have to develop. It was all ready to go. I get a form. I sign off on it, and I get a status report before, during and after. It would have taken us months to build out this level of infrastructure. I didn’t have to go through an RFP process and select vendors and watch dog-and-pony shows come through here. I was able to focus on acquiring customers.”

Today, SeaMobile Enterprises has become the dominant global service provider of at-sea communications, connectivity and content services. Over 400 seafaring vessels worldwide, including most cruise ships, the government and military, private yachts, ferries, the offshore energy industry, and commercial shipping customers, depend on SeaMobile’s voice and data networks to keep people connected anywhere in the world. The right idea at the right time.

Logicalis was onboard for the launch.