If you have been following this series, or any of our 30th Anniversary announcements, you will know that we’re very excited and proud of our past accomplishments. As our anniversary year comes to a close, we have taken this opportunity to reflect on where SSI fits within the future of shipbuilding.
This post is part of a series that celebrates SSI’s 30th Anniversary. Click here to see the entire series.
Harnessing an Integrated Future
Looking back, our founder’s commitment to integrating with COTS (commercial of the shelf) technology has proven out as visionary; those who developed monolithic, propriety solutions are struggling to adapt to the ever more technologically integrated world. Our commitment to continuing on this path remains foundational to SSI’s future development. We will make it a priority to ensure the information we generate can be seamlessly passed from or to any source.
SSI’s Founder Rolf Oetter set the stage for an open, platform-of-platforms, ecosystem, and we have seen that this concept has emerged as the clear way forward for shipbuilding. Information being able to flow seamlessly in to and out of any application is a key priority for leaders in shipbuilding.
Everyone is going through a Business Transformation alongside their Digital Transformation. Whether they know it or not.
Denis Morais, SSI co-CEO
SSI is embracing this reality for the future by identifying and targeting the 5 key realities shipbuilders will face in the future:
- Tackling the massive scale of shipbuilding projects.
- Focusing on today and minimizing risk.
- Leveraging the global and distributed nature of shipbuilding.
- Working with lifecycles measured in decades.
- Managing the unique aspects of the shipbuilding industry.
These challenges, and who can best overcome them, will define the next several decades of shipbuilding. Those who are first to embrace the brave new digital reality will be best positioned to fundamentally improve the way they build ships.
Our way of accomplishing this is by handling both current and new ships with the same strategy, having a foundation that can be dynamically tailored to handle the needs of the business, and minimize risk from day one. The best part is that every piece of information, process, and workflow is captured in a platform that has been built from the ground up for shipbuilding.
Beyond Software
From the very beginning, our focus has been on shipbuilding and how software can help shipbuilders accomplish their goals. But the future is about more than just software, it is about synchronizing every aspect of the shipbuilding industry. We have been supporting training programs – both in and outside of shipyards – since 2009. Last year, we introduced a training program that makes it easy for anyone, regardless of skill level, to get started designing and engineering vessels. The individuals who go through our programs become the skilled professionals of the future. The more impactful the training they receive today, the better and more efficiently we can build ships in the future.
Apart from training individuals, we have done the same for organizations. Frequently, we have been asked to step in as an expert in the field of shipbuilding and help guide workflows and processes at every stage of a project’s lifecycle – from initial design to maintenance, repair, and overhaul. Our team has long been recognized for having a unique perspective within the industry, and our position at the intersection of shipbuilding and technology allows us to consistently look beyond the surface to find efficiencies and assess underlying assumptions. By working with shipbuilders to help them develop better processes, we remove their need to be information management or integration experts, instead allowing them to concentrate on their core business.
Defining the Next 30 Years
SSI’s role for the next 30 years becomes clear when looked at in the context of where our past has positioned us. We are positioned uniquely to fully realize the vision rooted in the founding of SSI by Rolf Oetter back in 1990 – to make it easy for shipbuilders to focus on the business of shipbuilding. As digital and business transformations become the norm within the industry, our co-CEOs Darren Larkins and Denis Morais have proven that they understand the fundamental challenges emerging as a result and how they can be overcome.
Grounded on the foundational principles of people, process, and complex technical tools, we have nurtured the expertise that established us as a global leader. SSI’s initial roots started with a vision and a proof of concept, but it took 30 years of commitment to position our company as the only technology provider in the shipbuilding industry that is dedicated to the overall business of shipbuilding. We are extremely proud of our journey and remain committed to looking ahead and charting a safe and innovative course forward for our clients and partners.
Whether you have been a part of the SSI community from the beginning, or you have only just discovered what we do, thank you for joining us for our 30th Anniversary. While it has certainly been a year full of uncertainty, reflecting on our past has given us an even better understanding of what we do and how we do it. Here’s to another 30 years and beyond.