One connectivity solution for Maersk’s fleet

A.P. Moller – Maersk runs a fleet of over 700 vessels and transports over 12 million containers annually, and it all needs to be tracked and monitored. At the same time, the Danish shipping giant operates container terminals all over the world equipped with cranes, trucks, and hardware, all of which rely on connections to the Internet. With this level of global presence comes a demand for a unified global connectivity solution.

A series of globally connected sensors for A.P. Moller – Maersk.

A complex IoT solution with many types of devices requires less complicated device logic and an intelligent network to be truly scalable. Onomondo enables A.P. Moller – Maersk to enhance its global data security and data steering from within the network. That is without any device overhead or add-ons and any considerations for its hardware setup.

Constant visibility and debugging.

Another critical feature for Maersk is stable connectivity, no matter where devices are in the world, and the ability to deliver maximum visibility and insights to their customers. 

A critical function of visibility is the ability to debug connectivity from the cloud to the end-point. Debugging from the moment of manufacture is possible with Onomondo in real-time globally, thanks to its new infrastructure for IoT connectivity.

Deep connectivity insights are especially beneficial for Maersk when launching new devices. Everything should work according to GSMA standards, but from Klaus’ experience, this isn’t always the case, so the ability to test globally is beneficial.

Devices, data, and battery life.

When you develop devices in the IoT space, Klaus says there are two directions you can go: powered devices or non-powered devices. Maersk makes both, and battery life is becoming more and more critical.

One of the main costs when deploying devices is battery cost. The further you can drive this, the cheaper your device and the easier it is to build a business case around it. How can you reduce power consumption?

By reducing the time on-air and/or the amount of data you send.

Onomondo looked at the device, connectivity, and cloud equation and decided it would be valuable to optimize the connectivity part. By making the network play a more active role in cloud connectivity and unburdening the device of some functions, you receive multiple benefits:

Moving SDKs from device to the network means fewer device updates as cloud platforms evolve. Eliminating overhead when delivering data (encryption and other layers) reduces the amount of data you send per transmission. You can save up to 600x of data by using Onomondo’s cloud connectors.

Permanent roaming restrictions.

Onomondo is connected to every network in its footprint locally, avoiding the problem of permanent roaming. Full and indefinite integration to the 700+ local operators in Onomondo’s footprint is an important point of differentiation from other MVNOs.

This network core level link is part of Onomondo’s unique infrastructure that makes it possible to reduce data loads on devices while also enabling more visibility and network flexibility.

Increased scalability

With Onomondo, A.P. Moller – Maersk can enable their global fleet using a single connectivity platform. And by fully integrating the network and device management into their operations systems via APIs, everything the network knows or does can be programmatically controlled directly from within business operations. Network integrations such as this simplify both scalability and quality assurance.

No device logic

Using Connectors, A.P. Moller – Maersk now ensures that no device will ever have to deploy with endpoint security logic. At the same time, no hardware vendor will have to build purpose-specific firmware to handle current routing conditions or future changes in security management between the device and the cloud. The network handles everything and is flexible across the entire fleet.

Less attack vectors

Onomondo takes an active role in safeguarding both device, cloud, and data packets passing through the network. By analyzing patterns and behavior across the network, rules and triggers can be implemented if certain things change. By feeding live information from any relevant network interaction to A.P. Moller – Maersk’s own systems via Webhooks, A.P. Moller – Maersk can act in real-time to any potential abnormalities found in any network in the world.