Manila International Container Terminal, ICTSI’s flagship. PHOTO FROM ICTSI
International Container Services, Inc. (ICTSI) has leveraged Microsoft technology to drive innovation and enable operational efficiency in its terminals worldwide.
ICTSI recently forged a long-term partnership with Microsoft to enable a centralized and integrated data platform across its terminals worldwide to ensure improved operational efficiency and world-class customer service.
Brian Hibbert, ICTSI chief information officer said with the help of Microsoft technology, the new data platform gives ICTSI 24×7 visibility and critical system monitoring services across all the global terminals in every market it operates in. “This innovation is a game-changer for us, driving improved efficiencies and enable us to better engage with our partners and customers,” he said.
The new integrated data platform powered by Microsoft Azure will allow ICTSI to have an enterprise view of all their terminal operations and connect future deployment of platforms for internal and external services to drive innovation and economies of scale. To date, two terminals have been onboarded, and ICTSI’s focus is to connect the majority of its terminals to the data platform. ICTSI operates 34 terminals in 20 countries, from the Manila homeport, and across six continents.
ICTSI is migrating its terminal operating system (TOS) called Navis N4 to Microsoft Azure. Two terminals, the Subic Bay International Terminals (SBITC) and the Mindanao Container Terminal (MTC) have successfully migrated to Azure. These terminals now benefit from increased performance, better security, and seamless transactions to their customers and partners. The TOS of terminals located in Brazil and Argentina will soon be migrated to Azure as well.
Microsoft started with a pilot data lake to demonstrate how the Azure solution can serve as ICTSI’s centralized and integrated platform from which future applications, both internal and external, can be connected. Microsoft provided a detailed solution and migration path for moving Navis N4 to Azure as well as a roadmap to support ICTSI’s future aspirations.
“Everything went smoothly, and we completed the migration activities ahead of schedule. The system users have become more responsive after the migration to Azure,” Hibbert said.
“We are working in many areas together, including data analytics, digital platform services, API delivery, and web and mobile applications for customers. This is the beginning of a very exciting journey that is all designed to ensure all of our terminals offer great digital experiences to our customers,” he added.
ICTSI further innovates by opening up its data platform to the public through an application programming interface (API) layer that allows access to citizen developers to build their apps and services. It plans to partner with other private organizations to create an open data platform where they can exchange data. ICTSI encourages a start-up mentality and drives innovation in the Philippines in partnership with Microsoft.
Ella Dujali-Mangubat, customer success lead at Microsoft Philippines said, “Digital transformation projected to happen over the next 10 years is happening today. COVID-19 has challenged organizations but has also accelerated the creation of untapped business opportunities and models.”
“We provide our customers and partners with a foundation that will enable the specific outcomes they need today and tomorrow, whether it’s massive disruption and digital transformation or pockets of meaningful innovation. We help them accelerate their resilience and growth strategies around the world,” Mangubat said.
Microsoft enables digital transformation for the era of an intelligent cloud and an intelligent edge. It empowers every person and every organization to achieve more.
