Reservations over data privacy still a concern, discuss panelists at Mov'India 2019

May 30, 2019: Shipping company CMA CGM India organised a conference on May 29 in Mumbai on the sidelines of the launch of its Mov’India 2019 campaign.

Among the topics of discussion were ‘Digital Disruption: The next wave of initiatives’ which saw panelists Liji Nowal, managing director, Odex India Solutions; Vivek Kele, director, Team Global; MP Anand, general manager – customer care, CMA CGM India and Thomas Nouvian, deputy director of maritime business unit, Traxens shed light on the need to open up to digital transformation.

Moderated by Maritime Gateway editor-in-chief Ramprasad Ravi, the panel discussed data security and also how steps need to be taken by making investments in technology that can bring about the next business model.

Referring to the International Maritime Organization (IMO)’s regulation that ocean-going vessels must reduce their sulphur emissions to 0.5 percent, Nowal said the Indian response of fixing scrubbers on the vessels was a step back. “Technology disruptions can come from many quarters. Users ask me two questions – whether it is disruptive and what is it what we doing in India. As a technologist, it is disheartening what the IMO has done is mandating clean fuels, and a lot of the spend should have probably gone into investments promoting, technology for the same. A company called Energy Sails in January this year started private ships running on solar fuel and wind energy. Wouldn’t it have been more relevant to make investments in that area? Wouldn’t it have been more relevant that large carriers and smaller carriers are all part of promoting a cleaner system?”

While Nowal pointed out the need for the use of technology for sustainable business practices, Kele specifically spoke about the concerns of safety and privacy on digital platforms in the Indian context.

“In India we are facing a typical challenge in terms of protection of data. There is a lot of hesitation among industry players as to how do I come on a platform when I don’t know whether the data that is being floated is going to be protected and be private and won’t be shared for commercial reasons. As a federation [Federation Of Indian Logistics Associations], we are talking to the government and hopefully we should have some solutions in a few weeks or months,” he said.

He added that inscription and trust can help alleviate fears on getting on a digital platform.

On creating greater value to the customer, Nouvian said data is the whole fuel and it’s important to know what one can do with the available data. Citing examples of Uber and Amazon that have successfully used data for creating value, he added: “Technology is not a long-term differentiator. Eventually, everyone will get it.”

Written by Blessy Chettiar