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Since its founding in 1995, Danelec has emerged as a pioneer in maritime technology, specializing in Voyage Data Recorders (VDRs), Shaft Power Meters and Ship Performance Monitoring systems. Through continuous innovation and a strong focus on research and development, Danelec’s solutions enhance maritime safety, efficiency and sustainability for over 13,000 deep-sea vessels globally.
After acquiring KYMA AS in 2021 and the AI/ML and digital twin assets of Nautilus Labs in November 2023, Danelec reinforced its commitment to leading the industry toward a data-driven, net-zero maritime economy. Leveraging a global partner network, Danelec not only champions the integration of advanced data and cloud solutions for operational optimizations and environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) compliance but also sets new standards in environmental stewardship within the maritime sector. As Danelec continues to innovate and expand its influence, it remains dedicated to shaping a sustainable future for global maritime operations.
At-a-Glance
Aiming to meet and exceed its customers’ needs, Danelec adopted SUSE Edge to innovate maritime edge computing. The resulting solution delivered significant savings for Danelec’s client, thanks to increased operational efficiencies, enhanced compliance, significant scalability and improved data reporting. Poised to become a cornerstone of its product offerings, Danelec’s innovative, Kubernetes-based solution not only positions Danelec for compounded growth but also promises to revolutionize global maritime operations.
The voyage to edge computing
As global efforts intensify to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the maritime industry is at the forefront of a radical transformation. Maritime services, recognized as a more eco-friendly mode of transporting goods than flying, are increasingly preferred by companies with stringent ESG targets. These companies demand not just fuel efficiency but comprehensive digital documentation to ensure compliance with their sustainability goals. Danelec, with its advanced data tracking devices and private cloud leasing services, is pioneering this shift, enabling vessels to optimize routes, navigate weather patterns efficiently and furnish tangible proof of meeting ESG targets.
Yet, the journey is far from complete. The International Maritime Organization (IMO) aims for the industry to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050, with a significant milestone set to slash emissions by 30% by 2030. Achieving these goals requires clean technologies, alternative fuels and dual-fuel vessels, but the average age of commercial fleets is 21.9 years, meaning it will take at least 30 years before the global fleet can be renewed. As a result, the shipping industry is looking for digital solutions to further optimize efficiencies and document environmental impact of sea level transportation.
From this context, a major shipping company reached out to Danelec, looking for a hassle-free solution for hosting its voyage optimization applications. Lacking in-house Kubernetes expertise and recognizing the need for a sophisticated, yet easily manageable solution, Danelec turned to the market for a comprehensive Kubernetes edge solution.
“Our values are solid, safe, simple. SUSE Edge has provided us with a solid solution that’s simple to implement. It goes hand in hand with our company values that we try to live out every day.”
Why SUSE Edge and SUSE Consulting?
Unmatched commitment to open source ethos
The first thing about SUSE Edge that caught Danelec’s attention is that the solution is rooted in Kubernetes technology, providing robust interoperability and unmatched commitment to open source ethos. It also comes packaged with SUSE Linux Enterprise Micro, a lightweight and secure operating system optimized for edge use cases.
Single pane-of-glass management
What really sold it to the team, however, is that SUSE Edge enables full-stack management. All through Rancher Prime’s single pane-of-glass, Danelec can manage everything from distributed Kubernetes clusters (one per vessel) to the operating system on individual edge devices. Thanks to Elemental, another open source innovation and part of the SUSE Edge bundle, Danelec can manage SUSE Linux Enterprise Micro through Rancher Prime in a cloud native way, lending complete control to the bare metal.
Enterprise support
While Danelec was originally looking for an end-to-end solution, it also was looking for a supplier that could provide professional services. Since Kubernetes was new to the team, Danelec wanted to have expertise on hand to make sure its new solution would be a success. SUSE’s enterprise professional services, particularly SUSE Consulting, promised to provide the kind of guidance the team needed to build its solution with confidence and efficiency.
Only solution ticking all of the boxes
“SUSE is a pioneer in Kubernetes edge solutions,” says Hans Zenth, technical project manager, R&D at Danelec. “SUSE Edge perfectly fits our use case for managing distributed edge devices on deep sea vessels. It was the only solution that ticked all of the boxes, covering the entire chain.”
SUSE Edge took a quarter of the time and effort
Danelec’s POC with SUSE Edge began in July and ended in September. In that time, the company found that SUSE Edge provided a substantial benefit regarding the time and effort required to establish a suitable baseline. Danelec managed to put all of the needed building blocks in place — a combination of SUSE Edge with Lenovo hardware, Cisco Meraki for SDWAN, Microsoft Azure Cloud and Grafana Observability. Soon after, it verified connectivity and concluded that SUSE Edge would support the turnkey deliverable its customer needed.
The team then began integrating its newly built edge solution with its customer’s systems. Simultaneously, the customer began migrating its applications onto the platform. By early November, only five months after starting the initial POC, Danelec and its customer began launching deployments into the real world and have continued deploying this solution on real vessels ever since.
“SUSE is part of what enabled us to really move with high agility in launching our customer’s solution,” says Zenth.
The impact of SUSE Edge
Danelec is now using SUSE Edge in over 20 clusters (or vessels), adding more vessels each month. The solution supports everything related to voyage optimization, route optimization, weather routing and anything else in relation to optimizing the operations of its customer’s deep sea vessels. In so doing, it has identified several benefits as a result of implementing SUSE Edge.
Enables faster delivery of new product offering at low cost
Thanks to SUSE Edge, Danelec has been able to add a new solution to its product portfolio. This enables Danelec to help the market fill the gap in meeting the IMO’s global emission targets. By providing a turnkey Kubernetes device able to capture and process finer data points at the edge, Danelec can now help any customer optimize its operations and drive efficiencies.
“There’s no doubt that our total business case is benefiting from adopting SUSE,” says Zenth. “SUSE Edge has given us the opportunity to bring our edge solution to the market at very low R&D effort and cost. If we were to develop something like this on our own, it would be a multiyear project internally, which would be far more expensive than purchasing a few licenses from SUSE.”
Significant customer savings per installation each month
Soon after installation, a Danelec customer began using Danelec’s edge solution to run its applications and noticed significant cost savings.
“Our customer reports that the solution we developed and manage with SUSE Edge is helping them capture significant cost savings each month,” says Zenth. “All thanks to the system’s ability to efficiently collect data, optimize shipping routes and seamlessly manage compliance documentation in an advanced and automated way.”
Simplifies operational complexity
Despite being in dispersed and often disconnected locations, Danelec is able to manage its edge solutions at scale, from the Kubernetes layer all the way down to the OS layer. Because everything can be managed from Rancher Prime’s single pane-of-glass, SUSE Edge simplifies Danelec’s operations, reducing the need to retrain teams to manage the OS at the edge.
“Rancher Prime lets us manage everything that is underneath, all the way down to bare metal, or the edge,” says Zenth. “There are a number of other solutions out there, some of which may be better on specific parts of the chain, but SUSE Edge is providing the full chain. It has actually been a benefit that this is a one-stop shop. It’s only SUSE taking full responsibility for the entire chain.”
Minimizes resources with an operating system built for the edge
Because SUSE Edge comes fully equipped with SUSE Linux Enterprise Micro, Danelec is able to run a purpose-built, micro OS for containerized and virtualized workloads on its edge devices.
“We only have a very limited bandwidth to the vessel, and SUSE Linux Enterprise Micro enables us to have as simple an installation as possible,” says Zenth. “This is what makes SUSE Edge like a hand in a glove. We aren’t having to absorb excessive resources for the underlying OS. It fits seamlessly with the needs and constraints of our edge deployments.”
Ensures interoperability due to open source technologies
SUSE’s commitment to open source principles allows Danelec to seamlessly integrate its customers’ existing cloud solutions onto Danelec’s platform, offering a cloud native experience. This ease of portability and deployment is a key advantage, allowing customers to experiment and deploy in known territory without committing to proprietary solutions historically common in the maritime industry.
Because it is Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF) certificated, SUSE Edge complies with industry standards, making it straightforward for customers to adopt Danelec’s edge platform.
“Even though we have adopted the SUSE Edge tool chain, we can add in other components from other vendors depending on what our customer needs,” says Zenth. “This openness and the ability to tailor solutions to specific customer requirements, supported by a robust community, is a significant benefit for us.”
The impact of SUSE Consulting
Danelec initially enlisted SUSE Consulting to evaluate a draft of its solution while on-site for three days. During this time, the consultant thoroughly examined the team’s system choices and Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP) systems. With extensive knowledge of SUSE solutions, the consultant was able to offer targeted recommendations, suggesting alternatives to specific tools and solutions the team had initially considered.
“Having SUSE Consulting helped me sleep a little more tightly, knowing we were on the right track,” says Zenth. “Our SUSE consultant provided us with invaluable guidance, significantly boosting our confidence in our project’s direction.”
Beyond the initial review, the team continued to leverage SUSE Consulting for assistance during the implementation phase. Instead of allocating team resources to address complex technical challenges, SUSE Consulting provided the necessary expertise to boost the team’s productivity.
“SUSE Consulting was crucial in helping us overcome obstacles efficiently, further demonstrating the value of our partnership with SUSE in both planning and executing our solution,” says Zenth.
What’s next for Danelec?
When Danelec first embarked on developing its solution with SUSE Edge, it aimed for rapid deployment so it could quickly gather real-world insights. Those realworld insights proved invaluable in helping Danelec fine tune its edge solution in preparation for a broader market launch. Signaling the end of the initial rollout phase, Danelec’s R&D department is now transitioning its edge solution to regular operations and service delivery organizations, with exciting prospects for growth.
“The solution we built with SUSE Edge is primed for twofold growth,” says Zenth. “For one, there’s a trend in the industry where more and more vessel owners are looking for a solution just like ours. For another, we plan to migrate our legacy offerings onto this platform to enhance their value and utility.”
Confident in the solution’s viability, Danelec is ready to redefine operations for the high seas, setting sail for a greener future and compound company growth.