As mentioned in the literature review chapter, different parameters and two dimensions can define the openness of a platform. The usage of the Kognifai platform has no special restrictions applied to the customers as far as it is in respect to the terms of use. The development is restricted to the development of services and applications that will be offered on the platform to the costumers and if they are in respect to the partnership agreement. But no part of the platform is subject to a development without prior written consent with Kongsberg Digital. The partners can still commercialize their service or applications globally without restriction and can combine the KONGSBERG brand with their own brand when marketing their integrated service through the platform. The platform proclaim that they are in a partnership with other digital platforms like OceanHub but no further details could have been acquired regarding the nature of those partnerships.
Restrictions of the usage of the Veracity platform are specific, the access to data on the platform for example can only be shared with other users of the Platform. Also no resell, sublicensing or distribution of the service and application is allowed outside the platform environment. The development part concerns only the services and application provided through the platform, no reverse engineering, modifying or creation of derivative work is allowed regarding the platform itself or any of its contents. Veracity do not specify any special partnership with other digital platforms but they are allowed to offer their services and contents providers through the platform as any other user. The partnership with Microsoft Azure is mainly for the infrastructure as a service (IaaS).
30 4.3 Area of applications of the platforms
The major focus of the platform Kognifai at the moment is the dynamic digital twin technology that meant to create digital replica of complex offshore oil and gas facilities. It is a dynamic model developed by the owner of the platform used during the different phases of a project to stimulate the assets behaviour and be able to improve the design, leverage the performances and maximize safety. There are also a large set of services focused on the windfarms industry to provide overviews of the whole production chain. Key performance indicators and calculations are carried out thanks to the incoming flow of data gathered from the facilities and hence monitored continuously. The software methodology being used is an analytics maturity model consisting of four levels with the value of analytics and the level of difficulties increasing gradually (Sverdrup, 2017). The model is presented in the figure 7.
As previously mentioned in the literature chapter about the six-key applications area predicted by DNV GL for the use of big data in the maritime industry, the collected data about the platform veracity reveals that those six areas are approximately equally represented.
Technical operations applications like AGR software for example gather data from well drilling to generate time and cost budget about the project. The analytic services from analytic innovation centre content provider ensure safety performance. Alternative fuel insight platform proposes their services through Veracity to counter energy and fuel challenges for ships. While
Figure 7 Analytics maturity model for Kognifai applications
31 applications developed by DNG GL like Arundo maritime suite support ship operation by ensuring the stream of data from ships in disconnected areas to their onshore counterpart. Or service like Assets monitoring from space which manage assets accidents and environment risks.
4.4 The challenges
4.4.1 The lack of data specialist in the industry
To counter the challenge of deficiency in the number of skilled data work force willing to invest in developing new services and applications for the maritime industry. Kognifai ensure full support for the costumers and owners of row data both from the platform support team and from the third parties’ applications and services providers. Those third-party developers are also provided training to use PoseidonNext, Galore and other development tools which are provided free of charge. Free online training for the basic partners and on-site training boot camps for the more involved.
The platform Veracity provides also support and easy access to tools for applications and services development purposes, there are abundant detailed free tutorials on the platform website and possibilities to attend free workshops. The platform owner and the content providers will offer data quality management services upon request. These services will back up data managers in evaluating, understanding and leveraging the quality of their data sets, and making their data better suited for analytics.
4.4.2 Security and cyber attack
Kongsberg consider the security as part of their culture. To keep both data and services on the platform secure, they employ a layered security approach consisting of physical protection for data centres locations which are audited for compliance with ISO 27001. Secure Edge hardware for capturing, encrypting and transmitting the data to the data centres using Kongsberg global secure network. But the developers are solely responsible for the third-party applications and related content on the platform. Kongsberg Digital mention in their term of use document that they shall have no obligation or liability arising from such content provided by a third party, but in an interview, they confirm that they will assist in handling any conflict between the parties. Hence, they pledge that their services are tested to ensure resilience against threats and cyber-attacks. Also, third parties’ applications are tested and certified. Finally, there
32 is an administrative control, permanent monitoring of services and continuous scanning for threats and vulnerabilities to comply with the specification for information security management system ISO 27001.
The Veracity platform relies on Microsoft Azure Infrastructure, which a cloud computing platform, to physically protect data integrity. Manage the user’s authentication process. And encrypt to keep the data private and protected both at storage or when transmitted between terminals and data centres. Those data centres are managed, operated and administered by Microsoft operations stuff and of course complies with ISO27001 security management system standards. Hence again, in their term of use. The platform owner point to the fact that the platform shall have no obligation or liability arising from Provider’s content or any transaction and only the relevant provider is responsible for the content he offers on the platform.
The quality, accuracy, integrity, legality, reliability and appropriateness of all customer data in both of the platforms is the sole responsibility of the provider.
4.4.3 the ownership of data and contents
Kognifai precise that any data, including text, sound, video, image files, software, payment data, administration data, and support data which is uploaded by the costumer to the platform shall remain his property. He owns and retains all right, title and interest.
Same applies to the Veracity platform where each party shall remain the sole owner of any intellectual property rights existing before the use of the platform. There should be no implied transfer of rights unless explicitly mentioned between different parties since the access to the data for example can be transferred or shared. But such transactions may only be granted to other users of the Platform.
Both platforms acknowledge that they may access, use and process the user’s data but only for the purpose provide and optimize the platform service.
4.5 Summary of the findings
Based on the analysis of the interviews and documents the summary of the findings are summarize in the table 1:
33 Table 1 Summary of the findings
The platform Kognifai Veracity
Characteristics
- Bring the data owners and data analytics services together to reduce the search cost
The peripheries - Provide tools and support for analytics providers to develop and deploy their applications and services through the platform.
Governance
34 Pricing strategy - Pricing both sides of the
platform with monthly
- Pricing only the content providers side.
35 - Poorly open vertically
and horizontally.
Applications - Dynamic digital twin technology with a focus
36
37
5 Discussion
This chapter present the discussion reflecting the findings presented in the previous chapter in light of the academic literature and it holds critical reflections discusses limitations.
The discussion follows the same structure of the findings and the literature review chapter.
5.1 Characteristics of the platforms
5.1.1 The features
Based on the definition provided in the literature chapter about a multisided digital platform from Von Engelhardt et al. (2017), two important things can be deducted. First is the importance of defining the sides of a platform or so-called groups of players in the definition.
Since the core function of a platform is involving them. A remarkable difference is observed when comparing the approaches made the two studied platforms. The aim of this study is not to compare them but it is important to highlight those differences or similarities in order to gain a better understanding of this technology and its implications. Second, is the importance of the groups sizes and what they represent for each other.
The platform Kognifai has a basic separation between her two sides. The data owners who seek services and applications from analytics providers to process those raw data and extract valuable information from them. The analytics providers or third-party developers are also seeking those data owners as they are potential customers for them. This results in mutual attraction between the two sides and in a cross-side network effect.
In the other hand, the platform Veracity has a different approach, data owners and applications developers are considered content providers for the platform and can be presented in the same side. In the opposite side you have the contents consumers. So, both sides are seeking each other which result in a mutual cross-side effect and a same-side effect at the level of content providers, since a data provider can be looking for a data consumer on the other side, or for an application developer in his side. Same applies to the applications developers.
Those network effects, same-side or cross-side, they will be creating interactions between the sides, and consequently generate value for the platform. The intensity of those
38 network is defined by the level of attraction between the sides and will result on attracting more users to the platform (Staykova & Damsgaard, 2015).
Users’ groups benefit from the size of the other groups as it enables more efficient interactions (Von Engelhardt, 2017). So, the studied platforms are trying to maximize the size of their users’ group with different approaches.
5.1.2 Architecture
The core of a platform constitutes the main functionalities for the initial number of sides (Staykova & Damsgaard, 2015), Kognifai and Veracity converge as intermediation service platforms between professional from the maritime industry. According to Von Engelhardt (2017) definition, this is a transaction-centric platform. But with a close look at their respective market place, Kognifai has an important number of applications and services developed by Kongsberg Digital which are the owner of the platform, this turns the platform into a data-centric one. This could be the owner strategy to counter the causality dilemma of attraction between the users’ group. Veracity also propose some contents developed by the owner DNV GL, it makes sense to leverage the asset of both companies’ capabilities and expertise in digitalization and in maritime domain at platforms early stages release. But it was presented at the literature chapter how successful platforms do not hold any production system and focus only on bringing more users to their sides. Hagiu (2014) also argued how the strength of such platforms is to enable interactions between two or more different sides. The case of Kognifai for example can turns into a simple product platform if they do not succeed at attracting more third-party developers.
Then the importance of modularity or called peripheries and how they can increase the evolutionary potential of a platform (Staykova & Damsgaard, 2015). Both platforms are almost in a race to appeal more applications developers and lunched programs to assist and help in developing and deploying new applications using a set of free tools provided by the companies.
It may not create new sides as explained in Staykova and Damsgaard study (2015), but will defiantly empower one of the sides and make it more interesting to the users.
39 5.1.3 Governance
According to the theory, the pricing strategy is built upon on the value that each side represent to the other (Hagiu, 2009), it means a platform owner will decide which side is more valuable. Evans (2013) also claimed the same, depending on who is the most relevant group of users, the platform owner will decide to implement a symmetric pricing strategy or an asymmetric one, or even goes for the freemium or negative pricing model if this users’ group are highly valued. I could not get a clear response to which is the most valued side for each platform, but in the light of the theory it is possible to get an insight about the matter. For the Kognifai platform, a symmetric pricing strategy is applied for the sides, a deduction will be that both sides are valued the same for the platform owner. Unless one of them is subsided and not fully charged. I don’t have access to the financial studies of the companies neither expect them to share it publicly. Veracity has an asymmetric pricing strategy. The content consumer account is completely free of charges, unless he wants to upload his own data that he will have to upgrade his account and be monthly charged for that. The applications and services providers are charged, even if in the marketing on the platform’s website it says that a certified developer account is free but in reality, he still needs to sign the provider agreement that implies 5000 USD as onboarding fees plus 30% of gross revenue with a minimum of 1500 USD per year.
This is to be considered as asymmetric pricing strategy that according to the theory implies that the content consumers are a highly valuable side for the platform. Which may sound absurd at first glance, since those who are going to invest their data, and energy to develop applications for the platform should be more valuable. But after all those second users won’t show up unless they feel the potential of customers in the first side. Therefore, Veracity is proudly promoting that they have more than 150 000 users since any internet user can easily create an account and even get access to some free services to become a user in the content consumer side.
5.2 Platform openness
The concept of platform openness has been proven to be crucial element in the development of digital platforms thanks to what have been observed and learnt from successful cases. While Evans (2013) proposed to measure the degree of openness regarding the restriction on the usage, commercialization and development of the platform. Benlian et al. (2015) proposed the theory of tow dimensions openness for platforms, depending on if they open to third parties or to other digital platforms. Combining the two theories, it helps to situate the studied platforms on virtual plot of openness (see figure 8). The observation of the platform
40 Kognifai and the analyse of the processed data show that the platform has not implanted strict restrictions on the third parties for the use, commercialization of the platform or the development of their services and applications. It was not possible to get clear data about the nature of collaboration with other digital platforms but based on interviewer declaration, it can be assessed as a fairly open platform both vertically and horizontally, with slightly more openness towards third parties’ developers. Veracity in the other hand just consider the applications developers and services providers as users and do not recognize them as third parties. Same for other digital platforms where they just offer their services through the platform. This is purely theoretical assessment and maybe there is no big differences at practical level. But still, appellations and terminology used by the platforms when promoting their services and most of it the ones used in the term of use agreements reflect the platform culture and strategic positioning towards this aspect.
5.3 Area of applications
The main area that Kognifai platform is focusing at is the offshore oil and gas industry, mainly during the develop and production phases. The platform has been combined with the new dynamic digital twin technology invested in by Kongsberg Digital to create virtual model of unmanned production facilities for the oil and gas assets. The 3D virtual models are continually fed by the gathered data from the offshore facilities to support the creation of 3D
Figure 8 The openness level of the studied platforms
41 models and process stimulations. This enables users from the onshore to have a better insight on what is going on and take better decisions that will improve the performances and reduces the risk. Veracity has a more diversified market place, still a good portion is dedicated to the offshore oil and gas industry but DNV GL kept loyal to the five applications area of big data evocated in the literature chapter; Technical operations and maintenance, Energy efficiency, Safety performance, Managing accident and environment risk and commercial and ship operations (Mirovic et al., 2018).
It was also observed a growing interest into the renewable energies by both platforms, especially for the offshore wind farms. This presents a good support for the future of the maritime industry as the oil and gas sector is expected to collapse sooner or later. Indeed, the Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate (NVE) has lately identified 13 new areas to be considered suitable for windfarms (Karagiannopoulos, 2019). But those onshore farms were completely refused in the north by the indigenous Sami people, and Norway’s biggest civil society organization (DNT) are arranging support march all over Norway in opposition to the selected area in the south of the country (The Nordic Page, 2019). This leaves no many choices but the development of offshore windfarms as they will progressively take the place of the retired oil and gas industry.
The application of big data requires a maturity level when dealing with the volume, velocity, variety and the veracity of the data sets. The greater are the data the more important analytics infrastructure will be required (Grossman, 2017). The adaptation of the analytics maturity model by Kognifai in the developing of their services interpret a strategic way to assist companies in using their data as they grow, from simple descriptive statistics to predictive ones, into the era of machine learning to automates the analytical model building thanks to artificial intelligence and minimize the human intervention as a consequence.
Mirovic et al. (2018) highlighted the importance of benchmarking to measure ship performances and for maritime companies to compare their fleets. It is a practice that was made available by the platform Veracity as users have the possibility to trade their data. This confirms
Mirovic et al. (2018) highlighted the importance of benchmarking to measure ship performances and for maritime companies to compare their fleets. It is a practice that was made available by the platform Veracity as users have the possibility to trade their data. This confirms