When Ericsson in 2012 signed a big deal with Maersk Line, the move only represented the first step in a large-scale venture into the shipping industry. Last year the major telecommunications group decided to make a global move toward the carriers, most of whom are said to hold unused potential in terms of receiving data from ships and on land in real time, and analyzing said data.

Big data, in other words, which numerous key players in the shipping industry agree will become the next big trend in shipping, explains John Taxgaard, vice president of Global Maritime Services Business Line, Industry & Society at Ericsson, in an interview with ShippingWatch