Continued Growth through Partner Elevation
In the last week of April, with spring just around the corner, Zenitel hosted their first maritime and energy partner meeting in years. Due to previous COVID-19 restrictions, it was time to finally gather our partners from around the world in a physical event where information could be shared, and ideas could grow.
And what a week it turned out to be. Before the partner meeting kicked off, the sales, product, and marketing departments gathered for a strategic meeting to assess the current situation and look into the future.
"Although the numbers are looking good, we are in a volatile market and need to understand what is needed for continued growth. If we don’t challenge ourselves, look at the facts, and collaboratively come up with ideas for the future, we risk stagnation. A Sales & Partner meeting like this is essential to secure better market shares and continue developing our solutions and offerings to the market."
Svein Ingar Damre, EVP Zenitel Maritime & Energy
Successful Maritime and Energy Partner Meeting
With around 200 small and large partner companies around the world and just under 80 available rooms in the hotel we picked for the conference, it was a pleasure to realize early in the registration process that we very quickly secured 80% allocation. A few months before the partner meeting, all spots were booked, and we had great anticipation ahead of the meeting.
"With almost 30 Zenitellers and more than 50 partners, and having the entire hotel to ourselves, the scene was set for inspiring days filled with both conference sessions and site visits. One of my first ideas was to invite external speakers to talk more about the opportunities and challenges in the markets, as well as showcase the great technology we have in Horten, including one of the world's first control centers for autonomous vessels, reinforced by a visit to the ASKO Sea Drones running fully autonomously with a lot of Zenitel equipment onboard to facilitate the autonomous operation."
Thomas Aas, Head of Marketing & Communication, Zenitel Maritime & Energy
The first day of the Partner Conference featured speaker sessions from morning to afternoon, inviting DNV to discuss the upcoming Cyber Security regulations and one of DNV’s Market Analysts to take us through the global market trends in the shipping industry. Furthermore, NORWEP (Norwegian Energy Partners) took us through the evolving offshore wind market, highlighting opportunities both on the energy side with turbines and substations, as well as the marine side, with all the vessels needed for installation, maintenance, and decommissioning of Offshore Wind sites.
Our Product Department also held inspiring presentations on our roadmap for Intercom & PABX, the upcoming MED-B approval of our SPA-V2 PAGA system, and how Zenitel is working to ensure Cyber Approval on our IP-based systems. The day ended with an inspiring session from Kongsberg Maritime, where they presented their technology roadmap, referencing the Massterly ROC (Remote Operation Center) and the autonomous ASKO Sea Drones, Yara Birkeland, and the upcoming Reach Remote for the subsea segment.
On day two, we witnessed autonomous operation live by visiting both the ASKO Sea Drone and the Massterly ROC operation. After a nice lunch and a speaker session on the “Turn-Key Solutions” offered by Zenitel, where we incorporate systems like CCTV, Wireless Communication, and IPTV & Infotainment systems in our bundles, we headed off to Zenitel HQ in Horten, where the Maritime & Energy Operations are based.
"It was truly inspiring to see all the smiles of our partners both after visiting the autonomous operations sites and after showing them how operations work at Zenitel. I think it was an eye-opener for many of our participants, and it made me excited about the future of our Maritime & Energy division here at Zenitel."
Tor Kristian Lystad, Senior VP Sales, Zenitel Maritime & Energy
After such a great week with partners from around the world, we extend our gratitude to all who participated and for all the great ideas shared during the days. We have already started planning the next event in 2026 and hope to see both those who attended this time, as well as partners who were not able to come. From the feedback received, it was very valuable, and we will ensure the next event is filled with even more opportunities – both on Zenitel Solutions and relevant market information, to make sure we together secure our businesses moving forward.