Navis has launched “N4 as a Service (N4 SaaS)”, allowing terminals to access the N4 TOS over the cloud.

Some Navis customers have been pushing for cloud options for N4 for some time, including some of the global terminal operators that use N4 at multiple facilities. At this point only a handful of terminals are actually running N4 via the cloud, but Navis expects this will change in line with the wider trend towards cloud based software in enterprise applications.

“Terminals of all sizes are beginning to realise the potential of cloud-based solutions and are starting to make plans to move to their TOS to the cloud. Solutions like N4 SaaS provide customers with a complete package to streamline day-to-day operations utilizing the cloud and lay the groundwork for continuous terminal innovation moving forward,” Navis stated.

The SaaS business model also allows terminals to shift many of the costs associated with running software on site from a capital expenditure to a variable operating expense. “Flexibility for terminals to right-size their operations is another key advantage of N4 SaaS. With container volumes fluctuating, N4 SaaS offers terminals the flexibility and agility needed to withstand changes in capacity both seasonally and over time,” said Navis.

Other TOS applications including the Octopi by Navis product, have leveraged the cloud model to offer a simplified product, but Navis is now offering the fully featured and functional N4 TOS via SaaS. “This includes application components like N4, ECN4, XPS, as well as functional components like EDI, Gate etc,” said Sumitha Sampath,  Vice President, Cloud Operations, Navis. It also includes the general cargo management functionality in N4.

Navis intends to make N4 SaaS available globally, and that most terminals have will the connectivity required. “For any site that is giving serious consideration to N4 SaaS, we run a series of tests to ensure latency and reliability of internet connectivity, said Sampath. “It is possible that there are some parts of the world where the connectivity is very poor and mitigating steps cannot adequately resolve the challenges and therefore N4 SaaS may not be feasible at a point in time. It is also possible that there are regulatory requirements within countries about data residency and there may not be a provider that meets those requirements and that could be a constraint”. 

Some Navis customers are also known to be interested in a hybrid model, where some of the systems and functionality are hosted on site, but this is more problematic. “Our preference and design consideration is run the full stack on cloud and deliver it as a service. If there are sites where a hybrid model is warranted, it is a discussion to be had because the reasons for going hybrid should justify increased costs, complexity and variations,” Sampath said. 

It will be interesting to see how the industry responds to N4 SaaS. Terminals have historically had a high level of control over how they customise and support their TOS, including how they manage the upgrade process and integrate the TOS with other applications. Moving the whole model to the cloud is not as easy as it sounds, but the potential benefits, including not having to install and administer the software and hardware, are significant.

As to whether N4 SaaS will be more cost effective than the existing on site N4 licensing model, Sampath said: “Navis has and continues to follow a value based pricing model.  We take into account the TCO of the TOS over a time period and ensure that the SaaS pricing is just as good (or in many cases better) than the traditional licensing model. N4 SaaS would provide an upgraded end to end TOS experience”.