As part of the Shipping Association of Jamaica's (SAJ) ongoing drive to prepare its workers and managers for the next phase of development of the Port of Kingston, a team from the SAJ last week visited the Manzanillo International Terminal (MIT)...
In a world where things change at the touch of a button, Port Computer Services Limited (PCS), a subsidiary of the Shipping Association of Jamaica, is changing direction to reshape the service industry with a variety of information technology (IT) solutions.
A pioneer in the computerisation of the Port of Kingston, PCS which currently hosts many systems including The Terminal Operations System for the Port of Kingston, will move to address the needs of its current shipping clients, but will also look to move into the wider service industry, executive director Frances Yeo said.
Business Intelligence is one of the areas PCS will improve for its current clients; to provide management with important information on their key operations in a readily accessible format to facilitate decision making.
Electronic Document Management will also be a key area of service; the aim is to provide a paperless environment, increased productivity and greater efficiency in operations.
Main target
Small and medium business enterprises will be the main target as PCS moves to provide more cost-effective services, such as hosted solutions, troubleshooting, maintaining and upgrading of software solutions. Product offerings by PCS include Microsoft Great Plains accounting package which customers will have an option to buy, or pay a monthly fee, Microsoft Customer Relationship Management, Microsoft Volume Licensing and Symantec Software.
Additionally, customers will now be able to benefit from services, such as application hosting, email hosting, Internet services, network management, business continuity (disaster recovery), IT project management, IT consultancy, desktop management and server management.
"Delivering good ICT solutions require a proactive approach and anticipating the needs of clients. PCS has made great strides in delivering services to the Port of Kingston, the shipping community in Jamaica and the Caribbean and related industries for the last 20 years, we are now evolving and delivering at a new level," Yeo said. "Our software development team also plays an integral role in this evolution."
Multi-skilled team
PCS' software development team is multi-skilled and has delivered applications in a range of languages on several platforms. Languages include RPGLE, RPG CGI, JavaScript, however, team members are capable of developing applications in PHP, Microsoft Visual Studio suite (includes C#, VB and NET), Visual C++ and Java.
More recently, PCS has strengthened its team with the addition of two new members who have bought into the new vision. Annmarie Curtis, client services manager, and Andrew Baker, network and operations manager, are both team players and have hit the ground running.
Curtis brings 24 years' experience to the team. She has experience in the areas of sales and marketing management, enterprise solution sales and services, customer service, client relationship, enterprise content management, network solutions, general office solutions and business continuity applications. Curtis has just completed an MBA in finance.
Andrew Baker has been working in the IT field since 1994, specialising in networking and server Infrastructure, which includes voice services, security, database management and storage management. His academic achievements include a BSc in information systems; he is a Cisco Certified Network Associate and a Certified Network Associate (Novel Systems).
