Cunard Line's $780m Queen Mary 2 - the largest passenger
vessel constructed - will cruise with its own onboard technical
support centre.
The Queen Mary 2, which is scheduled to make its maiden voyage
before the end of the year, has roughly 150 computers to help
manage shipboard systems, process credit card transactions and
provide internet connections for passengers and crew.
Since these systems are vital to the ship and passenger
satisfaction, Cunard, a division of Carnival, decided to install
its own onboard help desk.
The desk will be manned by three computer systems officers,
according to Geoffrey Battad, supervisor of network operations at
Cunard.
Although the Queen Mary 2 boasts satellite communications
systems capable of connecting it to any offshore help desk in the
world, Battad said the possibility of communications outages nedded
onboard support.
Cunard uses HelpStar software from Help Desk Technology to run
an internal help desk at corporate headquarters in Miami, and the
line decided to use the same technology at sea.
Battad said the HelpStar software - which includes modules to
track IT assets and tools to expedite and measure first-call
resolution - helps Cunard provide support for shipboard
applications as well as the Windows 2000 operating system and
Novell GroupWise software. That package includes e-mail, instant
messaging, and task, contact and document management services.
Battad said that the onboard help desk on the 150,000-ton Queen
Mary 2 is the first in the entire Carnival family of cruise lines
and, as far as he knows, the first onboard help desk in the cruise
industry.
Bob Brewin writes for Computerworld