NexusOcean builds a safer maritime network
Together with Reliance, NexusOcean built a secure Fortinet platform for the maritime sector. Smart segmentation, central hosting and room to grow.

This case in 30 seconds


Customer context
NexusOcean delivers connectivity solutions for the maritime sector. From offshore vessels and harbor tugs to cruise ships, tankers and river cruisers, demand for stable and secure connections keeps growing everywhere. "Anything that floats can potentially become our customer," says Wesley Vandamme of NexusOcean. "But then you need to organize your connectivity intelligently."When NexusOcean started in 2016, it worked with an existing maritime solution from an international provider. A good way to get started quickly, but less suited to the ambitions that followed. "We wanted to stay closer to our customers and have more control over security, management and the choices we made."
As the organization grew, so did the demands on security and network management. Critical systems on board needed stronger protection, and depending on a single external solution felt less and less fitting. Reality at sea was changing too. Crew and guests expect stable wifi, while operational systems need to stay safely separated."A ship is full of systems that were once meant to stay offline," says Wesley. "You shouldn't just connect that to the internet." NexusOcean went looking for a platform and a partner that could grow with it. That search led the company to Fortinet and Reliance.
Reason for
change
Challenge
The challenge was not just connectivity, but above all control and segmentation. Crew, guests and critical systems needed to run fully separated, without compromising on ease of use or performance.NexusOcean also wanted to switch flexibly between connections such as Starlink, 4G and 5G, with applications steered intelligently based on policy and network load. "Many maritime solutions focus mainly on ease of use," says Wesley. "We wanted an enterprise grade security platform that fits maritime reality instead."
Together with Reliance, NexusOcean developed a central Fortinet environment where security, management and connectivity come together. Reliance supported the design of the environment, the setup of the firewalls on board and the creation of a central management structure on shore. "We really built this together," says Wesley. "They brought the Fortinet expertise, we brought the maritime context."The environment enables smart routing between different connections and offers extensive options for network segmentation and application management. Lifecycle management, hosting and support are also part of the collaboration. Reliance actively thinks along on updates, licensing and scalability, so NexusOcean can focus on further growth.
Approach
Collaboration
What NexusOcean values most is the combination of specialist knowledge and short lines of communication. According to Wesley, the collaboration does not feel like a classic supplier relationship, but like a partnership where both parties move forward together. "Communication is easy. We know each other's strengths and weaknesses."Over the years, NexusOcean has become increasingly self reliant. Many operational tasks are now handled internally, while Reliance mainly supports on strategic questions, hosting and specialist expertise. "Our technical teams speak every month. Those are substantive conversations and knowledge sharing, not invoice meetings."
The solutions used

Managed Services

Security
People
Results and future development
The new environment gives NexusOcean more control, stronger security and a platform ready for further growth. Customers benefit from stable and secure connectivity, while NexusOcean can scale faster and manage more professionally.That also builds trust toward end customers, especially in a market where continuity is critical. "If something happens, you want a partner beside you who does this every day and has multiple specialists available." What works on board today needs to stay scalable and secure tomorrow. That is exactly where the value of this collaboration lies for NexusOcean.
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