New waters – the start of a new digital adventure - Navico
Towards the first port - April 2007
Navico - Strandveien Lysaker
When I made the decision to leave SAS in the spring of 2007 after almost 25 years, it was in many ways like leaving a family. SAS had been a huge part of my life – professionally, socially and personally. I had been part of an early digital revolution in aviation, EuroBonus and the internet, and I had developed together with a company that meant a lot to all of Scandinavia.
Nevertheless, I increasingly felt that the time had come for something new. My studies in web design, eMarketing and innovation had opened up new perspectives. I wanted to use my expertise even more broadly, work more internationally and help build digital solutions from the ground up in a global technology environment. When the opportunity at Navico arose, I therefore felt quite quickly that this was a step I had to take – even though it cost me emotionally to leave SAS.
In April 2007, I started working at Navico on Strandveien near Lysaker.
The transition from aviation to maritime technology was huge, but at the same time there were surprisingly many similarities. Again it was about people, technology, brands, user experiences and international customers. The difference was that now we were going to build much more from scratch.
The meeting with my Norwegian colleague Jørgen Wik-Dahl and American Eric Oyler in Austin, Texas, was crucial for the start. We came from different cultures and professional environments, but quickly found a common enthusiasm for technology, innovation and the opportunities the internet offered an international company.
What meant a lot to me personally was the trust and support I received from both Jørgen and Eric during this period. When you enter into large and demanding digital projects with small teams and limited budgets, relationships and collaboration become incredibly important. I experienced that we built something together – not just technical solutions, but also a culture characterized by trust, creativity and a willingness to find solutions.
I was already very familiar with the field itself from my years at SAS and from my studies. The challenge was to build something entirely new.
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Where should we start?
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Which platforms should we choose?
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How should we organise the work?
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How could a relatively small team manage an international digital initiative for several strong brands at the same time?
The task was clear:
Within a very short period of time, we had to launch six international brand websites with limited budgets, a high degree of complexity and considerable expectations within the organisation.
This was pioneering work.
It was not simply about ‘building websites’. It was about creating a digital structure for an international group with different products, markets, languages, cultures and user groups. At the same time, we were operating in an era when many companies were still at an early stage of digital maturity. Social media was in its infancy, mobile usage was growing rapidly, and expectations of digital customer experiences were changing quickly. The professional challenges were, quite literally, queuing up.
We had to consider:
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publishing platform
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design
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information architecture
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product data
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languages
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support
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internal organisation
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suppliers
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hosting
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SEO
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and how the brands could present themselves as part of a coherent whole while still retaining their individual identities.
It was intense, educational and incredibly exciting. At the same time, I developed an even deeper understanding of just how important people are in major digital projects. Technology alone creates nothing unless you have people who work well together, share their expertise and help each other succeed.
Perhaps that is precisely why my years at Navico still mean so much to me. Not only because of the projects we delivered, but because I experienced just how much a small team can achieve when trust, professional curiosity and genuine team spirit come together.
