Skill set gaps can be a big challenge for companies today because technology is so quickly changing the IT capabilities needed for success. This is especially pertinent in the areas of data and data science. At Royal Caribbean, we are collecting an enormous amount of information about our guests when they're on board our ships.
For instance, our ships are almost entirely a cashless society. When a guest buys a drink, we're not only capturing the fact that they bought a drink in the pool bar, but we're capturing what drink, what size drink, and what gratuity they may have left. With the granularity of the data coming back to our warehouse system shore side, it's essential that we not only manage the flow of data efficiently, but that we are able to make effective, relevant decisions with the information we capture so that we can continue to innovate and transform the business.
Another skill gap common in our industry at the moment is cybersecurity. The game changed in 2014, and our approach is shifting as a result. Like many companies today, we're moving from reactive monitoring to more proactive security measures. It's a necessary change, and it's requiring us to boost our talent in new areas.
Luckily, we are a sexy industry. We're in the business of selling vacation experiences, so the average tenure in our IT organization is perhaps higher than in other industries. But like all businesses, attrition is an issue we have to deal with.
Retaining the right talent along with continually evolving skills needed to drive technology innovation is an ongoing challenge, and one that companies must proactively address if they want to succeed today.
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Bill Martin is the recently retired Chief Information Officer for Royal Caribbean Cruises, Ltd. He was responsible for information technology covering both the shoreside business systems as well as the innovative guest systems onboard the ships. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. includes Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises, Azamara Club Cruises, Pullmantur (Spain), and Croisieres De France cruise brands. The company operates 41 modern vessels worldwide with a guest capacity of more than 98,500.
