DNV VerIT OnBoard will change your way of thinking about IT while helping you standardise vessel operations and minimise costs and risks.

DNV Software is a leading provider of standardised IT infrastructure, offering a custom-made solution designed for worldwide vessel operations. The need for a stable and standardised computer environment with maximum up-time on - board has been a continuous issue for people using the systems onboard and for support personnel. Together with our partners and customers, we have developed a standardisation based on maritime experience, and knowledge of marine operations and surveys.

The VerIT OnBoard standard provides a cost-effective, fully automated and secure onboard IT infrastructure. VerIT has been in use since 2002, and has a proven success track record in complex and international organisations.

PCs onboard vessels
Almost all ships have PCs and a small network onboard, and the demand for use of PCs by stakeholders is increasing.

• Ship owners – requiring standardised administration onboard
• Crews – requiring communication tools and access to computers and the Internet
• Chart owners – requiring computer systems and Internet connection for regular upgrades and updates

Computers onboard ships have become an absolute necessity for maintaining key business operations. Business onshore often relies on information delivered directly from the onboard systems, and downtime on the vessel computer systems can sometimes cause loss of business opportunities. For owners, the number one IT-related issue is the cost of operation. Usually, with no IT personnel onboard, staff from the central IT function have to deal with ITrelated issues. This often requires IT staff to travel to the troubled ship’s next port of call – maybe in another part of the world – to fix the problem. IT support people are often onboard for several days before they can disembark at the next port of call. Previously, the IT challenges in shipping were usually related to extremely high satellite communication costs, leading to diversities in both hardware and software on the vessels. To save money, computer access was restricted and hardware and software was not upgraded often enough. The result was poor efficiency and loss of productivity. An increase in spending on IT does not solve the issues with regard to keeping software versions up-to-date, or deal with operational problems due to misuse of the systems, and problems due to low bandwidth.

An increasing number of vessels have decent communication lines, even though they are still expensive. Therefore, the challenges have shifted to questions about standardisation, threats from virus and malware, and keeping updated system documentation.

In the end, the goal is the same; to keep the systems onboard up and running at all times, and to make the support situation as smooth and easy as possible. This will not only lead to a happy crew, but will also minimise expenses.

To achieve this a strictly standardised system is needed, where implementation, maintenance and support is easy, functional and well documented. VerIT OnBoard is the right tool.

VerIT OnBoard benefits
VerIT OnBoard provides the following main benefits to owners:

• Automated implementation/update of infrastructure, upgrades and application portfolio, ensuring efficient implementation, one standard implemented across fleet, one standard implemented across all partner fleets, minimal operational support required (minimal ship emergency visits) and minimal IT skills required from crew.
• Onboard personnel only need basic IT skills in order to install, configure and update the IT infrastructure in an easy way.
• Easy-to-use management tools for the ship’s personnel or executed remotely by IT support.
• A standard monitoring solution that alerts onshore support when a critical event occurs on the server, including monitoring of event logs, server hardware, backup and server utilisation. By monitoring server performance, it is possible to discover potential problems.
• Hardware independent.
• Operates independent of satellite service.
• Common standard for all types of vessels.

Looking into the future
We will probably see an increasing number of vessels with access to the Internet and faster transfer speeds. This will require more attention to the safety aspect, as threats increase in number and variety. That is why the term ‘virus protection’ has been replaced with ‘malware protection’ to include all types of potentially damaging software.

The VerIT OnBoard solution aims not only to prevent malware from reaching the computers onboard, but also to have second and third lines of defence in the form of tools for cleaning/repair ing and easy-to-follow recovery procedures. We will continue to organise regular user meetings for our customers. We can share our knowledge and expertise, and collaborate to develop the VerIT platform further; IT on board will become a business enabler and not just a cost. We look forward to welcoming more shipping customers into our ‘family’.