NoorderSoft's people all have one thing in common: they are familiar with inland navigation! This means, that they do not have to relie on the expertise of others in order to grasp the ins and outs of each product they develop for inland navigation. They can simply use their own knowledge of current practice in the world of inland shipping.

This practical knowledge also ensures the quality of the final production: no important feature is accidentally overlooked, no important element is forgotten, and each product can be tried out by the makers themselves even before they put it to the test of the first end users.

The full staff of NoorderSoft has navigated inland ships or has at least be involved in inland shipping in one way or the other. Most people know most of the waterway network they're currently working with digitally, NOT because they learnt it from books or charts or guides, but because they sailed the waterways. It is this practical knowledge of the requirements of the skipper AND of the environment in which he has to operate which gives the NoorderSoft experts such a head start to others.

The experience with the design and development of their own data kernel, their own software tools and their own data collection is of great value in the reasearch and development for River Information Services. This experience means that many problems have already been met, many solutions already been found and many ideas already tried out. It makes the NoorderSoft experts top of the bill in River Information Services.

The participation in European RIS projects like INDRIS and COMPRIS resulted in the membership of a number of expert groups of the Central Rhine Commission, such as the Inland ECDIS Expert Group and the Noticies to Skippers Standardisation Expert Group. These groups play an active role in the international standardisation of many elements of River Information Services. The personal involvement of NoorderSoft people in these standardisation processes ensures a maximal comprehension of all ins and outs of these services.

NoorderSoft: thé voyage planning people for the inland waterways!