Part 1: From features to outcomes - What good maritime software looks like now

Over the last 18 months, one thing has become impossible to ignore in maritime technology:

The conversation has moved on.

Shipping companies aren’t looking for more software. They’re looking for better outcomes.

AI is everywhere right now. Every platform has a new assistant, a new dashboard, a new promise. And in maritime, it’s natural to wonder what that actually means in practice.

Because shipping isn’t an industry where you can afford technology that looks impressive in a demo but falls apart in reality.

Things have to work - onboard and ashore, under pressure, with real operational consequences.

So the question isn’t whether fleet software is being replaced.

It’s whether we’ve entered a new phase of what “good” actually looks like.

More Tools Haven’t Made Things Simpler

Shipping companies aren’t short of options.

There are more systems, more vendors, more platforms than ever.

But more choice hasn’t made things easier.

In many cases, it’s done the opposite: more systems, more noise, more things that don’t quite join up.

And what we’ve seen - clearly, across operators of all sizes - is that the real challenge isn’t a lack of functionality.

It’s the friction.

Disconnected workflows. Manual effort. Decisions being made without the full picture.

For a long time, the industry bought software based on capability lists.

Now it’s much simpler than that:

Does it actually make the operation run better?

The Real Change Isn’t AI - It’s Expectations

The biggest shift isn’t that fleet software has suddenly become obsolete.

And it isn’t that AI has magically solved everything overnight.

The shift is that software is no longer judged by features alone.

For years, buying decisions were driven by practical questions like:

• Does the system cover this workflow?
• Can we manage compliance properly?
• Does it support planned maintenance and procurement?
• Can finance consolidate across vessels?

Those things still matter. They always will.

But increasingly, they’re no longer enough.

Operators are asking a sharper question now: what outcomes does this actually enable - not more effort, not more process, but real results, because crews don’t want more screens, shoreside teams don’t want more spreadsheets, and nobody needs another workflow that creates work instead of reducing it.

Outcomes Are Where Real Value Now Lives

This is where the most important shift has happened - and it’s one we’ve leaned into early.

The organisations getting ahead right now aren’t chasing the latest feature releases.

They’re focusing relentlessly on outcomes: less friction, clearer execution, better decisions.

That’s the direction we’ve pushed hard in - and it’s where we’ve seen the strongest success.

Not by adding complexity, but by reducing it.

Not by promising transformation, but by delivering practical improvements in the moments that matter most.

That’s also where AI becomes genuinely useful - not as a headline, but as a working layer that removes burden.

We’re already seeing real impact when it’s applied in the right places: document-heavy workflows, high-pressure planning like dry docking, and decision support that helps teams act with confidence rather than noise.

Used properly, AI doesn’t replace experience.

It strengthens it.

What Good Maritime Software Looks Like Now

The next era of maritime software won’t be defined by who ships the most features.

It’ll be defined by who helps operators run better - with less friction, more clarity, and more confidence across ship and shore.

The benchmark has changed.

Good software isn’t what looks powerful.

It’s what simply makes the operation work.

In Part 2, I want to look at something else that’s shaping buying behaviour right now - the growing belief that instead of buying more software, teams can simply build around what they already have.

Ready to talk? Get in touch today ...

Niall Jack

Chief Technical Officer