ITLink, the benchmark for ship IT management has been further enhanced with new capabilities and features in response to evolving customer requirements

Marlink, the leading provider of smart digital solutions, has further expanded its ITLink portfolio, the maritime industry’s most comprehensive IT management solution, with the addition of two new service options.

Introduced in response to customer needs for cost-effective, easy-to-use and deploy ship IT management solutions, Marlink has rebranded its remote IT solution KeepUp@Sea to ITLink and further enhanced the suite of solutions with both entry-level and advanced IT solutions.

ITLink, which has already been installed on more than 1,000 vessels, allows ship operators on shore to centrally manage and update their entire fleets of thousands of PCs in one-go, rather than having to do this one ship at a time and quickly restore any type of software and hardware from backup.

By taking advantage of Marlink’s managed services, vessel operators can achieve significant cost savings, deploy fleet-wide software updates more swiftly and safely while ensuring compliance with IMO2021 cybersecurity regulations.

Since January 1, 2021, vessel operators are required to demonstrate preparedness for cybersecurity risks as part of the ISM Code Document of Compliance. With the number of audits and inspections increasing, operators need IT solutions that can be easily deployed across their fleet to support cybersecure processes on board.

The new ITLink Entry-level solutions provide an easy means of reducing the tasks that crew perform for software installations or operating system updates, while providing shore-based staff with a fleetwide overview of IT network security update status to support cyber compliance.

It helps manage compliance-based challenges without the need for any additional hardware installation, via a cloud-based IT health check dashboard of vessel IT devices and software. OS updates can be processed without the need to send USB sticks or DVDs using Marlink’s XChange smart edge.

The new IT Link Advanced solution provides a complete suite of ship IT management features and tools, enabling ship operators to fully manage all aspects of their ships’ IT operations and enforce across all their vessels a clearly defined and standardized IT and cybersecurity policy. Customers have the option to have the management of the IT assets outsourced to Marlink in order to focus their own IT development resources on core business applications.

“Our ITLink solutions are designed to provide an expanded range of options that support management and compliance, from minimum requirements to complete and fully managed IT solutions.” said Nicolas Furge, President, Digital, Marlink. “By providing a simplified range of solutions for smaller and larger owners or ship managers, we have responded to the need to help them improve efficiency, operate safely and meet compliance with IMO2021.”