Most maritime software is expensive not when you buy it, but every time you need it to change. Full Ahead's architecture attacks exactly that: one continuously deployed multi-tenant codebase, configuration held as data, offline-first sync in the data layer, and an open API so your team extends the system without a vendor project.
Legacy ship management suites are installed and customised per company, so every upgrade becomes a bespoke project. Full Ahead runs a single continuously deployed codebase with tenant isolation enforced in the database itself. Your fleet gets every improvement the day it ships — no upgrade window, no regression testing project, no consultant days.
Job templates, criticality rules, checklist libraries, approval thresholds and scoring weights are data, not code. Changing how your company works is a settings change made by your superintendent in minutes — not a change request priced by a vendor and delivered next release.
Every write goes through a sync outbox with delta reconciliation, so vessels stay fully productive with no link. Because offline is built into the data layer rather than a separate shipboard installation, there is no per-vessel server, no replication service to babysit and no divergent shipboard version to upgrade.
A documented REST v1, scoped API keys, signed webhooks and pluggable scoring hooks mean your ERP, accounting, crewing or proprietary algorithms integrate without a vendor integration project. Extension happens on your side, on your schedule.
A self-reflective agent cluster watches regulatory change and fleet telemetry, then drafts compliance modules and re-times maintenance automatically. Regulatory evolution — the single largest hidden cost of maritime software — becomes an included, continuous process instead of a paid module.
Row-level security, role separation, entitlement gating and a hash-chained, append-only ledger are enforced by the database, not by application code that each integration must re-implement. Adding a new surface never means re-writing your access model.
A realistic path from signature to a fleet running live, with no shipboard servers and no implementation consultancy.
| Dimension | Full Ahead | Traditional installed suite |
|---|---|---|
| Time to first live vessel | Same day | 6–18 weeks of implementation |
| Upgrade to new version | Continuous, included | Scheduled project, often billed |
| Process/workflow change | Settings change, minutes | Change request, next release |
| New regulation module | AI fast-track draft, included | Paid module or consultancy |
| Shipboard server | None — offline PWA | Per-vessel install + replication |
| Integration with your systems | Open REST API + webhooks | Vendor integration project |
| Adding a vessel | Minutes, self-service | Onboarding engagement |
Comparison describes the general architecture of installed, per-customer ship management suites and reflects Full Ahead's own product design. It is not a statement about any named vendor's current offering.
Excludes subscription and licence fees on both sides — this compares only the cost of changing the software after go-live. Adjust the inputs to your fleet.
| Cost line | Traditional suite | Full Ahead |
|---|---|---|
| Initial implementation | €26,600 | €3,800 |
| Version upgrades (5 yrs) | €38,000 | €0 |
| Workflow change requests | €85,500 | €7,125 |
| Shipboard servers & replication | €56,000 | €0 |
| Integration work | €19,000 | €2,850 |
| Five-year total | €225,100 | €13,775 |
Estimated evolution cost avoided
€211,325
Indicative planning model using typical maritime consultancy rates and upgrade cycles. Your figures will differ; use it to frame the question, not as a quotation.
Send your current setup — number of vessels, existing system, integrations you depend on — and we will map a deployment plan and an honest evolution-cost comparison for your fleet.
Talk to us
Ask about migrating an existing PMS, offline operation at sea, class and flag audits, or what your fleet would actually cost. No sales sequence, no discovery call gate.
