Access and sign-in

Office: your Microsoft account

People in the office sign in with their company Microsoft account (Microsoft Entra ID). This means:

• Your multi-factor authentication, Conditional Access and other sign-in policies apply automatically.
• When someone leaves the company and their Microsoft account is disabled, they can no longer sign in.
• We don’t store any passwords.

Every person has a role – Viewer, Editor or Admin – that decides what they may do. New users start as Viewer. See who may do what and users and roles.

Ship PCs

Ship PCs don’t use passwords:

• When the app is set up, the PC creates its own key. It is protected by Windows and never leaves the PC.
• The PC shows a short code. Someone in the office approves the PC only after comparing that code with the crew – see approving a ship PC.
• After that, the PC proves who it is with its key every time it connects, and only gets access for a short time.
• The office can disconnect a PC at any time. It takes effect immediately, and the documents are removed from that PC.

What each ship receives

• Documents are kept in libraries: one for the office, one for the whole fleet and one for each vessel. Each ship PC receives only the fleet’s documents and those of its own vessel – also in search and in the assistant.
• Office documents never leave the office.

Read-only on board

The crew can’t change the documents, and they can’t import files or folders into the app. They can save a copy of a document, for example to fill in a form. The document inside the app stays unchanged.

A signed desktop app

The installer and every update of the desktop app are signed by bitova GmbH. The app only installs updates that carry this signature.

Everything is recorded

The audit log records sign-ins, changes to documents, approved and disconnected ship PCs, updates on board, copies saved on board and questions to the assistant. Entries can’t be changed or deleted, each one is linked to the one before it, and the log can be exported with its checksums.

Limiting access to your network

On request

Access to the office part of the system can be limited to your company’s networks – for example your office IP ranges or your VPN. Ship PCs keep working from anywhere, because each of them identifies itself with its own key. Contact us to set this up.