A Global Center of Expertise in Innovation Norway's Cluster Program
GCE NODE is an industry-driven cluster for ocean technologies. Based in Southern Norway, GCE NODE consists of around 100 companies, most of which form a world-leading value chain of suppliers to the oil & gas, offshore, energy, and maritime industries.
Cluster participants range from small startups to global giants like National Oilwell Varco, HMH, and Schlumberger-owned Cameron Sense, APL, MacGregor, Nekkar, and Å Energi. The entire value chain is represented in the cluster, including software providers, monitoring systems, maintenance services, and other key service providers.
Since 2014, NODE has proudly carried the title of Global Center of Expertise (GCE).
It all started as a network
NODE began as a network with a simple goal: offer companies in the offshore industry a shared meeting place where they could present themselves, collaborate, and seize bigger chunks of the market.
When NODE gained GCE status in 2014 through Innovation Norway's cluster program, their mission expanded. NODE now keeps companies up to speed on both technical developments and market opportunities, while also facilitating participation in research, development, and innovation projects. Today, their main focus is on creating services and products that drive the green shift.
“When we host an event – whether it’s a course, workshop, webinar, seminar, or conference – it’s always about sharing knowledge in areas like technology, business development, digitalization, and security. Always tailored to our companies.”
A complete registration solution
GCE NODE organizes over 60 events each year, which means they’re hosting more than one event per week, keeping the pace high.
“We run a lot of events. With Checkin, we save a ton of time and create a better experience for our attendees.”
Bente shares a few specific examples:
“One big win for me is that I can copy an event and reuse a lot of the existing information.” This saves Bente loads of time when setting up new events.
The financial overview in Checkin quickly shows me who has paid and who is behind, making it easy to follow up with participants.
Checkin also makes it super simple to send additional messages via email and SMS to those registered.”
Bente is also very happy with the integration with Zoom and Teams, which they use for all their digital events.
Checkin makes payments a breeze
Payments, in particular, used to be a headache. Bente recalls: “Before Checkin, I had to manually send invoices, chase down payments, handle reminders – the whole deal. With Checkin, it’s so easy. You get a clear overview of all open items. Who’s paid, and who hasn’t.”
A local provider goes a long way
Since 2014, GCE NODE has steadily increased its number of events and participants, and managing registrations without a proper system became impossible. For small breakfast meetings with up to 20 people, it was manageable, but Bente found it cumbersome.
At that time, Checkin didn’t exist.
They opted for a U.S.-based registration system, which was user-friendly but difficult to contact due to the time difference.
Fast-forward to 2018. What they loved about Checkin was that it’s a local provider that’s easy to reach, and you can speak Norwegian with them.
“If we needed support, it was great to have them in the same time zone, so we could get in touch during our working hours,” Bente explains.
Bente also mentions that GCE NODE has specific needs due to their funding model. After presenting their requirements, Checkin quickly came up with a solution.
Bente can’t imagine handling all their events without a complete registration system like Checkin.
"My advice is: Get a registration system like Checkin. With Checkin, you get a partner you can rely on, who is quick to provide feedback and listens to customer input. It’s crucial that communication with your customers is easy. And with Checkin, it is,” says Bente.
