Custom IMBOR integration development
Appfront builds integrations with IMBOR, the CROW information model for managing public space. If you record asset data in line with IMBOR, you can exchange it with contractors, agencies and other management packages without converting it. We connect your own systems to the model, so data on trees, pavements, lighting and water keeps the same names and properties.
What is an IMBOR integration?
IMBOR is the Informatiemodel Beheer Openbare Ruimte (Information Model for Public Space Management) from CROW. It is an open standard that defines what objects in public space are called and which data belongs to them, from trees and paving to lighting and watercourses. IMBOR 2025 was published on 14 July 2025, as a database and as linked data, with a SPARQL endpoint for technical users.
In the new version, IMBOR is better aligned with other standards, such as NEN 2660-2 and NEN 3610, and with the link to BGT-IMGeo. For urban water there is a sub-model that matches the GWSW of Stichting RIONED. Even so, many managers still work with their own names and properties. Data that a contractor delivers after a project then has to be converted first, and that is often done by hand.
We build custom solutions because managers differ: which disciplines, which packages, which own properties and who supplies the data. We look at how your data relates to IMBOR in the first step, together with you.
One language for management
Your data translated into IMBOR's object types.
Exchange without conversion
With contractors, consultancies and other packages.
Checked
On the model, before data is used.
How we build your IMBOR integration
We start with your asset base: which disciplines, which systems, which named entities and attributes, and who supplies data. Then we map how your data relates to IMBOR. We often begin with one discipline, such as green or paving, and add others once the first is running well. That way you see quickly what the integration delivers. Where your own data doesn't fit IMBOR, we show you what's missing and what you can add.
Disciplines, systems and own properties.
Your data alongside the object types of the model.
Exchange and checking against the model.
Go-live, and management when new versions of IMBOR are released.
What an IMBOR integration does in practice
The components below appear in almost every IMBOR integration. Which ones you need depends on your asset base.
Object types
Your objects, mapped to IMBOR.
Properties
Attributes and values.
Validation
Checked against the model.
Exchange
With contractors and software packages.
Map
Alongside BGT-IMGeo.
Audit log
Every delivery logged.
Who we build IMBOR integrations for
The integration is designed for managers of public space and the parties who work for them. The more deliveries and packages you have, the more an integration delivers.
Municipalities
Many disciplines and packages. A single shared language matters most.
Water boards and provinces
Large asset bases. Exchange is the core.
Contractors and consultancies
Data after a project. Handing over properly matters.
Software suppliers
A management package. Connecting to IMBOR is the core.
Technology and integrations
This page covers integrations with IMBOR. For the map layer, see our BGT integration page; for sewerage, our GWSW integration page; and for reports, our page on public space reports. You can read about our way of working under custom software development.
Why choose Appfront for your IMBOR integration?
Data that has to be converted again with every delivery takes time and gets lost along the way. That is what we build around: one language for your management, exchange without conversion, and a check against the model before data is used.
One language
The same names in every system.
Properly handed over
Deliveries checked.
In line with CROW
The model remains leading.
Security and privacy in an IMBOR integration
The integration processes data about objects in public space and, at times, reports and contracts. Access credentials are stored encrypted and used only by the integration, and every delivery is logged.
The integration runs in a European data centre, with encrypted storage and daily backups. We record the processing in a data processing agreement, and you decide who has access to the log.
Frequently asked questions about an IMBOR integration
Questions that managers and their partners ask before getting started.
IMBOR is the Information Model for Public Space Management (Informatiemodel Beheer Openbare Ruimte) from CROW. It defines what objects in public space are called and what data belongs to them, so that managers, contractors and software packages speak the same language. A tree or a lighting column then has the same name and the same properties everywhere, no matter who recorded the data.
IMBOR 2025 was published on 14 July 2025. It is better aligned with NEN 2660-2, NEN 3610 and BGT-IMGeo, includes a submodel for urban water that connects to GWSW, and is also available as linked data.
The BGT is the map: where each surface lies. IMBOR describes the management objects and their attributes. They belong together, and IMBOR 2025 has updated the link with BGT-IMGeo. In the integration we use them together, so an object on the map and in your management data is one and the same.
Not necessarily. Your own system often stays as it is, and the integration translates your data to IMBOR on exchange. Where that isn't possible, we show what needs to change. This can be done discipline by discipline, so you don't have to tackle everything at once.
Yes. A delivery is checked against the model before it enters your system, with a list of what is missing or incorrect. The contractor receives that list back so they can complete it before the project is closed. This keeps your asset base up to date after every project.
We adapt the translation to the new version and show which objects and attributes change. You decide when to switch over, and until then the integration keeps running on the current version.
For municipalities, provinces and water boards with multiple packages or high volumes of deliveries, and for contractors, consultancies and software vendors who want to align with IMBOR.
Your management data under IMBOR?
Tell us which systems and disciplines you work with and where data is currently converted by hand. We'll show you what the integration would look like.