Its features include digitizing, editing, analysis and display of data, and production of quality maps.

ILWIS was initially developed and distributed by ITC Enschede (International Institute for Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation) in the Netherlands for use by its researchers and students.

[1][2] Having been used by many students, teachers and researchers for more than two decades, ILWIS is one of the most user-friendly integrated vector and raster software programmes currently available.

In late 1984, ITC was awarded a grant from the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which led to developing a geographic information system (GIS) which could be used as a tool for land use planning and watershed management studies.

By the end of 1988, a DOS version 1.0 of the Integrated Land and Water Information System (ILWIS) was released.