IBM Maximo

Competitor IBM Maximo (see screenshots here)

Date created 28 Nov 2019

Analysis by Meraj Imani

Overview of functionality

Functionality Details

Asset On top of standard asset management functionality Maximo supports:

management
Asset depreciation schedules
SL (straight line) means that the value depreciates in a straight line. That is, the value depreciates at the same rate
over the lifetime of the asset, whether the lifetime is time-based or meter-reading-based.
DDB (double declining balance) means that the value depreciates at a faster rate early in the life of the asset than it
does later in its life. The depreciation for each period is calculated by the following formula: (original value -
accumulated depreciation) x (2/(number of periods in expected life)), to a maximum total depreciation of (original
value - salvage value).
Safety
Safety hazards (asset gets hot, confined space …)
Hazard mitigations (gloves, flashlight …)
Hazardous materials
Lock out / Tag out
Subassemblies in addition to parts (other assets that are composted of other parts - for example the alternator in a truck
engine)
Maximo supports Shift calendars based on worker calendars and shift hours

Work orders The work order functionality is pretty standard and similar to ours
Work orders
Nested work orders
Scheduled work orders
Preventive maintenance
Asset monitoring
Generate alerts based on asset monitoring data being read
Forecasting (See Predictive solutions)
State control is supported throughout the application.

Reporting & Maximo utilizes the following reporting tools. Cognos is likely the advanced option that comes with an additional cost.
dashboards Actuate: Similar to our report builder in terms of functionality.
Cognos Analytics
Maximo also allows for KPIs to be defined without going through the Cognos front end - these KPIs are built using queries
Integration Maximo supports the following modes of integrating and have a proven track record of integrating with many systems
(SAP FICO, Oracle Primavera …

While the list of available integrations is impressive, it is not a simple or quick process to integrate with other platforms /
solutions.

Usability Maximo is highly complex to configure as it is a specialized app and offers a certificate for Maximo power users / deploym
ent specialists.
For day-to-day use, it is substantially more complex to use than Fiix.
We come across examples of “Learning to use it is like having another job” often from former Maximo clients.
Knowing which mobile app to use (see further below) is a challenge for users who wear multiple hats.
Configurability Maximo is highly configurable and allows users to make changes to:

Multiple workflows are supported depending on certain conditions … auto approvals are supported
Suppliers are also supported
Blanket purchase orders
As part of the configuration, Maximo supports an interactive workflow designer:

Mobile with IBM offers a series of native mobile apps that are offline ready depending on the use case:
offline IBM Maximo Anywhere Asset Audit app
IBM Maximo Anywhere Asset Data Manager app
IBM Maximo Anywhere Inspection app
IBM Maximo Anywhere Issues and Returns app
IBM Maximo Anywhere Physical Count app
IBM Maximo Anywhere Service Request app
IBM Maximo Anywhere Transfers and Receiving app
IBM Maximo Anywhere Work Approval app
IBM Maximo Anywhere Work Execution app

Predictive Maximo offers a forecasting feature which forecasts which assets require preventive maintenance in the next definable
solutions time period
The forecasting feature also predicts the cost associated with the recommended PM
IBM also uses talks about the ability to connect to IIoT, monitor assets, and visualize the data as Predictive Maintenance
which isn’t true

Demo impact The system is KPI focused with a modernized UI (but same menu structure as the previous version).
Enterprise product offering differences

Advantage? Commentary

Maximo Fiix Commentary

Asset management Since the breadth and depth of features Maximo offers is stronger than
Fiix, the overall strategy is similar to SAP:
Work orders
Usability
Using IBM is like having another job on top of my CMMS job.
Mobile with offline We keep hearing this statement from former IBM clients. This
should be one of our primary strategies when going up against
Configurability Maximo.
One example is the number of mobile apps they have. For an
Purchase orders & receiving organization where users have to wear multiple hats it will be
challenging to track which app to use and when.
Predictive maintenance Adoption
Adoption goes hand in hand with Usability. Many of Maximo’s
former users bring up adoption difficulty
Integration
Price
Maximo pricing is substantially higher than Fiix’s - up to a
$1000 per user per month.
 Very specialized software like Maximo also means time
Reporting & dashboards
consuming and expensive deployment process.
Time to value
Usability: This also means poor user adoption which we
have heard from former Maximo users as well.
System complexity also means clients continue to be heavily
relied on IBM / IBM partners for professional services for
training, configuration … this reduces time to value and
increases cost.