Usergroup May 2023
Here we go again, off on another adventure! Our destination, Cambridge. Contrary to Amundsen this adventure was planned well thanks to our hosts at the British Antarctic Survey and in particular to David Ganiford, our most recent committee member.
In the sunshine and summer temperatures there was no risk of an arctic gale which meant we could take full advantage of the Tivoli rooftop terrace during our networking event. Colourful badges were in force to help give those familiar faces a name, however, some confusion ensued during the hand out and a demonstration in 'clear communication' was required.
There wasn't any trouble with supplies on this trip with pizza and drinks flowing as easily as the conversation (thanks again to our sponsors British Antarctic Survey, Nucleo, Cohesive, MaxLogic, Electra and Interloc). For some the night may have been a test of endurance (and nerve for those who managed to sneak in a quick nine on the crazy golf – Andrew Thomas still reeling from that 9th hole defeat) but with positive reports all round it was certainly a great event. Everyone I think was down for an early night ,or at least that's what they told me, and ready to tackle the next day.
With everyone rested from the night before we headed to the British Antarctic Survey and the fantastic Aurora centre. Not a penguin in sight but definitely an albatross or two. The venue was enticing with two levels, plenty of space, the auditorium and of course coffee on tap.
After a brief introduction the presentations were underway. First up we had Chris Genin from DP World telling about their move to the cloud, reducing the islanded instances and alternative systems that had been in place. The cross organisation Maximo working group was key to the success and we wish them all the best on their continued journey. Maybe a future presentation when you have it finished?
Next was a virtual Karl Burdge from Transport for Wales in tandem with Alexander Damas (AMCL) on improving their data quality to get the most from their Maximo implementation. The common challenges of historic systems merging, data ownership and understanding information needs were all clear. What was key to their success, understanding the customer needs and BI dashboards provided the 'quick wins' for TfW.
Just before the break Aidan Bennett shared the EAM ecosystem they have developed in Energia with Maximo at its core. The right tools build on a solid foundation had benefits across the organisation maximising value and performance. The strong partner relationships and focus on key areas have driven success.
A popular regular installment has always been the roadmap, this year delivered by Andrew Foster from IBM. MAS was the talk of the day. IT upskilling for the hybrid cloud and deployment options gave us all plenty to think about especially those who haven't yet made the leap.
Our final presentation was from the committees own Kenny McAneaney who shared with us NIE Networks' recent experience of Maximo with the key messages of limiting your customisation to prevent future woes and reach out to the community as we all have shared experiences.
The BAS catering team really set on a display at lunch and we feared there may be some sleepy heads afterwards. Thankfully the engaging table topics followed to get more in depth conversations. This is a stand out feature of the UK and Ireland MUG with a chance to get under the bonnet of what was presented.
A chance for some feedback saw the sun set on the May User Group meeting and we look forward to celebrations in November in London. It is going to be a big one as we celebrate 15 years as a group. Save the dates 29th and 30th November, we hope to see you there.
Pictures and presentations are now available on the community page library.
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Kenneth McAneaney
Maximo System Owner
NIE Networks
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