IBM has announced End of Market for Maximo 7.5 for April 2017, and End of Support for 7.5 for April 2018. 

What does it mean?

Given that Maximo 7.6 has been available now since December 2014, it makes sense that End of Support (EOS) has been announced. End of Support means that fixes, patches, and telephone support will no longer provided for Maximo 7.5.x and the corresponding components and Add Ons of the same version. 7.5 Fix Packs will be removed from Fix Central and 7.5 technotes will be removed from the database.  

What should I do?

If you're sticking with Maximo 7.5.x, make sure to download the latest Fix Pack for your system. We recommend doing this at the start of 2018 just in case IBM remove them before EOS. You should also save or print off any technote files that you refer to on a regular basis. 

Consider planning your Maximo 7.6 upgrade now!

We would encourage you to plan your upgrade to Maximo 7.6 today. In our experience, it has been a much simpler upgrade process than going from 7.1 to 7.5.

One of my favourite things about the new version, besides the modern UI, is the addition of Feature Packs. As part of a Continuous Delivery process, you can now access to new features, bug fixes, improved config options and latest technologies without having to wait for the next major release. Documentation is provided via Fix Central. 

IBM have published various resources about how to upgrade.

What is new? 

Regardless of your Maximo update policy, it is a good idea to understand what features have been recently released by IBM in order to plan your next update.

• New User Experience – Modern look and feel, including a new layout, cleaner applications and fonts, colours and styling. New navigation capabilities, including a left hand navigation bar for simplified access to frequently used functions and a hover dialog capability for field.
• Work Centers - New UI to simplify the way users access and complete daily tasks without having to open multiple apps. Work Centers are role-based and include: Business Analysis, Work Supervision and Work Execution.
• Reporting, KPIs and Dashboards enhancements – New KPI template application where end-users can create multiple KPIs and see trending workspaces and history in the KPI Viewer. Analytical insights through bundled entitlement to Cognos V10.2.1 support and new dashboards.
• Built-in Mobility Capabilities – Entitlement to IBM Maximo Everyplace.
• License Usage Monitor application - You now have the ability to monitor the usage of licenses. Using this data you can optimise your usage and determine if you have the correct number and type of licenses.
• No Java in Workflow Designer - The application was updated and no longer requires a Java applet to function. This new design allows the Workflow Designer to be used with browsers with newer technology, such as Microsoft Edge, which do not support Java applets.
• Multi-tenant database option for separated instances of data – Offers true separation of all tenant data and supports multiple, configured tenants within a single instance to reduce hardware, middleware expense and administration.
• Integration of mapping and crews capabilities – Support for crew management and service addresses for locations and assets so they can be displayed on maps.
• Corporate technology standards – Expanded support for new browsers (Google Chrome and Apple Safari) and the latest versions of other supporting middleware, hardware and OS.
• Available as an on-premises or Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) offering.

Some pretty exciting things to come this year from Maximo! What would you like to see?