Quick history lesson - Maximo was developed in the mid 1980’s by Project Software & Development, Inc in Cambridge, Massachusetts, around 2000 the company changed its name to MRO Software. The earliest versions of Maximo ran on an IBM PC AT and the package included a “mouse” because PC typically didn’t have “mice” attached. Here a picture of me (on the right) from back then.
It was October 2006 when IBM acquired MRO Software and Maximo. At the time I was working on the Industry Marketing Industry team and we worked closely with the analyst firms including ARC Advisory Group. Naturally we wanted to show the world how Maximo would continue market leadership now that we were an IBM brand. I am happy to report the analyst firm ARC Advisory Group just ranked IBM as the worldwide leading supplier in the Enterprise Asset Management market segment in their research report titled ‘Enterprise Asset Management Global Market 2016 -2018’. For the eleventh consecutive year, IBM has held the overall leadership position in the report. This evaluation is unique because ARC is the only analyst firm who tracks and measures success of Enterprise Asset Management offerings across a number of diverse industry segments in the EAM solutions market.
The ARC Study publishes market share results for 34 different metrics based on geography, industry, sales model and asset type and according to ARC Advisory - IBM Maximo the leader in 21 of the 34 metrics. Ralph Rio, Research Director, ARC Advisory Group, commented “Maximo solutions for EAM are well proven with deep functionality and specific vertical industry solutions. This has helped continue its leadership for over a decade.”
ARC Advisory Group Assessment of IBM
IBM Maximo asset management provides a platform that supports maintenance for a variety of asset types including production equipment, linear assets, facilities, and fleet. It allows visibility and control of assets across the organization, and consists of six key management modules: asset, work, service, contract, materials, and procurement management. Maximo enables the user to develop comprehensive programs for preventive, predictive, and routine inspections and unplanned maintenance.
With client participation, IBM has created a library of industry solutions with specific functions beyond those that come with the base software. The industry solutions include Nuclear Power, Utilities, Oil & Gas, Transportation, and Aviation.
Final Thoughts
After working with Maximo since the beginning in the 1980’s, and seeing the changes in technology, the shift from client-server to web, and now web to cloud, it is very rewarding to see Maximo’s continued leadership.