Hi, 

I'm looking at ways to consume Maximo data in our corporate BI Tool (Power BI). Does anyone have any examples/best practices about the intergration between Maximo & Power BI? 

Things i've on my radar to connect so far:

• Using web API's from Maximo: Not that easy to do & i feel they are more suited for interacting with the system than reporting.
• Direct/import query to DB2: Looks like a viable option, but i'm not that familiar with the data model of Maximo. Might also require rework with any Maximo upgrade
• Use DB2 Views: Similar to the previous option but the reworking can be done on Maximo side once and re-used for other integrations too.
• Excel export: Not a real integration & obviously not preferred.

I also cannot find examples online, except a few integrator companies.

Due to the popularity of PowerBI in the recent year i'm sure i'm not the only one looking at this topic.

Kind regards
Laurens

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Laurens Verstraeten
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Hi Laurens,

A good start to experimenting is the use of PowerBI Desktop and making a Web import of data.
Ofcourse you'll need to understand how Object Structures (OS) and Rest API calls work.

Once you understand that it is no rocket science.

Maximo needs to be configured for the use of API keys. And you'll have to create OS's with security settings.
Within the Maximo security groups you have to set Read permissions for the OS and add a user to that group.
Then you'll have to create an api key for that user.

In a browser (for example the OS MXAPIASSET) you can test it by entering:
https://YOURSERVER/maximo/api/os/MXAPIASSET?apikey=YOURAPIKEY&lean=1&oslc.pageSize=50

And press Enter.
If this works you can enter the same in PowerBi desktop

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Vincent Wanders
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We have had our best success and adoption with using the Power BI Data Gateway to establish connectivity to our Maximo database.  This allows us to access live Maximo data, setup refresh schedules, and publish as a dataset for multiple user access in Power Bi.  Here is further info on the Power Bi Data Gateway: https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/gateway/. 

This method allows us to pull in Maximo database objects as needed and we can create data sets that other Power Bi users in our organization can then use to make reports or dashboards that are live refreshable. 

I've also gone the REST API route using method as Vincent has described in the previous reply.  This too was also effective and allowed for pulling live data and refreshing Power Bi reports.  We did learn that you need to target specific data sets for best performance. This can became a barrier if the Power Bi user is not experienced with either generating API calls or setting up Maximo side for the object structures. 

 

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Clyde Waters
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Hi Laurens, 

Additionally, if you're looking for Power BI Training, check out Utility Analytics Institute.  Great courses In-Person and Virtual.  Power BI Community is also a great resource.  When I started, learning Power BI, I used Maximo Downloads to Excel as my data to practice with.  

If I can answer any additional questions, let me know.  

Thanks.  

Maryann

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Maryann Wood
Chelan PUD
Systesm Support Coordinator
(509) 661-4004
Cell (509) 881-9179
maryann.wood@chelanpud.org
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