On September 30th, 2021, all Maximo V7.6.0.x and compatible versions of products, industry solutions and add-ons will reach the end of support. This announcement last year was accompanied by the introduction of the IBM Maximo Application Suite. Many clients are looking for the lowest risk mechanism to take them from their current Maximo installation to the Maximo Application Suite; This is where the SRO Data Utility excels.
But first, let's explore what is included in Maximo Application Suite and how it is delivered. Maximo Application Suite contains the following modules:
This is the new name for the core Maximo Enterprise Asset Management tool, i.e. work, asset, inventory, people, spares, contracts etc.
Formerly known as Maximo Asset Health Insights, or just Asset Health Insights, this delivers a dashboard view into an organisation's critical assets and enables rapid review of their operating condition, as close to real-time as is needed.
Growing from the legacy of Predictive Maintenance & Quality, this tool leverages a powerful statistical analysis engine at its core to identify, with a known certainty, when an asset is going to fail so the organisation can prepare to maintain it.
Coming from the IBM Watson IoT stables, Monitor takes data inputs from sensors and displays it as an easy to comprehend dashboard. The monitor application allows the user to look at trending information while also providing automatic fault escalation to work orders/service requests into Manage.
Newly launched, Mobile is the next generation mobility platform taking over from Maximo Anywhere to provide Maximo to the hands of the field engineer on small device format.
A marketplace for OEMs and customers to share any digital data about the assets and provide them for free or at a cost to the end-user.
Therefore, Maximo Application Suite (MAS) is a collection of tools from the IBM AI Applications portfolio. MAS is delivered via a single license model using "AppPoints" as a pool of licenses whilst also being provided via a new underpinning IT platform, OpenShift. OpenShift is a family of containerisation software products developed by Red Hat. Its flagship product is the OpenShift Container Platform — an on-premises platform as a service built around Docker containers orchestrated and managed by Kubernetes on a foundation of Red Hat Enterprise Linux.
After a high-level introduction to Maximo Application Suite, it is evident that the key to MAS is the Manage Module. Formerly known as Maximo, Manage data feeds all the other modules. Some apply additional functionality to deliver capabilities such as condition monitoring, predictive maintenance or surface the data in different formats and provide tools to support the field-based workforce. So, we need to be able to move clients from their existing versions of Maximo, or indeed other EAM applications, to the MAS Manage Module. Simultaneously, depending on the client wishes, whether to manage their own Maximo environment or move to a hosted one, we need to navigate a change to a containerisation-based deployment model.
The SDU provides a downtime-free upgrade and data migration process that enables your business to keep running, even while the software and underpinning platforms are being updated. For example, IBM fully supports the updated Maximo version as SDU utilises the IBM upgrade process for Maximo, allowing it to retain the user configuration. In addition, SDU ensures the resulting database schemas are correct for the version of Maximo in use by enabling an offline upgrade and migration process, running in parallel and capturing all changes made to the old version. It allows users to work on the existing Maximo version during the entire upgrade process, right until the final cut-over to the new version. The only break being the time it takes for users to log on to their new version.
The SDU can also assist prolonged durations where more rigorous testing for the upgraded database is required. Additionally, organisations with multiple Maximo instances can utilise an option to upgrade one site at a time if beneficial to the business.
Utilising the SDU to manage upgrade projects ensures that a rigorous testing regime takes place and user acceptance increases significantly as they train on the live data of their new Maximo.
Hopefully, this blog will be of interest, and if you would like a more detailed discussion about how the SRO Data Utility can help your organisation on the journey to MAS, please get in touch.
About the author
Martin Harris
Martin Harris
As a Principal Consultant at SRO Solutions, Martin focuses on the digitisation of the enterprise asset management process and its value for an organisation. His business-led approach has been developed through numerous engagements in aerospace, automotive, defence, oil, gas, construction and manufacturing industries over the last three decades. Martin joined SRO from IBM where he worked as an AI Applications Executive Enterprise Architect, looking at Maximo EAM optimisation.
SDU Benefits
• IBM approved global solution
• Reduces downtime
• Mitigates the risk of failure
• Enables testing and training on live data
• Offers a proven and successful approach
• Allows for “offsite” updates
SRO’s Data Utility tool is proven to eliminate downtime and provide a pragmatic upgrade and migration process that permits your business to keep running, even while software is being updated.
SDU - SRO Data Utility Solution
"The SDU tool allowed us to test things out in real-time while still running production - so it’s much less stress, and there is no downtime."
Bill Quinlan, Manager Plant Floor Systems at American Axel Manufacturing
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