IBM buy-up of MRO Software prompts cross-fertilization of IT and EAM solutions
By Staff -- Manufacturing Business Technology, 4/1/2007 12:00:00 AM MDT
Assets come in many flavors depending on where you're sitting in the organization. The same can be said for asset-management solutions: Some focus on information technology (IT), while others hone in on the plant floor—and everything in between.
“Vendors tend to focus their particular solutions on equipment, IT, or fleet management,” says Leroy Houghton, research director at Dedham, Mass.-based ARC Advisory Group. “What MRO Software did a few years back was recognize the similarity between various assets, and created a solution for all types.”
That solution is MRO Maximo, and its vision has proved particularly compelling to IBM, which acquired MRO Software late last year.
“If you look at IBM in the traditional sense, its focus has been on IT asset management,” says Jack Young, former VP of products & technology at MRO, and current VP of Maximo development for the business entity called MRO Software, an IBM Company.
“It doesn't make sense to have multiple products for managing different types of assets,” continues Young. “Companies see that plant-floor assets are becoming more like IT assets, with microprocessors, IP addresses, and being driven by software or firmware. And they're seeing this as an opportunity to expand IT asset management to the shop floor. IBM's acquisition of MRO Software puts IBM in a much stronger position to win business in asset-intensive industries than its competitors,” he says.
Houghton says cross-fertilization between an IT orientation and that of the shop floor offers a rich opportunity for development of asset management as a whole.
“There's great opportunity to apply IT standards and practices in the area of plant maintenance,” says Houghton. “IT has created a good framework for IT infrastructure management—one that provides a good foundation for running an efficient organization at any level, especially regarding continuous improvement. There also are good practices in maintenance that can be deployed in IT, such as condition-based maintenance, and doing more predictive analysis.”
