Maximo vs SAP EAM

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Our analysts compared Maximo vs SAP EAM based on data from our 400+ point analysis of EAM Software, user reviews and our own crowdsourced data from our free software selection platform.

Product Basics

Maximo by IBM helps manage physical assets like facilities, vehicles, equipment and machinery. It offers features like space management, storeroom management, integrations, inventory management, task management and more. It improves asset lifespan and operation availability as well as reduces risk through preventive maintenance and lifecycle management.
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SAP EAM supports the upkeep of facilities, machines, equipment, vehicles and anything in between via a fully-featured suite. It helps facility managers coordinate asset maintenance, monitor asset life cycles, maintain their facilities and run reports to make better decisions. Users can leverage it for asset information management, performance improvement, assessment templates, risk and criticality assessment, and more.
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$3,150 Monthly
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$5,000 Annually
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24/7 Live Support
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24/7 Live Support

Product Insights

  • Energy and Utilities Speciality: Access pre-built data models and tailored dashboards for energy and utilities. Analyze operational data to visualize asset health and view scoring models to determine risk factor. Monitor critical assets, asset health and failure predictions. 
  • IoT Platform: Store IoT data for 30 days and get an overview on all assets. Access sensor, consumer, enterprise and industrial entities, with alerts to detect when asset data reaches or falls below set thresholds. 
  • Efficient Scheduling: View a graphic representation of work orders and PM schedules. Manage shutdowns, outages, maintenance and other large projects across multiple locations. Check the status and schedules of multiple projects on the dashboard and accomplish end-to-end work management. 
  • Linear Asset Management: Gain visual control over assets like roads, pipeline, rail lines and transmission lines. Track labor, materials, tools and asset conditions by linear measures. 
  • Managed Service Provider: Manage customer agreements, service deliveries, billing and supplier contracts. Decide response plans, billing and price schedules as well as create bill batches for recurring costs. 
  • Improved Safety: Manage safety, reliability and environment performance in compliance with regulations. Prepare for audits and surveys, catch defects, investigate incidents, and define lockout and tagout operations. 
  • Asset Configuration: Manage near-real-time configuration of assets like aircraft and rail vehicles. Access technical records, create task cards that prompt manual reviews and get automatic displays of a record’s status. 
  • Calibration: Stay on top of calibration history, data sheets, reporting, and all the requirements for traceability and reverse traceability. 
  • Spatial Asset Management: Visualize and locate assets, locations, work orders and service requests on maps. 
  • Data Visibility: Ensure all data is visible to all parties with IBM Maximo Registry, which stores a subset of transaction data entered on blockchain. 
  • Equipment Maintenance Assistant: Support asset management programs with artificial intelligence. 
  • Mobility: Multiple mobile apps supporting role-specific tasks in the work management process are available on Android and iOS. Available online and offline, they provide flexible access to work orders, inventory, asset data management, work approvals, barcode capabilities and more. 
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  • Improve Operational Efficiency: Reduce costs, improve asset usage and manage capital expenditures throughout asset lifecycles. Technicians can work more efficiently, improving overall productivity. 
  • Boost Asset Usage: Reduce asset downtime (especially unplanned downtime) and improve asset utilization through centralized monitoring and control. Enhance reliability, efficiency and performance while minimizing disruptions. 
  • Improve ROI: Leverage IT investments and improve the ROI for every asset by boosting asset uptime and extending asset lifetime. 
  • Minimize Failures: Schedule preventative maintenance to repair assets in a timely manner to avoid catastrophic failure. Stay on top of recurring maintenance tasks with alerts. 
  • Make Sites Safer:  Perform routine maintenance on assets, heavy machinery and equipment to secure them from damage and keep workers safe. 
  • Maintain Security and Compliance: Sensor data, engineering insights and critical alerts can only be accessed by authorized users through the SAP Intelligence Network. Each asset element on the SAP cloud platform has a unique ID to authorize publication and subscription. 
  • Share Interactive Data: Include photographs, multidimensional models, multidimensional logical bills of materials and videos for visual spare part management. Users can navigate and “hotspot” images during inspection. 
  • Add Capabilities:  Integrate with other SAP solutions like SAP Predictive Maintenance and Service, as well as SAP Asset Strategy and Performance Management. It also supports integration of master and operational data with business information systems. 
  • Improve Planning: Run what-if simulations and find out which usage scenario suits best and compare results. Apply information from virtual sensors on the model to address potential issues before downtime occurs. 
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  • Asset Management: Manage asset operations, conditions, work centers, applications and inventory. Give restricted access to the system and menu options. 
  • System Administration: Provides a framework to share items and data as well as manage communication templates. Includes site and organization setup, bulletin boards, classification hierarchies for assets, locations and work orders, query tickets, item type configuration, and a calendar to track labor, activities and equipment working time. 
  • Asset Lifecycle Management: Stores information like asset number, location, parent and vendor, as well as tracks asset location and arranges them in a logical hierarchy. Also helps: 
    •  Define physical features like guard rails and mile markers and associate those features with one or more linear assets. 
    •  Add or modify meter names and sets of attributes that define the meter. 
    •  Define multiple measuring points, specify alarm limits and set acceptable meter readings. 
    •  Build and construct failure hierarchies and understand root problems. 
  • Analytics: View scheduled reports and monitor KPIs to analyze the maintenance and lifecycle of assets. 
  • Task and Activity Management: Plan, review and manage tasks, activities and work orders. 
  • Contracts Management: Manage labor, purchases, leases, pricing, warranties, rental, service and software contracts. Includes blanket and master contracts, rule definition for each type, and a historical view of contracts. 
  • Financial Management: Define and set currency codes and exchange rates, set general ledger account fields and track project costs to determine the resources needed for project execution. 
  • Integration: Connect with enterprise systems and set up flows between apps. Supports multiple communication modes, UI-based integration, and bulk export and import of data. 
  • IT Infrastructure Management: Specify rules for creation and management of relationships between configuration items. Offers service requests, incidents and work orders as well as grants full control over records like items, assets and location configurations. 
  • Inventory Management: Provides data entry via barcode, service item records, tool records, item grouping, supplier lists, pick lists and more. Also helps: 
    •  Create and manage information about stocked, non-stocked and special order items. 
    •  See when an item is below a specified level with notifications. 
    •  Store information on item locations and view stocked items in the storeroom. 
  • Job Planning Management: Manage plans, detail work descriptions and view assets that require a stop during inspection or maintenance checks. 
  • Preventive Maintenance: Account for labor, materials, service and tools to better plan, manage, budget and schedule regular maintenance. Master records provide a template for future maintenance. 
  • Purchase Management: Features include purchase processing, requests for quotations and invoices. Stores information about companies that make purchases, enables buying materials from suppliers and vendors, and matches invoices to POs and receipts. 
  • Safety Management: Define hazards and safety precautions to prevent a workplace mishap with plans that explain how to take work assets in and out of service. 
  • Security Management: Controls access to sites, applications and menu options. Employees can be in one or more security groups. 
  • Service Request Management: Create requests for configuration, change of an asset and equipment repair. Requests show status and correspondence for better visibility. 
  • Service Desk Management: Oversee processes and save work performed in the asset’s record. Templates help standardize common service requests and incidents. 
  • Release Module: Enables task and activity management. Provides classification and attributes for categorization, PM and scheduling details, task assignment, follow-up records, work logs, communication entries, and requirements for labor, services, materials and tools. 
  • Task Management: Offers activities, tasks, work orders and historical records of work performed. 
  • Work Orders: Available for assets and locations and includes the number of hours worked by contractors or employees. Report on open work orders or small jobs and capture the history of work orders. 
  • AI-Powered Asset Monitoring: Monitors remote assets and operations, automates task execution, and performs anomaly detection. Also provides: 
    •  Customizable monitoring dashboard. 
    •  Rule-based alerts for data tied to specific standards and KPIs. 
    •  Data filtering and root cause analysis based on hierarchies. 
    •  IoT data for processing, direct access, historical storage and archiving. 
    •  Alerts to produce events and create service requests. 
  • Asset Health Insights: Manage the health of assets using IoT data, work history and asset data. Offers: 
    •  Health scores, real-time sensor data and alerts from SCADA systems. 
    •  Maintenance history, weather incidents and subcomponents with historical context. 
    •  Integration with PM systems to access data and manage maintenance schedules. 
  • Predictive Maintenance Insights: Manage future failures and determine asset failure factors that could affect operations. Capabilities include: 
    •  IBM Watson, which scans for patterns in usage, environment and other asset-specific data to predict future failures. 
    •  Data provided by IoT sensors, OT, ERP and EAM systems. 
    •  Predictive model templates, visualizations and a library of analytics APIs to build custom models. 
    •  Machine learning and analytics for operational data generated by critical assets. 
    •  Prescriptive analytics and anomalous behavior detection. 
  • Workers Insights: Offers dashboards, interacting reporting tools, data export, filters and configurable shield parameters. Includes predefined and customized shields that help detect if a worker’s life might be in danger. Tracks data such as: 
    •  Hazards and statistics of hazards via a map. 
    •  Averages and counts for workers, hours and hazards. 
    •  The location of an object or a worker through beaconOS and GPS. 
  • MRO Inventory Optimization: Includes: 
    •  Part and stock management using automation and analytics. 
    •  Inventory segmentation based on criticality and business impact of MRO spares and materials, along with inventory value calculated based on inherited items, average cost and other criteria. 
    •  Lead time tracking to manage asset downtime. 
    •  Reports, dashboards and KPIs for all important metrics. 
    •  Configuration of work queues and screens. 
    •  Column-oriented databases, summarization engines and elastic searches to filter, sort and update records. 
  • Migration Tool: Transfer product customizations and configuration from development to production for testing. Access a standard rollout environment and repeatable rollout processes that help in monitoring, documenting and managing regulatory compliance. 
  • Storeroom Management:
    •  Monitors item availability, records physical counts and balances inventory. 
    •  Offers details on cost, issue and order units. 
    •  Reconciles recent physical count after every completed transaction. 
    •  Includes parent and child storerooms to create hierarchies. 
    •  Supports adding multiple items to a hierarchy and reordering items from a single storeroom. 
  • Service Requests: Features include notifications upon completion or close of a request, multimedia support to upload photos and videos, and resolution monitoring. A security group template grants users access to service requests, work centers, tools and tasks. 
  • Managing Inspection Forms: Offers specific questions to choose from, revisions to active forms by adding conditions, templates for reuse, and the ability to edit questions and instructions. Forms can be associated with assets, locations and work orders. 
  • Business Analysis Work Center: Analyze work efficiency, supply rates, inventory balance and more to improve operation and user performance. View the analyzed data in charts and download it in an image format. 
  • Data Set Designer: Includes filters and sorting to configure content and build sets, which can have an application query applied to them. Supports exporting in CSV format. 
  • Application Analysis: Enhances operations with queries for situations like overdue POs and upcoming reactive work. Incorporates KPI tracking, Query by Example and export to Excel for further analysis. 
  • Reports and Dashboards: Embedded reporting offers more than 100 report types, which can be customized, saved, shared and downloaded. Dashboards summarize business data while storybooks format content in useful ways. Access to Cognos BI provides advanced business intelligence capabilities. 
  • IBM App Connect:  This ready-to-go connector enables integration with distributed databases, infrastructure environments and hundreds of third-party business systems such as JIRA, Salesforce, SAP, QuickBooks and Workday. 
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  • Analytics: Gain engineering insights using a variety of analysis tools including: 
    • Model-Based Analysis: Provides historic usage and predicts asset health and remaining lifespan by simulating and generating time series data in advance. Helps replay an event and see calculation consequences, optimize a 3D visualization of a trade-off and more. 
    • Vibration Analysis: Identify the unique vibration signature of an asset to serve as indicators of early signs of failure. 
    • Structural Analysis:  Physical sensors on a piece of equipment act as inputs for simulating the stresses and strains on a digital representation of the equipment, helping process and analyze their impact on the equipment. 
  • Asset Information Management: Integrate technical information, asset history, maintenance strategies, financial data and real-word information in one platform using models, systems and templates. 
  • Performance Improvement: Get suggestions and solutions about a piece of equipment. Create, review and submit improvement requests. 
  • Mobile Access: Provides back-end flexibility for convenience to users through native apps for iPad, iPhone and Android. 
  • Asset Management: Build a standards-based physical asset management foundation to manage equipment, facilities, vehicles and other assets. 
  • Maintenance Management: Schedule, assign and record maintenance tasks to track maintenance for individual assets. Includes: 
    •  Maintenance strategies and packages. 
    •  Task lists and operations. 
    •  Maintenance plans and items. 
  • Failure Modes and Effects Analysis: Use failure modes based on probability to prioritize the severity of an impact. Allows identification, evaluations and suggestions against potential failures. 
  • Reliability Centered Maintenance: Improve maintenance strategies as an industry standard, with advanced checklists that enable users to create dynamic questionnaires. 
  • Digital Twin: Offers a tailored and graphical representation of a physical object or asset that uses machine learning and visualization to monitor performance or a product lifecycle. Also supports new business models. 
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Product Ranking

#1

among all
EAM Software

#12

among all
EAM Software

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Analyst Rating Summary

90
89
100
100
87
100
91
85
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Analytics and Reporting
Mobile EAM
Work Order Management
Spare Parts Handling
Maintenance and Inspection Management
Analytics and Reporting
Asset Management
Environment, Health and Safety Management
Spare Parts Handling
Mobile EAM

Analyst Ratings for Functional Requirements Customize This Data Customize This Data

Maximo
SAP EAM
+ Add Product + Add Product
Analytics And Reporting Asset Management Asset Tracking Environment, Health And Safety Management Maintenance And Inspection Management Mobile EAM Resource Allocation And Work Order Scheduling Spare Parts Handling Workforce Management Work Order Management 100 87 91 67 94 100 81 97 88 98 100 100 85 100 91 98 81 100 62 77 0 25 50 75 100
100%
0%
0%
100%
0%
0%
71%
14%
15%
100%
0%
0%
88%
6%
6%
81%
6%
13%
17%
83%
0%
100%
0%
0%
88%
6%
6%
88%
0%
12%
100%
0%
0%
88%
0%
12%
67%
17%
16%
67%
17%
16%
100%
0%
0%
100%
0%
0%
80%
0%
20%
50%
17%
33%
100%
0%
0%
78%
0%
22%

Analyst Ratings for Technical Requirements Customize This Data Customize This Data

43%
57%
0%
71%
29%
0%

User Sentiment Summary

Great User Sentiment 978 reviews
Great User Sentiment 364 reviews
87%
of users recommend this product

Maximo has a 'great' User Satisfaction Rating of 87% when considering 978 user reviews from 5 recognized software review sites.

84%
of users recommend this product

SAP EAM has a 'great' User Satisfaction Rating of 84% when considering 364 user reviews from 3 recognized software review sites.

4.4 (507)
2.8 (10)
4.18 (76)
n/a
4.2 (72)
n/a
4.3 (259)
4.3 (59)
4.3 (64)
4.2 (295)

Awards

SelectHub research analysts have evaluated Maximo and concluded it deserves the award for the Best Overall EAM Software available today and earns best-in-class honors for Analytics and Reporting, Asset Tracking, Maintenance and Inspection Management and Mobile EAM.

Analysts' Pick Award
Analytics and Reporting Award
Asset Tracking Award
Maintenance and Inspection Management Award
Mobile EAM Award

SelectHub research analysts have evaluated SAP EAM and concluded it earns best-in-class honors for Analytics and Reporting, Asset Management, Environment, Health and Safety Management, Spare Parts Handling and Integration and Extensibility.

Analytics and Reporting Award
Asset Management Award
Environment, Health and Safety Management Award
Spare Parts Handling Award
Integration and Extensibility Award

Synopsis of User Ratings and Reviews

Asset Management: Every user who mentioned this aspect appreciated that the system helps reduce asset downtime.
Customization: Extensive customizations help users fit the software to their company, according to every review referring to this feature.
Tracking: All users mentioning tracking liked that the system helps keep track of site issues, inventory, assets and expenses.
Easy to Use: More than 90% of reviews on usability said the solution has an easy-to-use interface.
Reports: Reports have helped in analyzing the expense on individual assets and more, as stated by more than 70% of users referring to this feature.
Integration: Integration with multiple systems like SCADA has helped smooth out various processes, according to more than 60% of reviews mentioning this feature.
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Comprehensive Functionality: SAP EAM provides a wide range of features that cover various aspects of asset management, such as maintenance planning, work order management, inventory control, and reporting. This comprehensiveness allows organizations to manage their assets effectively throughout their entire lifecycle.
Integration with Other SAP Modules: SAP EAM seamlessly integrates with other SAP modules, such as Finance, Controlling, and Materials Management. This integration eliminates data silos and provides a holistic view of asset-related information, enabling better decision-making.
Scalability and Flexibility: SAP EAM is a highly scalable and flexible solution that can adapt to the changing needs of organizations. It can be customized to meet specific industry requirements and can support both small and large enterprises.
Mobile Capabilities: SAP EAM offers mobile applications that allow technicians to access asset information, create work orders, and update maintenance records from their mobile devices. This improves efficiency and productivity in the field.
Analytics and Reporting: SAP EAM provides robust analytics and reporting tools that enable organizations to gain insights into asset performance, maintenance costs, and other key metrics. This information helps identify areas for improvement and optimize asset management strategies.
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User Interface: More than 60% of reviewers referring to the interface felt that it needs to be improved so novice users can easily adapt to it.
Implementation: The implementation process is hard and has a steep learning curve, according to all users referring to this aspect.
Pricey Licensing: More than 80% of reviewers felt that the cost of licensing was on the higher end.
Attachments: It’s difficult to link external documents like Word and Excel, and attaching images takes awhile, according to every review referring to this feature.
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Complexity: SAP EAM is known for its intricate and multifaceted structure, often requiring extensive training and expertise to navigate effectively. This complexity can lead to a steep learning curve for new users and ongoing challenges for existing ones, particularly those without a strong technical background.
Cost: Implementing and maintaining SAP EAM can be a significant financial undertaking for organizations. The licensing fees, coupled with the costs of customization, integration, and ongoing support, can strain budgets, especially for smaller companies or those with limited resources.
Customization Challenges: While SAP EAM offers a high degree of customization, tailoring the system to specific organizational needs can be a complex and time-consuming process. This often necessitates the involvement of specialized consultants, further adding to the overall cost and implementation time.
Integration Issues: Integrating SAP EAM with other existing systems within an organization can pose challenges. Compatibility issues, data migration complexities, and the need for ongoing maintenance of interfaces can create hurdles and disrupt workflows.
User Interface: Some users find the SAP EAM user interface to be outdated and less intuitive compared to modern software solutions. Navigating through various modules and functionalities can feel cumbersome, impacting user experience and productivity.
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IBM Maximo Asset Management helps users perform preventive repairs to extend asset lifespans, monitor assets and equipment, manage contracts, and control inventory. It excels in asset management, tracking and reports. With an intuitive design, plenty of integrations and a high degree of customization, it provides flexibility and ease so users can get the most out of it. However, the UI can be difficult for new users and the cost for licensing is on the higher end. Reviews also cited difficulty with attachments and a complex implementation process as drawbacks. Overall, it’s a good fit for businesses looking for a CMMS with plenty of features that go far beyond asset management.

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SAP EAM has garnered a mixed bag of user reviews over the past year. Many users appreciate its comprehensive functionality, particularly for managing complex assets and maintenance processes in industries like oil and gas, utilities, and manufacturing. The software's ability to integrate with other SAP modules, such as finance and HR, is also seen as a major advantage, providing a holistic view of operations. However, some users find the interface clunky and outdated, leading to a steep learning curve for new users. The system's complexity can also make it challenging to configure and customize, often requiring specialized IT support. Compared to competitors like IBM Maximo and Infor EAM, SAP EAM stands out with its robust analytics and reporting capabilities, enabling data-driven decision-making for maintenance strategies. Its mobile functionality also receives praise, allowing technicians to access work orders and asset information on the go. However, SAP EAM can be more expensive than some alternatives, especially for smaller organizations with simpler asset management needs. Additionally, users sometimes mention slower performance compared to cloud-based competitors. Overall, SAP EAM appears best suited for large enterprises with complex asset management requirements and existing SAP infrastructure. Its comprehensive functionality, integration capabilities, and advanced analytics make it a powerful tool for optimizing maintenance operations and extending asset lifecycles. However, organizations seeking a more user-friendly and affordable solution may want to explore other options in the market.

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Screenshots

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