COSOL team presenting at a Roundtable at the Maximo Live 2025 event

3 Common Questions We Get Asked About Maximo & 1 Question We Wish Everyone Would Actually Ask Us

Data and AI EAM Technology Insight News by COSOL /

At a glance

  • COSOL shares insights from years of IBM Maximo experience.
  • Common questions covering licencing, upgrades, and industry fit.
  • Success comes from aligning Maximo with business needs.
  • Clean, reliable data is key to unlocking Maximo's full value.

The team at COSOL has decades of hands-on experience with IBM Maximo. Given this depth, we decided to make the topic of our 90-minute roundtable at Maximo Live in Sydney last week the most common questions we’re asked about Maximo. Here, we share a few of those questions—and the one we wish every asset management leader would ask us!

 

COSOL at MaximoLive Sydney 2025 - we highlight common questions asked about Maximo

Above: Asset Management peers at a roundtable hosted by COSOL
(Maximo Live Sydney, 2025).

1. What is the deal with Maximo licensing and AppPoints? How do I make sense of it?

One of the most common questions we get asked about Maximo is around licensing - specifically, how do you make sense of AppPoint's and how to configure security groups in a way that ensures compliance. This is often a tricky area, given the complex nature of Maximo's licensing model. The good news is that IBM has simplified things with the Maximo Application Suite (MAS). Now, there’s a tool built into the system that helps you track AppPoint usage, showing you exactly which licenses users are consuming based on the permissions they have in the system.
IBM MAS AppPoints
Above: A simplified licencing and usage model with IBM Application Points (AppPoints)
IBM MAS AppPoints Usage Overview
Above: IBM MAS AppPoints Usage Overview

2. How do Maximo upgrades and patches work and how often do they occur?

IBM has streamlined this process with regular updates: patches are released on a fixed schedule towards the end of every month, while more significant upgrades typically happen once a year, usually around the end of June. This regularity helps businesses stay up-to-date with minimal disruption.

3. Why do you think Maximo is a good choice for asset-centric industries?

Sometimes, people ask us why Maximo is a solid choice for asset-centric industries. The answer lies in aligning technology with business processes. Maximo's strength is in its flexibility - there’s no one-size-fits-all solution. What’s considered "best practice" for one organisation might not be the same for another, even if they’re both using Maximo. By understanding the unique aspects of each industry including its business processes as deeply as we do at COSOL, we make sure that Maximo is configured to meet each organisation's unique needs. This is what leads to optimal results, not the system alone. It’s the combination of a good solid system like IBM Maximo, and asset management and sector experts like our COSOL team.
fleet of asset-intensive mobile equipment on a mine site

4. What’s a question you wish people would ask more often?

The question we wished we were asked more often is: How can I improve my data quality?

Many people simply don’t realise how crucial clean and complete data is to driving business decisions and system performance. And many customers we work with, especially those who’ve been with IBM for a long time, are often sold the idea of a “silver bullet” - a solution that promises to solve all their problems and make their business more efficient through AI, predictive maintenance, or new system capabilities. The reality is that to fully take advantage of these advanced features, you need to have clean, consistent, and accurate data. Without this foundation, it’s impossible to unlock the full potential of Maximo’s capabilities.

At COSOL, we specialise in understanding data quality and master data. We help our customers establish, set up, and maintain solid data foundations so they are well-positioned to leverage these new technologies. That’s why we wish this question was asked more often - it’s crucial to get the data right before you can fully capitalise on the innovations Maximo has to offer!

 

 

Got questions about Maximo - whether it's about understanding if it's the right EAM system to support where your organisation is headed, or how it can be optimised to perform at its best? Then get in contact with our Maximo experts in Australia or the Americas.