In this article, we take a closer look at the selection process for the best EAM software, what features to look for, and how to assess which vendors best meet your organizational needs.
What falls under Enterprise Asset Management?
Before looking at solutions and vendors, it is important to understand what falls under Enterprise Asset Management and which EAM selection criteria should guide your selection process. A good match between solution and organization not only supports day-to-day operations, but also enables long-term planning and strategic decision-making.
Here’s a checklist of essential aspects to consider when evaluating and comparing the best EAM software solutions. Keep in mind that these can vary, based on the size of your company and the type of asset supported:
Scalability: Understand if the software can grow with your business. Scalable EAM software allows you to start small, and expand without the need for reimplementation.
Industry-specific solutions: An EAM solution can be tailored to the processes and compliance needs of your industry, such as manufacturing, healthcare, or transportation.
Integrations: Consider whether the software can connect with other software and technology that matters to your organization, such as ERP systems, IoT, BIM, GIS or SCADA. Seamless integration improves efficiency and reduces duplication of efforts.
Cloud or on-premise: Choose between cloud-based EAM software or on-premises installations based on your organization’s IT strategy, data requirements and legal compliance directives.
Usability: An intuitive, user-friendly interface increases adoption and reduces administrative hassle.
Which functionalities should be present in an EAM solution?
For efficient asset and maintenance management and to maximize asset performance, your EAM system should include a comprehensive set of features. These are the essential functions in Enterprise Asset Management software:
Asset registration: Centralized, structured information about all assets, including a comprehensive maintenance history.
Work order management: The maintenance history is built up with an easy-to-use system to create, assign, and track maintenance tasks.
Maintenance planning: Optimize the planning for your employees, your assets, and your production stops.
Fault notifications: Report and manage incidents or malfunctions in real-time.
Mobile access: Mobile access to your EAM gives your teams the flexibility to access and update information from anywhere.
Reporting options: Dashboards and reports that support data-driven decision-making.
These core functions contribute directly to maximize asset availability, regulatory compliance, and cost control.
Best EAM software vendors compared
Choosing the right vendor is a major part of selecting the best EAM software solution. Below is a high-level comparison of several well-known EAM software vendors. Each has different strengths, depending on organizational needs and complexity:
SAP PM: A powerful solution that is often used by large enterprises that also use SAP Enterprise Resource Planning software.
IBM Maximo: Known for its robust functionality and ability to handle complex maintenance environments, and therefore suited well for asset-intensive industries.
Infor EAM: Cloud-native and flexible, with strong capabilities for predictive maintenance and IoT integration.
Ultimo: Offers a modular approach and a user-friendly interface, built on industry-specific best practices. Known for quick implementation and a good balance between functionality and cost.
When comparing solutions, consider total cost of ownership, ease of use, vendor support, and how well the system matches your specific sector and ways of working.
Why do organizations choose Ultimo?
Ultimo is often selected as a user-friendly EAM software solution that supports a variety of industries. It offers several unique benefits. The modularity of the software allows you to start small, and dream big. Easily add more modules as the needs or scope of your organization evolve. The intuitive interface and integrated solutions for maintenance, operations and safety teams make adoption easy and straightforward. Because the software is available in multiple languages and is supported by an extensive global network of experts, Ultimo is able to support all industries, locations and regional regulations. Ultimo offers multiple industry-specific solutions, which are built on years of expertise and best-practices and tailored to your core industry. Implementations are often completed in weeks, rather than months, so the rapid deployment leads to a fast return on investment. These features meet the needs of many organizations, because Ultimo offers flexible and scalable solutions for organizations looking to improve their asset management processes.
Customer stories and success cases
Customer cases and success stories are one of the best ways to evaluate EAM software. Many organizations using Ultimo report tangible improvements in maintenance efficiency, compliance, and cost control. London Gatwick Airport reports up to 25% in efficiency gains, alongside improved data integrity, better collaboration and more lifecycle insights. Bahlsen, Europe’s top sweet biscuit provider, has achieved the greatest possible transparency using Ultimo, with our solution helping them achieve maximum uptime with preventive maintenance and standardize processes in four plants. The Martini Hospital have been using Ultimo for over 15 years to great satisfaction of the team, who report that our software helps them work faster and more efficiently, achieving a higher level of quality.
Curious what Ultimo can do for your organization or industry? Explore more detailed customer stories and use cases on our website.
Tips for a successful software selection
Selecting the best EAM software solution requires more than just comparing functionalities. A structured selection process helps you identify the best match for your organization to maximize asset performance. Make sure that you clearly define the internal requirements that your solution must match. Consider the problems you want the software to support and decide which teams will be using the system. Make sure that these are clearly documented before you start engaging vendors. For this, make sure you involve end-users and multiple departments, if applicable. This helps ensure buy-in to the impending change. In order to get the best possible impression, request demos and involve key stakeholders in the demo sessions. A live demonstration gives you a good idea of how the solution functions in your specific context, and how it addresses your requirements. Make sure that you also look beyond the software. Consider the service and support delivered by the vendor. Make sure that you feel confident in the services offered by the vendor, and feel confident that the long-term support structure works for you and your organization.
By approaching the selection process strategically, you’ll increase the likelihood of long-term success.
Best-of-breed EAM software
Frequently Asked Questions
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Best EAM software solutions like Ultimo are perfectly suited for companies with multiple sites, even across different countries. Having a centralized, single-source-of-truth EAM platform offers several benefits to boost asset performance. This helps standardize processes across all sites of the organization. It also allows for centralized performance analysis, leading to more structured data- and analysis. An EAM solution is a great tool that makes it easier to align strategies and monitor performance, even in complex, international organizations.
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Security should be a top concern for organizations considering investing in a cloud-based solution. Often, cloud solutions are more secure than on-premise solutions, since they operate on higher security standards. Solutions like Ultimo use data encryption in transit and at rest. By implementing role-based access and working with secure data centers, security adds confidence rather than caution. Sensitive asset data requires robust protection, which is what Ultimo offers.
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EAM solutions are often modular. This means that you can start out small, and scale as your business and scope evolves. Whether you are expanding to new locations, acquiring new assets, or plan to grow your workforce and want to add new users, a modular platform adapts to your every need. Adding new functionality or modules does not require you to transition or migrate to a new platform. This offers a great step up to integrating modern technology, such as APM or IoT, and gives you full control over your growth trajectory. EAM supports long-term digital transformation and protects your business continuity.