IFS EAM Trend Report: Looking towards enhancing productivity, optimising plant conditions, and reducing downtime

The report gives a detailed overview of EAM trends based on quantitative and qualitative market research. It can be downloaded here.

As one of the most comprehensive surveys of asset management and maintenance professionals, this study gathers data from 430 asset managers across industries such as manufacturing, healthcare, energy, transportation, construction, and aerospace, and from various business sizes, including those from SMEs to large businesses. Additionally, the report includes specialist interviews with prominent industry experts, including AVEVA, Reliabilityweb.com, IFS, and IFS Ultimo.

The key findings of the IFS EAM Trend Report reflect an urgent need to enhance productivity, optimize plant conditions, and reduce downtime while aligning with sustainability objectives. At the same time, competitive market conditions necessitate strict cost controls while adhering to health, safety, and environmental protection (HSE) regulations.

Here are some of the key highlights of the report:

• There is a substantial growth opportunity for EAM solutions in the market. As 63% of respondents use an EAM solution, a significant number of 37% reported that they presently do not use any EAM solutions, indicating the rise of EAM solutions in the future.
• Most organisations aim to mature their EAM process further. Most of them state they are currently in the first three stages of the EAM Maturity Model, however, there is a strong trend to move to Stages 4 (“Smart”) and 5 (“Ultimate”) by implementing Predictive Analytics (56%) and Long-Term Asset Planning and Asset Investment Planning (50%).
• Asset Performance Management (APM) is on the rise. 57% of asset managers expressed a strong interest in exploring the potential of APM technologies to enhance the health and performance of their vital assets, leading to improved efficiency and decision-making.
• Emerging technologies will positively impact maintenance and business practices. The top 3 emerging technologies to gain competitive advantage are Internet of Things (IoT) sensors, predictive modeling, and artificial intelligence (AI) while key obstacles are a need for more experience and costs.
• 3 topics that shape the future of EAM are prioritising better use of reporting and analytics (61%), increasing digitalization (44%), and investing in retaining or attracting suitable maintenance personnel (38%).

"For us, this study provides valuable insights for the further development of our products. Most of all, we hope it will inspire professionals in maintenance and asset management," said Ewout Noordermeer, CMO at IFS Ultimo.

"The outcomes of the study show that different use cases ask for different solutions. Since the acquisition of IFS Ultimo in 2022, IFS is the only vendor in the world that offers both 'best-of-suite' EAM (IFS Cloud EAM) and “best-of-breed” EAM (IFS Ultimo). IFS Cloud EAM is the perfect match if you are looking for a composable solution that goes beyond EAM, including service management, APM, and ERP capabilities. IFS Ultimo is ideal if you want a pure-play EAM SaaS solution with a fast time to value," he concluded.

The IFS Trend Report can be downloaded via this link: IFS launches EAM Trend Report - IFS Ultimo