Web Based Maintenance Management Software - the BIG Question

Determining if on-premise or web based computerized maintenance management software is best for your organization's needs is critical to success. And it is the crucial question to ask before selecting computerized web based maintenance management software.

Answering this deceptively simple question becomes very complex when one considers the fact that maintenance tracking information and workflow requirements can come in many forms, i.e., on paper (hardcopy) or electronic (digital) information, received from different sources such as paper archives or web based imaging sources such as copiers, faxes, or email, and users can be in many locations such another web site or software system.

Our experience over many years has shown that both on-premise or web based computerized maintenance application software can streamline maintenance operations significantly. But despite the fact that automated (computerized) maintenance procedures can benefit most operations, the significant expense and deployment time required keeps many from acting. At this point, the cost benefits of computerized web based maintenance management software start to become very attractive. The question "Which is better, traditional on-premise or web-based maintenance management software?" becomes the big question to answer.

The purpose of this article is to guide you through the steps required to determine if an online, web based computerized maintenance management system or traditional on-premise software implementation is best for your organization.

Web-Based CMMS Software as a Service

Throw the many benefits of web based CMMSsoftware into this mix and things become even more complex. A well-designed web-based computerized maintenance management system can save a tremendous amount of money. This method of delivery, also known as Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), has become very popular in the last few years, for many reasons, as explained below..

Planning for Maintenance Management Software

In this guide we try to provide planning help useful to all readers, and are providing some practical questions to consider when evaluating various on-premise, online and web based computerized maintenance management software systems. Each question is designed to identifiy some of the "GOTCHAS", i.e., the problem areas most likely to be troublesome or even fatal to a software installation.

Each question on this page addresses a different step in the implementation process, and examines the advantages of both web based computerized maintenance management SaaS and on-premise, server-based CMMS software solutions, including scheduling, preventative and emergency maintenance, and inventory solutions. Comparing the answers to these questions will help you determine if a SaaS (web-based CMMS system) or on-premise computerized maintenance management software solutiondelivers the best Return-on-Investment (ROI).

Step One: Maintenance Management Software Requirements Identification

Q: Will information from many different sources such as other departments and/or legacy systems be required before your maintenance tracking proceses can be made more efficient and productive? Extensive application integration is a key decision factor in choosing between an on-premise CMMS system or web based computerized maintenance management software system. Examples of potential problem areas that must be examines closely during this step include:

Is data required from legacy third-party systems?
The need to retrieve documents using a fast and easy web based search tool.
The need for user-defined E-forms for combining Web form-based data with other documents, or for augmenting document & information management processes with structured data contained in an application database.
The need for advanced user-defined automated workflow for CMMS business process automation.

Each of the above areas need to be examined very closely if they are needed by your current or planned CMMS business processes. If the answer to other requirement areas is "YES", please remember that the potential cost and risk of integrating those functions with any maintenance tracking software, either web-based SaaS or on-premise, could be very high. Also, please bear in mind that on-premise maintenance management software may require modification to conform to a user interface standard, another source of extra cost and risk.

Step Two: Computerized Maintenance Management Implementation Urgency

Q: Do you need a CMMS solution immediately, as opposed to three to six months or even a year from now? Traditionally, due to the high up-front costs involved, CMMS software projects have followed a standard process:

Requirements analysis
Request for Proposal (RFP)
Product demonstrations
Vendor selection
Implementation & Training
On-going Maintenance.

The above process has worked well for decades, but it does have several major drawbacks. First, it requires a typical organization months to complete. Second, the number of departments or outside organizations that could be involved can become quite high: Top management for strategic goals; a consultant or IT for business analysis and requirements definition; individual department heads as needed; purchasing to negotiate the contract; legal to write the contract; software vendors to demonstrate their solutions; vendors or internal IT to configure and implement the customizations; and the initial training to make users fully productive, plus on-going support and maintenance!.

In many situations, because of project timeframes, competitive pressures, and similar, the need for immediate results is pressing. If your situation fits this description, a web based computerized maintenance management software could be of tremendous help. You can often evaluate an online SaaS CMMS solution for a trial period during which you identify and configure a large percentage of your final configuration tasks. Then, you subscribe to the web-based maintenance management software solution after the trial period ends, the final system is further expedited because your business process is already configured in large part.

A quality web based online computerized maintenance management software solution is developed to meet the majority of many industry specific needs, involving CMMS requirements input and refinement from hundreds of customers. Due to this fact, an online, web based CMMS software solutions can deliver comprehensive functionality right out-of-the-box.

You can literally be up-and-running in hours with a web-based computerized maintenance management solution. Most quality web-based CMMS solutions also offer extensive, user-defined configuration capabilities that enable users to modify key aspects of system appearance and functionality. If rapid deployment is a key criteria for your project, a web-based, on-line CMMS software system offers undeniable benefits.

Step Three: The Cash Flow Test

Q: Do you want to limit your upfront expense and link cash outlays to measurable benefits as you receive them? The implementation of a new computerized maintenance management system (CMMS) in any organization involves significant effort and costs, and one of the large costs of an on-premise system is the up-front license fee required.

The web based CMMS software-as-a-service (SaaS) model eliminates most up-front licensing costs and replaces them with a modest monthly fee. This monthly fee is usually based on the number of users or a similar measure that increases only as a previously agreed-upon criteria increase. The advantages of this approach are many:

No large up-front expense
No time-consuming budget approval processes
No annual maintenance fees
Direct linkage between the value the solution provides and it's cost.

Step Four: The Evolving Requirements Test

Q: It important to remember that a large system such as a computerized maintenance management software system must be able to adapt easily as your business requirements change and new technologies emerge. In the case of most on-premise software packages your firm must incur the cost of annual maintaining and updating the application. One of the largest unforeseen expenses with an on-premise software system is the difficulty encountered when trying to launch new functionality or installing a new version, which is primarily due to the proprietary customization required with on-site, on-premise software.

Although proprietary customizations enhance the usability of the software, the more extensive customizations in many cases cannot be automatically migrated to the next version of the current software. As a result, when the package is upgraded, your firm will face a very difficult decision. Either upgrade the application again at great cost, and experience delay as the new features are implemented, or to continue using the older version of the software without benefit of the upgrade until it is no longer supported by it's vendor. Niether option is good.

Online CMMS SaaS, i.e., web based computerized maintenance management, can eliminate these obstacles and frustration because upgrades are applied at the data center and available to all users immediately, with no installation or delay. In addition, since there is no software to install at each client site, software upgrades may be made more frequently.

However, even though online SaaS (web-based) maintenance management solutions tend to be more expandable, some specialized requirements may require specialized functionality that a SaaS application cannot provide, even with integration and extensive configuration. To understand which side of this line your planned CMMS needs are, we suggest the following process:

Develop a detailed list of the problems your organization is currently experiencing when operating using the current manual system or computerized maintenance management software system. This list should be focused on business operational problems.

Determine what is needed to solve the problems. Is a better scheduling system needed? Is information needed by a certain department faster? Would an online inquiry sorted in a different way help? Nobody knows your business better than you, so ask any question as it comes up.

Define on paper what the new on-premise or web based, online computerized maintenance management system must do to help you obtain the solutions identified in item B above. This becomes your list of key requirements for a new CMMS system solution.

Prepare a diagram illustrating the workflow found in each maintenance management business process, illustrating the flow of information between each point in the process. This diagram, , i.e., a workflow chart, should also describe what is done with that information and by whom, at each point. Be usre to focus on identifying the CMMS business processes you need to improve, not the technical system details.

Share the information collected in A, B, C, and D above with the vendors whose products you are evaluating. This should be done through a formal Request for Proposal.

Use the information found in the vendor responses to your RFP to identify the top three systems that meet your needs the best. Request a demonstration from each vendor that illustrates how each on=premise or online, web based computerized maintenance management software system as it applies to your requirements.

Carefully evaluate the vendor's ability to meet all of your immediate and long-term requirements based on the information collected in their RFP response and demonstration requirements, then select the computerized maintenance management system that is best for you.

When this evaluation is complete you will have a much clearer idea of how much functionality an on-premise versus an online web-based CMMS software solution can provide. In the end, which type of software function delivery method you select is a tradeoff between the benefit of an on-premise, customized solution and the cost, deployment, and evolutionary benefits of an online web based maintenance management software system.

Web based Maintenance Management Software