Maximo 4.0 had been released for new clients on 30th March 1998 in English and 7 other languages followed soon after, but it was not Y2K compliant, there could be potential date issues at the end of the millennium. For existing clients, Maximo 4.0.1 provided an upgrade utility, this was a popular version because it was validated against Y2K date issues, and it introduced the second base currency which would support the currency conversion to the Euro. However, some clients chose to upgrade to Maximo 3.0.3 as it could be done more quickly, for many companies who had a lot of systems to upgrade to avoid Y2K issues, the quickest route was the chosen route.

After Maximo 4.0.0. was released several new versions came in quick succession Maximo 4.0.1, 4.0.2, 4.0.2b, 4.0.3, and 4.1. By the end of 2002 only Maximo 4.1.1 was being supported and this continued to be patched through to the end of 2005.

Part of the reason for so many new versions arriving over the start of this period was the frequency of change to the PC and server operating systems, database versions, and now we had browsers and browser versions to consider. For example, the Java based applications did not work initially on Pentium 4 processors and we had to wait until Maximo 4.1.1. for this to be validated.

If you had read the previous article on the Dot-Com years which covered the same period 1999 to 2002, you would know that PSDI had formed a subsidiary called MRO.com to focus on connecting buyers and suppliers with exchanges for Maintenance Repair and Operations (MRO) parts and services. The software being developed for MRO.com was built using Java and a few Java applets started appearing with Maximo 4, a Work Request application and then Desktop Requisitions, Workflow also used Java.

At the time I started running a small team in PSDI UK services who were focused on the existing client base, upgrades being a large part of that activity, I was a frequent visitor to the EMEA Support team in Woking to find out what was compatible and what not. Client IT teams also faced the same challenges of keeping up, which is one reason why we often faced the use of Citrix, a thin client technology, which enabled remote access. PSDI did not immediately support Citrix, but eventually in 4.0.3 it was also validated.

Maximo 4.0.0 was quite a large functional release, but I have had to rack my brain to remember what was introduced. I have the 378-page user guide for Maximo 4.0.1 (with only a few screen shots) and the user guide from Maximo 3.0a (with numerous screen shots) that I could compare, but I’ll have a go at recalling what impressions it made.

The biggest impression by far was the beautiful gold login page, a work of art. Unfortunately, we soon realised that many of our client’s PCs were not powerful enough to render the screen in one go, and it was revealed bit by bit, top-down and left to right. An alternate plain blue screen was quickly added, but for some the decision to upgrade to 3.0.3 instead had already been made.

The three big functional items were the introduction of Safety including Safety Plans and the functionality added to locationsA physical place where assets exist and where work can be performed. More, assets and work orders, Request for Quotations and the links to PR and PO, and support for inspections. I remember being packed off to a large and important client to explain the new features, only to be told how disappointed they were because they had been told by PSDI executives that Maximo 4 would support inspections, they had already performed the installation and couldn’t find an inspections application. “It’s the Routes application”, I said, “when you apply the Route, it creates a parent work order and child work orders, and there are fields on Work Plan Operations (tasks) to enter an observation, or a measurement and the measurement is connected to a Condition Monitoring Point.”

Apart from the support of Safety, RFQs and Inspections there were quite a few work order enhancements. Some were added to support the Maximo Scheduler, an interface to P/X, for example multiple-level work order hierarchies (P/X) and a Scheduler dialog with quite a few options. The work order edit settings were introduced, work order cost values for estimate at approval were saved, and there was now an automatic change to Waiting for Material (WMATL) status when a direct issue purchase was being made, with the subsequent return to Approved (APPR) when the PO Receipts had been completed.

A simple Tools application was added, and there were changes to Companies to support ecommerce, including adding multiple contacts. I believe the PM Extension Date was also introduced. No doubt there were additional standard SQR reports. In Maximo 4.0.1 the Work Manager (later renamed Assignment Manager) and Maximo Scheduler were both optional.

By Maximo 4.0.1 the Asset Catalog Setup application appeared in the Inventory module, allowing a classification hierarchy to be built up to 5 levels deep, with the attributes associated with the classification. Initially, the Specifications tab appeared on the Inventory Control application (there was no separate Item Master), Operating LocationsA location with a location type of OPERATING. More application, and the Equipment application (later renamed Assets). This change was needed to accommodate the data for the SMD (Standard Modifier Dictionary) which had been inherited from the acquisition of INTERMAT and was needed by the MRO.com side of the company. It would be subsequently renamed Classifications and be continuously enhanced over several years with classifications being added to many more applications.

In 1999, Maximo 4.0.2 Java based applets were introduced called Maximo Everywhere and this was the first introduction to the term Maximo Business Object, and Mbo Widgets. MAXIMO Everywhere applets were based on Marimba’s Bongo Version 1.1 and provided an easy data entry and query screens. The MAXIMO Everywhere Screen Designer was a WYSIWYG editing tool, and the first application was for creating a Work Request or Viewing/Modifying the Work Request. I can’t recall using the MAXIMO Everywhere Screen Designer, but the tool may have been used more widely in the MRO.com part of PSDI.

Maximo 4.0.2 was the first time we started to receive electronic copies of documentation in PDF form. I’ve got a folder full of them, including how to modify the Help/Documentation which I do remember using. Apart from the 300+ page System Administrator’s Guide which had an appendix of all the standard crossover fields, the other document I used the most was the Finance Manager Guide, which described how the GL debit and credit fields would be derived for all the financial transactions.

With Maximo 4.0.1 the standard reporting tool had moved from SQR3 to SQR4, but an integration to Crystal Reports was also provided with 10 or so standard reports. By August 2000 we were also supporting Brio which was good for pivot tables and cross-tab reporting, Brio had acquired SQRiBE the makers of SQR3 and SQR4.

By now Maximo 4.x supported Oracle, and Microsoft SQLServer in addition to SQLBase. Maximo 4.0.2 had some enhancements to the Developer’s kit; it was now a 32bit .DLL and there were additional hooks to add customization. The Maximo Integration Gateway (MIG) now provided mainly financial interfaces via integration tables to Oracle, SAP and PeopleSoft.

Workflow was introduced in Maximo 4.0.2 and enabled on Work Order Tracking, Work Manager, Work Requests, Quick Reporting, Purchase Orders, and Purchase Requisition applications. This gathered a lot of excitement, but it needed a few releases to build out the functionality and to overcome some performance issues. By 2000 Maximo 4.0.3 had been released and Maximo was available in English, Brazilian Portuguese, Dutch, French, German, Spanish, Simplified Chinese and Swedish. PSDI agents were also providing Maximo in other languages.

Maximo 4.0.3 was sometimes referred to as Maximo 4i or Maximo 4.0.3/4i. I seem to recall that the 4i referenced the Internet enabled applications, Work Request and Desktop Requisitions, it introduced the new 4i logo.

In September 2000 for Maximo 4.1 there was now a Microsoft Project Interface and the Maximo Scheduler interface to PSDI’s P/X would be phased out.

The other highlight for many of us in the UK in late 2000 was receiving our first mobile phone.

Maximo Enterprise now included the e-commerce capabilities for MRO materials, labor and services. In August 2000, Maximo Extended Enterprise was released, this included e-procurement, that was also marketed as Maximo Buyer, Desktop Requisitions, the Maximo Integration Gateway, Workflow, and SMD (Standard Modifier Dictionary).

In 2001 the set of Maximo add-ons had grown and included:

• Maximo Project Manager
• Maximo Analyzer
• Desktop Requisitions
• Maximo Workflow
• Maximo Illustrated Parts Catalog (IPC)
• Standard Modifier Dictionary (SMD)
• Maximo Enterprise Adapters (PeopleSoft, Oracle, SAP)
• Maximo E-Commerce Adapter

In 2002 the Maximo Analyzer ceased being sold.

The Sarbanes-Oxley Revenue Recognition rules became prominent in 2002, requiring us to get Maximo installed as early as possible, as you couldn’t recognise the software sale until it had been installed.

In 2002 the Maximo Mobile Suite was introduced, two applications Work Manager and Inventory, the functionality would be built out over the next decade. There were other mobile solutions from Syclo LLC which MRO Software resold, but the cost of software purchases in the early 2000’s led us to developing our own mobile products while continuing to resell Syclo mobile, which was renamed as SMART Mobile Work Manager, SMART Mobile Inventory Manager and SMART Mobile Auditor. The Maximo Mobile Suite would become functionally comparable with the Syclo products, and by 2005 had exceeded the functional footprint of its competitor, but configuration was very difficult, and Syclo was built to be customisable built on their Agentry system and it retained a presence until it was eventually acquired by SAP in 2012.

There were two other areas of development during this period, Industry Solutions and utilities/add-ons developed by the Maximo Professional Services team.

In 1998 PSDI announced developing industry specific solutions and in 1999 MAXIMO Enterprise for Transportation was released. Initially in Maximo 4.0.3 Transportation was separated between Fleet and Aviation before merging into a single Transportation solution in Maximo 4.1.1 (2001). Functionality included Count Books, PM Alerts, Warranty Tracking, Labor Certifications, ATA/VMRS Codes, Position Codes, MeterA Meter is an identifier for recording meter readings, measurements and observations on assets or locations. More functionality and more.

Although there was the intention for Maximo Enterprise for Energy and Maximo Enterprise for Process, I believe neither of these materialized. Initially the Professional Services team created services solutions that enabled the data loading of ISO 14224 Failure CodesFailure Codes exist as part of a Failure Hierarchy and are a Failure Class, a Problem, Cause or Remedy Code. More and ISO 14224 Asset Classifications, and they also had a Primavera P3e Adapter. These were available for both Maximo 4.1.1 and Maximo 5.2 along with an option for Calibration which was launched in December 2003 under Maximo 5.2. The Oil and Gas Industry Solution team was formed later to work on a release that provided new O&G features for Maximo 5.2 r2 (2005).

The other Industry Solutions bypassed Maximo 4.1.1 and were either launched in Maximo 5.2 or later. Maximo for Industry and Maximo for Facilities, had a short life, if they were released, they were both based on Maximo ADvantage which being a single user and Microsoft Access based was soon phased out in 1998 only a few years after the acquisition of MAC, Chief Advantage in 1996.

The first Professional Services utility or Service Solution was the widely used Dynamic Value List which provided a list of values, like today’s Domains but based on the value entered in another field. Another utility, Field Security made fields read-only or hidden based on the value entered in another field. In the era of Maximo 4.x several other utilities and Service Solutions were developed and being sold around the world to existing clients, some of these came from the author of this article.

The Professional Services UK Existing Client Base (ECB) team was formed because of the number of Maximo 3.0.3 or Maximo 4.0.1 upgrades we were performing in the run up to Year 2000, but it continued through until my role changed shortly after IBM acquired MRO Software in 2006. The objectives of the team were not just to perform upgrades, we got very slick at this, but to drive clients to using a larger part of Maximo, to introduce the add-ons, or to increase the user base. We started to do “Surgeries” where we would arrive at a client site, and anyone could book a 30-minute slot to ask us any question on the use of Maximo. It helped us to understand what clients wanted to achieve, and it nearly always resulted in some follow-on work, may be only a few days at a time, but often with further activities. There were some common themes and from this we created some additional utilities which we sold to multiple clients.

Maximo had as standard the ability to create a single table and build an application for it. In April 2002 we had launched the Type 2 Custom Application, which allowed two tables to be joined together in a parent-child relationship.

Application Status Control (APPSTAT) – controlled which status values were available to a user based on a records status, but then it also made a record read-only once a status value has been reached. This worked also on a custom application and on the Type 2 Custom Application.

Mandatory Status Control (MANSTAT) – controlled which fields needed a value before the status could be changed, and it made fields read-only after the status was changed.

By June 2004 the ideas behind the Type 2 Custom App had been extended and the Type 4 Custom App was available. The parent table is displayed in the traditional layout of a Maximo custom application and could be viewed across six application tabs. There could be up to twelve child tables spread across these tabs, three being the maximum number on any one tab (as shown). The table windows could work to provide a grand-parent, parent and child relationships between the tables. Each table window could be based on an existing Maximo table or a custom application table.

Part of the reason why these Professional Services utilities came about in the UK was because we were very successful in the Facilities Management sector. In the UK, Private Finance Initiatives (PFI) led to private companies funding or part funding large construction projects, hospitals and schools were quite common, and on the back of this they retained the maintenance contract for 20 or more years. To ensure that the maintenance contract was fair Management Consultancy companies came up with sophisticated Penalty Payment Mechanisms (PPM) where if service level agreements of various types were not met, then there would be a financial penalty. The rules on which these calculations were made being highly sophisticated, and completely non-standard, everywhere we went we were faced with some other scheme devised by a team of graduates with no thought on how it could ever be measured. Nevertheless, we had a go, each PPM system required many additional tables and screens to enter the reference data on which the calculations would be based.

There were Professional Services solutions that preceded the Service Provider add-on, Maximo Service Manager, a solution for Compatible Units Estimating which was eventually added to the Utilities Industry Solution, Manifesting, and 21CFR Part 11 the forerunner to Electronic Records and Electronic Signatures which was added in Maximo 5.2, your author even had a hand in this, having found three UK Pharmaceutical clients willing to fund a solution and several others who would buy it if it were available.

By the end of 2002 there was an ever-increasing number of add-ons for Maximo 4.1.1 and Maximo 5.1 had now been released. Getting everything translated and validated against different databases and webservers was becoming a problem. Language versions were staggered over time, typically over a 6-month period but the first non-English language version may not have been released for several months, for example while Maximo 5.1 was released in English on 29^th March 2001, the first non-English supported language followed more than a year later. Language translation was a manual process then, a different story today.

By the end of 2002 MRO Software was focusing on Maximo 5.x there was little change to the functionality of Maximo 4.1.1 except for Maximo Mobile which continued to be enhanced and translated. Maximo 4.1.1 became a very stable release with the occasional patch. Most existing clients stayed on Maximo 4.1.1 although by mid-2002 there was an upgrade utility for Maximo 5.1. A few clients moved across with the “Raven” release 5.1.370 in 2003 and several more with the “Condor” Maximo 5.2 release later that year in November 2003. Many existing clients stayed on Maximo 4.1.1 until Maximo Enterprise Suite (MXES) was released in 2005, although the upgrade utility was not available until early 2006 and then in English.

By fiscal year end 30^th September 2002, MRO Software now had 1016 full-time employees. Revenue was $171.88, down from $185.45 in 2001. The reportable industry segment was now called Strategic Asset Management.