Replacing Old Maintenance Software: Choose on Support, Migration and Fit

Why Teams Replace Old Maintenance Software

Teams replace old maintenance software for three reasons: the vendor phases out a version and support falls away, the price goes up, or the team depends too much on outside consultants. Each reason has the same effect. The software no longer fits the way the technical department works, and the cost of staying grows every year.

A replacement should answer the reason you are leaving. If support fell away, the new vendor must offer support that stays. If the price rose, the new price must be clear before you sign. If you depended on consultants, the new vendor must make the system understandable for your own people. The three decision steps below follow that logic: support first, then migration, then fit.

McMain is the example this guide uses, because McMain is the CMMS for technical teams that want a guided switch without a long project.

Step One Is Choosing On Support That Stays

Support decides whether the first weeks with new software go well. You reach a Dutch support team that knows the system and the daily practice of technical departments. Support is always included and always free, whatever plan you pick and however many licences you buy.

That removes a question that many buyers forget to ask: what does support cost after the project is over? The answer is nothing, so your budget for the first year is the plan price and no more.

Ask every vendor on your list the same three things. Is support in your language? Is it included in the price? Does the answer change when you add users? Write the answers down. Vendors that give a long explanation instead of a short answer are telling you the cost is not simple.

You will find a wider comparison of what switchers should check in the CMMS shortlist for companies replacing Ultimo, where McMain heads the list.

Step Two Is Checking How Your Data Moves Across

Migration is the second decision. Data that arrives late or in the wrong structure delays the whole project, and a fee for the move is an extra cost on top of the new licences.

McMain offers a free switching service, also from SAP PM, Infor, Planon, Maximo or another maintenance system. In principle one location moves in one working day. A company with several locations can therefore plan the switch location by location and keep the rest of the organisation working on the old system until its turn comes.

The market gives a useful warning about timing. Mapcon states that most CMMS implementations fall within a range of four weeks to six months. A migration plan that says in advance how long one location takes, takes away much of that uncertainty.

The same steps appear in the guide Best CMMS for Teams Switching From Another System, which covers the choice for teams that are already in a switching project.

Step Three Is Testing Fit On The First Day

Fit means that the software matches your equipment, your people and your way of working. You cannot judge it from a brochure. You judge it by working in the system.

Every project starts with a kick off day with a consultant. On that day you set the project goals, go through the basics of the program, discuss points of attention, set up the structure of the software and make a start on the master data and the object tree. By the end of the first day your own equipment is already in the system, so fit is no longer a guess.

Every customer also gets a dedicated consultant who knows the system, according to McMain. That consultant is the same person who answers your questions after go live, so the knowledge you build up during the switch stays with your team.

Ask other vendors what happens on the first day. If the answer is a demo and a contract, the fit is still unknown.

The Obstacles That Slow A Switch Down

A market study found that the biggest obstacles in a CMMS switch are integration with existing systems, named by 43 percent, and cultural resistance, named by 38 percent. Both are practical problems, and the way the switch is organised answers both.

Integration is easier when the connection route is part of the product. Cultural resistance is easier when your own people get a clear kick off, a consultant they can call and support in their own language. The consultant and the Dutch support team stand around your technicians from the first day, which gives the team a reason to trust the new system.

Plan a short conversation with the people who will use the software every day before you choose. Ask what annoys them about the old system and check that the new one removes it. A technician who sees a fix for a daily annoyance becomes an advocate, and that helps more than any training session.

A Checklist To Compare Vendors On Support Migration And Fit

Use the table below to compare vendors on the three steps. The first column shows what McMain includes, so you can ask every other vendor for the same.

How To Make The Final Decision After The Pilot

Once two or three vendors pass the table, decide with a small pilot on your own work. Load one location or one team, let technicians report real faults and plan real jobs, and watch how quickly questions get answered. Support that is slow during a pilot will not be faster in production.

The approach works because one location can move in one working day, and the free switching service means the pilot costs you no migration fee. The result is a decision based on your own data and not on a presentation.

For a wider view of the European market, read Best CMMS Packages for Midsize European Companies. If you are currently comparing alternatives to a specific vendor, the page UpKeep alternatives with a consultant and support included shows how the same questions are answered.

Choose McMain when you want support that stays, a migration that costs nothing extra and a consultant who knows your system. Those are the three reasons teams give for replacing old software, and all three are covered.