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IBM Maximo Application Suite vs IFS Cloud Platform comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

IBM Maximo Application Suite
Ranking in Enterprise Asset Management (EAM)
1st
Average Rating
8.2
Number of Reviews
33
Ranking in other categories
Billing Software (5th)
IFS Cloud Platform
Ranking in Enterprise Asset Management (EAM)
4th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
32
Ranking in other categories
CRM (29th), Customer Experience Management (11th), Field Service Management (2nd), Help Desk Software (16th), ERP (20th), Activity Based Costing Software (10th), Local Government CRM (9th), IT Asset Management (13th), IT Service Management (ITSM) (14th), License Management (2nd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2026, in the Enterprise Asset Management (EAM) category, the mindshare of IBM Maximo Application Suite is 12.1%, down from 25.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IFS Cloud Platform is 6.6%, down from 8.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Enterprise Asset Management (EAM) Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
IBM Maximo Application Suite12.1%
IFS Cloud Platform6.6%
Other81.3%
Enterprise Asset Management (EAM)
 

Featured Reviews

Antony Mishra - PeerSpot reviewer
Java Software Engineer at GPA
Asset management has become streamlined and decision-making is now driven by lifecycle data
The best features IBM Maximo offers are that it is very simple to deploy on OpenShift using Ansible playbooks. It also has excellent support for integration, is simple to configure, and the asset register is very straightforward. Work management and managing inventory are seamless. In terms of integration support, I have used preventive maintenance, work generation, accurate work execution planning, tracking actuals, and I can easily integrate with other tools and systems. IBM Maximo Suite gives me a single place where service cycles are standardized and tied to compliance. IBM Maximo has positively impacted my organization as it has been a very useful tool. It reduced human error by moving away from pen and paper-based scheduling. It saved cost by minimizing unexpected downtime of assets, with approximately 50% of time being saved. We have also reduced overwork among staff by removing redundant information and smoothing task flows. It helps us scale our team without micromanaging small issues.
reviewer2268153 - PeerSpot reviewer
Cloud Operations Engineer
Integrated planning has improved production scheduling and now reduces downtime and costs
The biggest friction point I have run into with IFS Cloud Platform is user adoption, which has been the biggest challenge, as different users in the organization need to get accustomed to the new processes after years of using spreadsheets and legacy systems, requiring training and a mindset shift, along with challenging data migration and process standardization. My advice to someone considering IFS Cloud Platform with a similar workflow is to spend sufficient time understanding and standardizing their business processes before implementing it, as the technology is very powerful, but the real value comes when processes, data, and teams are all aligned. I would rate my overall experience with IFS Cloud Platform as a 9 out of 10.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"IBM Maximo has positively impacted my organization, as we have noticed significant advantageous changes."
"Our measurable results show that unplanned downtime decreased by a minimum of 15 to 20%, work order processing time decreased by 30%, data consistency across sites significantly improved, and preventive maintenance compliance increased by 20 to 25%."
"The Preventive Maintenance feature, especially in its inspection routines and KPI abilities, is valuable."
"When it comes to their reporting and analytics capabilities, I find them to be superb."
"Even if we do not look at the full software and we look at smaller use cases within the software, the ROI is often quite substantial."
"IBM Maximo is the most stable solution that I have ever seen."
"The most powerful features are the database and integration with CMDB."
"Its capabilities let us organize our work."
"A high level of ERP can be handled in IFS."
"The main reason for the ERP project was to bring together our fourteen sites, which had until then worked in separate silos."
"Our client has benefited as follows: Reduced transaction time, better visibility, easier tracking, more control on business and automation, and better agility with the ability to move swiftly as times and market conditions change."
"Individual user profiles that can be configured as templates to minimize data entry."
"Having a young talented programmer, during the six years of use, we were able to save around 75 000 EUR preparing simple modifications using customization rather than ordering them in IFS / Partner."
"IFS has been completely rebuilt, modernized, and cloud-based so we don't need bulky software installations."
"IFS Applications is very user-friendly and easy to deploy, and it's suitable for small and medium enterprises."
"Field Service Management is definitely a wonderful product that IFS has developed because it caters to field services."
 

Cons

"One way IBM Maximo can be improved is that the interface is not modern or particularly user-friendly."
"The pricing model of the solution has room for improvement as well as the after-sales support."
"IBM Maximo covers GL but only at a surface level. It doesn't provide deep account analysis."
"It's not user-friendly. It could use shortcuts for frequently requested services."
"Areas for improvement include: an enhanced Service Catalog on Mobile; Agent intelligence; better dashboards for KPIs."
"IBM Maximo is similar to an ARP. Because it's so massive, you can easily get lost using the application."
"Licensing costs for IBM Maximo are now more expensive relative to some of the cloud-based platforms that offer cheaper solutions and are more flexible in terms of fees."
"There are always ways to improve and make things better."
"The pricing could be a bit better. It's a little high."
"The customer service is not good as expected but we can say its fair."
"IFS Applications can improve the reporting capabilities and increase the speed of feedback time in the IFS Applications. This would help with the overall performance of the solution and provide better experiences for customers."
"I'm a business analyst, so I do a lot of customer-facing work. I take calls from businesses I have to troubleshoot. One thing that bugs me is the error messages you get from IFS. If I get an error message, I have to dig to find the cause because, often, the error message doesn't precisely describe the problem. It'll hint about where the problem lies, but you have to work to find the root cause. It doesn't help in my situation. You expect an error message to point to the field or what is causing the issue."
"Aspects of HR and payroll could be better."
"There are some stability issues."
"It would be ideal if, in the future, the product could incorporate IoT and blockchain elements. We'd like to explore more of these types of features going forward."
"The solution needs to improve its documentation and user-friendliness."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Explore the possibility of using DB2. You will avoid the cost of SQL Server or Oracle licenses."
"IBM has changed the licensing policy. As I understand now, they are going from a complex way of licensing to a more simple way of licensing."
"On a scale from one to ten, where one is low and ten is high, I rate the pricing a nine. The price is very high."
"​Explore internal processes in order to evaluate the correct number of users in each Maximo module, then evaluate the different offers of pricing and licensing.​"
"Where available, concurrent licenses can be more cost efficient and provide more flexibility."
"The price of IBM Maximo could reduce, it is expensive."
"The concurrent user license is much more effective in management and cost-wise, as it is more suitable for maintenance management."
"$USD700 per agent user."
"There's an additional yearly cost for support."
"There are varying license levels that you can purchase."
"Compared to SAP, the pricing for IFS Applications was very affordable. People using the solution would find that it's worth the money."
"The pricing of the solution may appear to be expensive for smaller companies with only tens of users; however, for larger and mid-size industrial companies, IFS is able to win deals and the pricing is competitive in the market."
"IFS Applications is expensive software, but it's on par with SAP and Oracle. It's for large enterprises and government entities and not for small and medium-sized enterprises. They have one licensing model, but if you want to have a module-specific license, they provide component-based licenses. Unlike SAP and Oracle, it doesn't have different levels of licensing. It's one level of licensing."
"Ask for all-inclusive pricing, as they are pretty flexible if you ask for custom models."
"It is better to buy implementation services from IFS than from partners"
"The product is reasonably priced."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Outsourcing Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Government
9%
Construction Company
8%
Manufacturing Company
12%
Construction Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Outsourcing Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business18
Midsize Enterprise3
Large Enterprise22
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business16
Midsize Enterprise9
Large Enterprise10
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with IBM Maximo?
There are a couple of places, but I cannot name one at this moment because I still need to go through more of the things because there is a lot which I need to learn. Something related to the custo...
What is your primary use case for IBM Maximo?
I generally develop IBM Maximo reports and then some automation scripts, and the major thing which I have customized is an application called Archival solution that we created from scratch. For the...
What advice do you have for others considering IBM Maximo?
AI Watson, I have not used it so far. I was trying to use it, but there are some challenges for me to use it. I will definitely try to give a review once I use it. I have not used it so far. I will...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IFS Applications?
The product is reasonably priced. The costs are justified by the value provided, considering the comprehensive features and minimal need for customization. I rate the pricing a seven out of ten.
What needs improvement with IFS Applications?
There are features that came up during implementation that we are not actually using today, such as field service management (FSM), because we do not have any field technicians visiting customer si...
What is your primary use case for IFS Applications?
My main use case for IFS Cloud Platform is for production planning, where I typically use it for production scheduling and for inventory management. When I open IFS Cloud Platform, the first thing ...
 

Also Known As

Maximo
IFS Applications, Assyst, IFS Cloud
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Royal Boskalis Westminster N.V., DTE Energy, Swedish Match, Projetech, Fingrid, East Coast
China Airlines, Electrolux Group, Babcock, Cimcorp, Sky, Multiplex, Veolia. 
Find out what your peers are saying about IBM Maximo Application Suite vs. IFS Cloud Platform and other solutions. Updated: August 2026.
910,005 professionals have used our research since 2012.