2025: year of preparation

The transition to IBM Maximo Application Suite (IBM MAS) is a key focus for many clients. They are busy with migrations, upgrades, and choices around cloud and hybrid cloud. These are trajectories that will continue in 2026 and with which important steps are being taken for the future. Because the switch to IBM MAS is certainly not an end point, it is a prerequisite to be able to use new possibilities. The same applies to the cloud. The question is no longer whether to go to the cloud, but when and how. Which way suits your company and your assets best?

A turbulent world calls for a solid foundation

The environment in which your organization operates has become more uncertain. Economic pressure and labor shortages lead to different choices and priorities. If your company is active internationally, it also suffers from geopolitical tensions and trade tariffs. This influences the plans and investments in maintenance, replacement, and purchase of assets.

The increased uncertainty leads to a different way of weighing things. You want to maintain an overview, properly substantiate choices, and be prepared for what is to come. Which assets are critical? Where are the biggest risks? And what needs to be in order first to continue functioning properly?

Data as the backbone of asset management

A solid foundation requires a grip on your data. Data-driven asset management is becoming increasingly prominent, not as a trend, but as a necessity. New technology makes a lot possible, such as realtime monitoring, asset health scores, and predictive asset management. But those possibilities only deliver value if the underlying data is reliable.

That starts with determining direction. You need to know what you want to control and what goals are associated with it. Only when that is clear can you determine what information is needed to make good choices. These choices determine how you record and use data.

Subsequently, the attention shifts to the quality and structure of that data. If you want to be able to trust insights, data must be complete, consistent, and well-structured. This way, analyses and reports form a solid basis for decision-making, instead of a collection of loose figures.

From that basis, you can also start using data more actively. Realtime information, for example from sensors, makes it possible to go further than just looking back. This creates the step towards predictive asset management, where you not only react to what happens, but look ahead and can make adjustments in a well-founded way.

Collecting more and more data is not a goal in itself. It’s about trust. Knowing that the insights you are steering on are correct, so that decisions about maintenance, risks, and investments are well-founded.

Technology: from implementing to utilizing

In addition to data, technology forms a second pillar under the foundation of your asset management. There, the focus will shift from implementing to utilizing in the coming period. What can you achieve with innovative systems such as IBM MAS? What does the available functionality mean for maintenance, for asset health, and for the way you organize the work?

AI has outgrown the playground and also offers all kinds of new opportunities in IBM MAS. How do you use that functionality to support processes, increase insight, and make work more efficient? The essence is to translate technical possibilities into practical applications that suit your organization and your assets.

People remain indispensable

With data and technology, you are not there yet. People continue to play a decisive role, as the third pillar under your asset management. The work will change due to AI and automation, that is certain. This applies to Gemba’s consultants, but also to your engineers, functional managers, and other knowledge workers. Tasks that previously took a lot of time can be done faster and differently.

This does not mean that the work disappears. There is more room for analysis and improvement, which in turn helps to pay attention to what matters. This requires new skills. Your people need to learn to deal with data, with new technology, and with the possibilities that AI offers in their daily work.

Everything revolves around coherence

People, data, and technology: you cannot see it separately. Each component in itself has value, but only in coherence does a stable basis for your asset management arise. Without clear goals and people who can work with it, technology remains underutilized. And without reliable data, there is a lack of confidence to use insights. It is precisely the connection of these three pillars that enables you to take targeted steps, maintain an overview, and make the right choices.

Looking ahead: laying the foundation together for next-level asset management

Ensuring a foundation that is strong enough to build on, that is the task that your organization now faces with asset management. It means making the transition to new technology, using data better, and supporting people in a changing way of working. This creates room to move towards next-level asset management in the coming years.

At Gemba, we are happy to help you with this transition, in a way that suits your organization and assets. We will be there for you again next year, to work together on your asset management and the future. We wish you a good, happy, and healthy 2026!

Want to spar about the steps you want to take in 2026 with your asset management? Contact Johan Knook, via +31 (0)6 50 52 68 23 or j.knook@gemba.nl.