What are the criteria for choosing a CMMS?
Monday 27 april 2020
To help you find your way around easily, we have established a grid of 13 criteria to submit to the CMMS editors you have in your viewer. The answers collected will allow you to quickly reduce the number of candidates able to deliver the added value expected from your CMMS implementation.
The 13 criteria grid
The common thread of this grid, which is very simple to apply, makes it possible to rule out editors who would present an archaic approach to the development and distribution of their CMMS solution.
1. Cloud & SaaS
2. User experience and uptodate design
3. Natively mobile
4. Genuine CMMS and not just intervention management
5. Recent technology for performance and agility
6. Unlimited data volume and number of users
7. Online help and explanation videos
8. Easily configurable
9. Available 24/24 7 days a week at 100%.
10. Quick start: Setup, data transfer, training
11. Reactive editing team
12. Open API available
13. Possibilities for specific adaptations and developments
Detailed criteria
1. Cloud & SaaS: that's the obvious. The software market has evolved very rapidly in recent years and in the field of CMMS applications, value-added solutions are now always delivered in SaaS and in the cloud.
2. User experience and uptodate design: no more cascades of small windows and Windows 95-like looks. You need to demand a user experience similar to the one you get on social networks or on the best e-commerce and online booking sites. This is the assurance that all users will take ownership of CMMS.
3. Natively mobile: it is no longer possible to envisage a CMMS that has not prioritized mobility. More than 80% of CMMS users are in the field throughout the day, from where they need to access the application. And they do so from their mobile phone. Beware of CMMS that offer a solution only available on a tablet: tablet deployment is always more expensive, and this device adapts less well to the daily work of technicians.
4. True CMMS and not just intervention management: beware of falling into the trap of some editors who pass off their intervention management solution as a CMMS. These tools will quickly prove to be insufficient for, among other limitations, managing maintenance plans and monitoring the equipment life cycle, managing spare parts, etc.
5. Recent technology guarantees performance and agility: CMMS must be web-based. The technologies used to develop the solution must be announced by the publisher and preferably posted on its site. Any outdated technology used would indicate an ageing tool design with a risk of performance, security and compatibility.
6. Volume of data and unlimited number of users: a limitation announced by the CMMS publisher is a direct sign of an out-of-date design.
7. On-line help and explanation videos: here, on the other hand, the presence of these aids demonstrates the modernity of the approach. Their absence indicates that the editor is not at ease with multimedia tools. To say the least, they are annoying when one tries to be innovative.
8. Easily configurable: does the solution provide its users with easy-to-use administration and personalization pages? If not, you'll have to call on the services of the publisher at the slightest change. Not ideal!
9. 100% available 24/7: setting up a DataCenter requires huge financial resources. Our advice: opt for a publisher hosted on AWS (Amazon) or Google. It is the guarantee of having the most powerful servers and a team of world-class systems engineers, capable of offering availability rates of over 99.99%.
10. Quick Start: Inquire about starting the application in terms of setup, i.e., setting up the solution for your account, data transfer and training. This can take anywhere from a few minutes to a few days if you require training for your users. A longer start-up time is a sign of the complexity of the solution and difficulties in project management.
11. Reactive editor team: ask how long it takes for a question to be taken into account and dealt with by the support team. The editor must have metrics to give you. An evasive answer indicates poor customer support.
12. Open API available: the API, for Application Program Interface, is the possibility for you to easily integrate CMMS into your entire information system, and to exchange with your customers' applications (receiving requests from their own software for example). For the publisher, not having it available reveals a delayed approach and a lack of interoperability. CMMS API documentation must be public and accessible online. It must be possible to activate it instantaneously.
13. Possibility of specific adaptations and developments: this is also an essential criterion. The solution must remain open and the editor must be able, at your request, to make additions or improvements to the application. It is the solution that must adapt to your business and your processes and not the other way around!
If one of these criteria is not met, you must sound the alarm, because it is a sign that the editor is maintaining an outdated approach that will make it difficult to achieve the objectives of your CMMS implementation project.
By the way, our ambition is to offer an unparalleled user experience. Check it out right away: try CMMS for free. Within 2 minutes, the time it takes to create your account, you'll discover what's newest in this category of software.
You can also benefit from a demonstration led by one of our consultants: book a videoconference
Good discovery and see you soon on Yuman.
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