Activity at the Small End of the Market

The purchase of ISC, builders of the RCM Toolkit, by IFS Defence has indicated a subtle change in the way that EAM companies engage with their clients.

For years companies like Mincom and MRO Software (MRO) have been attempting to integrate greater levels of reliability analysis into their efficiency management software packages; unfortunately not with a lot of groundbreaking success.

Now IFS has broken ranks with the pack and purchased outright a leading provider of reliability management software such as The RCM Toolkit and Reliability-Centered Spares for inventory.
The vendors market for pure play reliability technology can be broken into three specific areas, each attempting to service similar clients within similar sectors.

The Enterprise Level Applications

A very small field with only a few real competitors; Meridum, Ivara and Oniqua produce different variations of enterprise level suites here but all are competing for the same market space. They all share the goal of delivering a corporate reliability package, able to deliver a variety of recognised functions and to bolt onto recognised leading Enterprise asset management solutions.

The world’s asset intensive industries seem to have taken to this concept and all of these companies are continually announcing new clients and growth into new markets. With the USA, the Middle East and Asia being early adopters of this technology; a glaring opportunity for easy growth seems to be European companies where this technology has yet to be fully exploited.


The Robust Niche Packages

This is a bit of a crowded field with a lot of mid sized companies in the game providing niche systems throughout the globe. Some key players here are Isograph, Reliasoft, Relex and of course the global industry leader Palisades.

All of these companies specialise in providing niche systems. Most if not all are capable of some level of integration with EAM systems, but they are not dependant on it. The companies producing these systems provide wide ranging services in the fields of reliability as well as the software and technology offerings.

Desktop Systems

There are literally hundreds of these; often generated in either VB or Microsoft tools by consultancies to supplement their service and training packages. There are a few stand-out products and companies in this area, (APT Tools) but most have not generated the level of interest as the now sold RCM Toolkit. They remain what their creators intended, a means of getting more leverage for consulting services primarily.

All of these companies are benefiting from the growth in interest in the managerial discipline of physical asset management, and are also regularly announcing new clients, growth and alliances.
It all begs the question – Are any of them for sale? And – if they are who would be the buyers? recent history within the EAM market shows that pure plays on asset only technology tend to have a limited life and capacity with almost all of them either branching out into other areas (E.g. Mincom's drive into IT outsourcing) or being sold to a larger company to add to their portfolios. (As Indus was sold to Ventyx)

So if they are serious about the growth of their companies in the medium and long term, then consolidating with a larger partner seems to be the wise way to go; otherwise it appears that they growth will be limited and destined to stay within a niche area.