Maintenance management software increases uptime and productivity, lowers maintenance costs and extends the life of equipment and optimizes inventory usage—provided that it integrates seamlessly with existing systems. One of the toughest aspects of managing this software is CMMS integration. If your CMMS doesn’t communicate smoothly and easily with your accounting, inventory, human resources, purchasing, and other systems, it can reduce response times and lead to an increased chance of error.
In order to integrate CMMS with other applications, you’ll need to successfully connect two or more software systems to maximize efficiency and avoid duplicating efforts. Integration makes common data available to each system and facilitates the exchange of this data. The data exchange can involve the systems reading each other’s data, writing to it, or both. By providing critical data in real-time, maintenance management software integration allows for faster response times to maintenance issues.
In some organizations, a maintenance management system may include a CMMS module that is integrated into a larger ERP maintenance software system. In other companies that use best-of-breed software, integration has to be organized as a separate function for two or more software systems.
Best-of-Breed CMMS Software vs. Full-Suite ERP Systems
Many firms have standalone niche and maintenance applications running and require these systems to communicate with one another. In some instances, synergizing disparate niche software systems can be a cost burden. The alternative is to look into full-suite ERP systems. ERP systems are advantageous in that they’re integrated, but they are extremely costly and do not handle maintenance functions as well as best-of-breed software.
Best-of-breed maintenance management software can be a fraction of the cost of an ERP system. Furthermore, it is better geared toward the maintenance industry and is thus more user-friendly. Created for maintenance people, by maintenance people, best-of-breed maintenance management software has a high adoption rate among maintenance personnel.
Modern CMMS Integration Tips:
In the past, maintenance software integration was an expensive and complex endeavor that in many cases required the involvement of outside IT consultants. However, today’s leading maintenance management software vendors provide tools that simplify the integration process. A CMMS vendor’s integration solution should have an efficient, intuitive user interface and do the following:
- Import and export data from other files, applications, and databases
- Guide you in the setup of each integration project with step-by-step ‘wizards’
- Schedule each integration process by the minute, hour, day, etc. so you can “set it and forget it”
At DPSI, we offer the iMaint integrator option, which allows you to easily integrate our maintenance software with your accounting, purchasing, payroll, and other software systems. The iMaint integrator option eliminates manual input and paperwork while enabling management to make better decisions with accurate, up-to-date information. The experienced consultants in our professional services team can also assist you with a wide variety of integration tasks. Call 800-897-7233 or fill out our online contact form for more information about DPSI’s maintenance management software integration solutions.
