Mobile GIS: Integrating ArcGIS with Maximo®

In this blog post we will be discussing mobile integration. That is between Maximo® and ArcGIS: two very complimentary technologies. Let’s start with some definitions. As described by IBM, Maximo® is:

A comprehensive enterprise asset management for asset lifecycle and maintenance management

While ArcGIS is:

A geographic information system (GIS) for working with maps and geographic information. It is used for: creating and using maps; compiling geographic data; analyzing mapped information; sharing and discovering geographic information; using maps and geographic information in a range of applications; and managing geographic information in a database.

On the mobile front we have Maximo® Anywhere:

Which provides a set of resources for building and deploying mobile apps that integrate with IBM Maximo Asset Management

As mobile ArcGIS experts. we have been looking into the integration of ArcGIS with Maximo® Anywhere to provide both online and offline asset management.

Mobile GIS: Integrating ArcGIS with Maximo®

In this first iteration we focused on inspections, or building a simple to use mobile app which allows field staff to view inspection information and record work completed. We envisaged 2 screens: an inspection form and map screen with GIS tools respectively. The user can switch between screens. As an example show me the water valve I need to inspect on the map, now show me the related inspection order.

Now the current version of Maximo® Anywhere does work fully offline. It has simple mapping capabilities built in, and offline map access via a tile package (TPK). But we wanted to provide a full set of GIS tools and offline map feature editing capabilities. So to take advantage of the many excellent features of Maximo® Anywhere, and add a richer set of ArcGIS tools. One addition, the Maximo® Anywhere client is a hybrid Web application, built with HTML5, Javascript and CSS.

Integrating ArcGIS with Maximo® Anywhere Options

From a pure technical perspective, an offline mobile ArcGIS to Maximo® Anywhere integration can be tackled in 3 ways:

1) Maximo® Anywhere integration with ArcGIS Runtime – This is a hybrid to native integration. The advantages here include performance, full offline ArcGIS capabilities (map viewing, feature queries, editing and routing).

2) Consume Maximo® Anywhere within ArcGIS Runtime – This is an advanced solution with all the advantages of 1) above but a tighter integration.

3) Maximo® Anywhere to ArcGIS Hybrid App – This is a web app approach, so building the ArcGIS functionality with the ArcGIS Javascript API. Leveraging our work with offline enabling ArcGIS Web technology, this is a full offline integration. One note, this approach will not support offline routing. This integration would result in the generation of a single hybrid app.

Now there may be some licensing questions which would need to be answered before proceeding down one or other of these paths. But technically these are the 3 options for building a full offline enabled mobile integration between Maximo® and ArcGIS.

We will continue to explore integrating Maximo® with ArcGIS in future posts.

Have questions? Contact us on 801-733-0723.

Tags: arcgis, disconnected, maps, maximo, mobile, offline

Categories: ArcGIS Online, Mobile ArcGIS, Mobile GIS, Web and mobile GIS

This entry was posted on Monday, August 1st, 2016 at 9:36 am. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.