Understanding the Cost Elements of MAS On-Prem Infrastructure vs Cloud

The need to upgrade from legacy Maximo 7.6 to the new IBM Maximo Application Suite (MAS) that runs exclusively on RedHat OpenShift (RHOS), has prompted many organizations to take a more serious look at having MAS hosted out in the cloud vs. remaining on-prem. 

Given a new MAS environment on-prem requires new servers/virtual machines, new skills for RHOS operations, and a host of new elements, knowing what these elements are, and their relative costs is important when making the decision to move to the cloud or not. 

Following is a list of the top cost drivers that make up the infrastructure needed to support a RHOS-based MAS environment. Any costs to perform the actual upgrade from Maximo to MAS would be separate. 

• Hardware Refresh (Servers & Storage) 

• High Availability requirements 

• Enhanced Disaster Recovery (DR) requirements 

• Shared (cloud) vs dedicated (on prem or cloud) infrastructure 

• Enhanced Security levels 

• Stepping up/down number of users and their entitlements 

• Extra non-production environments 

• Integrations (and VPN connections to support them) 

• Database licensing costs 

• Supporting team skills development 

The following assumptions can be made to form a baseline cost to have MAS hosted in the cloud. While each organization may have specific needs that will likely increase the costs, those listed below provide a guide to use for comparisons between what hosting entities offer and the cost of remaining on-prem. 

Standard Availability 

Availability is a measure of the time a system is available for use, typically over the period of a year , excluding any necessary downtime needed for maintenance. Each organization has an expected level of availability for EAM systems such as IBM MAS. If the URL for users to gain access to the MAS environment is functional, then the system is available, whether the system is on prem or in the cloud. This is the agreed-to level of availability between the on-prem operation and the business units or between the client and the hosting provider. 

On the surface having the highest level of Availability (99.99%) may seem the obvious choice, but the costs of delivering higher levels can be prohibitive. Further, the business may never see the benefits of the higher levels given the modern infrastructure inherent equipment reliability. 99.9% is the typical baseline used as a starting point. Lower levels such as 99.5% may be available at a lower cost, but the risk may not be acceptable. 

Standard Disaster Recovery 

Disaster recovery options and costs are determined by the objectives of the organization. Recovery Point Objective (RPO) is the amount of data loss that can occur within a period before measurable harm to the business occurs. Recovery Time Objective (RTO) is the amount of time the application set can be unavailable before the business is harmed. 

As with Availability there is the temptation to want the shortest amount of RPT/RTO, but that must be balanced with the costs required to mitigate for such levels. An RPO/RTO = 24hr/72hr is a typical baseline. As the RPO/RTO moves to 24hr/24hr or even to 8hr/8hr, the hosting costs will increase. 

Dedicated vs. shared infrastructure 

Dedicated infrastructure is how the typical on-prem environment is described. All the networking, security, and other infrastructure elements are owned and managed by the company. Cloud host providers can also deliver this level of infrastructure. 

Shared infrastructure is unique to cloud hosts in that they can provide the solution on infrastructure that is common to a set of clients. While access to the solution is unique to each client, networking, hosting servers, etc. may be common to several clients. While there is cost savings for the clients for this arrangement, activities such as system upgrades and other common tasks may require coordination of downtime. 

Standard Security 

All companies, whether on-prem or being hosted in the cloud have security requirements. With on-prem situations the company is completely responsible for the efficacy of the security situation. With being hosted in the cloud, the cloud provider is responsible for delivering the agreed upon level of security and any security procedures or policies that must be in place and maintained. 

It should be mentioned that the higher levels of security that are required for the environment, the greater the restrictions that are in place. Using 3rd party/unapproved software solutions, direct database access, small and large upgrades, and basic application modifications may not be allowed in the secure hosted environment. Details of these restrictions must be made clear in the resulting hosting contracts and agreements. 

Expect that security levels such as those provided by FedRamp and other High-security cloud environments will have much higher price tags. 

Number of concurrent users 

The number of users that are expected to be on the system at any one time is an important consideration. Each user’s activities consume computer resources, so the system needs to be initially constructed to support a baseline. Over time, using the licensing tools available in EAM systems such as IBM MAS, adjustments to the number of User entitlements can be made to fine tune the system. 

Some EAM systems allow for “concurrent” or “authorized” licensing arrangements. Concurrent is a user license that is not specific to a user, but rather is used by multiple users, perhaps from one shift to another. An authorized license is for a specific user and is allocated to them whether they are on the system or not. 

Number of non-production environments 

Non-production environments are used for development, upgrade testing, training, and quality assurance to name a few. In the case of IBM MAS (as it was with legacy Maximo) it is common to have a development system, a test system, and of course a production system for a total of three systems. Non-production systems can be lesser in size and compute, but typically the test and production system match each other. 

In a situation where a limited amount of application development is being performed, having a single non-production environment can suffice. However, this puts any development and testing on the same environment, making for difficult change/configuration management. Having 2 non-production environments alleviates these issues and maintains separation from production. 

Integrations 

Just as needed for on-prem systems, it is very common for an EAM system to have integrations (data flows) between other systems to support the business. Data flows between an EAM such as IBM MAS and ERP, Purchasing, Accounting, and even operational systems for equipment telemetry are common. These interfaces take computer and storage resources depending upon their scope and volume of data passing between the systems. 

If the move to the cloud is from an existing on-prem environment, careful analysis is needed to ensure every interface is accounted for. It is not uncommon for a medium sized Maximo system to have 10-15 different interfaces. Consider too the cost of secure tunnels/VPNs to support inter-system communication. 

Database licensing costs 

IBM Maximo and MAS come with by default the IBM db2 relational database. IBM db2 is an enterprise-level database that rivals others such as Microsoft SQL and Oracle. In many cases there is no need to incur additional costs for other databases, whether on-prem or in the cloud, given that IBM db2 is included with MAS. 

For cloud hosting the client will pay for and then provide the licenses to the cloud host if the database is also going to be hosted by the same cloud provider. Another consideration is any latency that may be introduced by having the database hosted elsewhere (including on-prem) other than where the MAS environment(s) are. 

Environment Management 

As stated before, the MAS environment runs on Red Hat OpenShift (RHOS) which is quite different than the Microsoft Windows-based server and VMs of the past. While not necessarily a “new” operating system,” it does come with its own language and concepts that will require new skills and understanding. If the IT team is experienced with Enterprise Linux operations, RHOS will be somewhat familiar, but the clustering and containerized applications aspects of the environment will require some study. 

Operating the MAS suite of applications in RHOS has many familiar elements from Maximo 7.6, they are just running under a different umbrella. System logs, starting and stopping “services,” organizing network access, etc. are nearly the same as with Maximo 7.6. 

Conclusion 

TRM has been assisting clients across industries for over 30 years in improving their business processes and maximizing the use of their EAM solution. The upgrade process from legacy Maximo to the IBM MAS solution allows for the opportunity to move from an on-prem situation to one that is hosted in the cloud. TRM can quickly provide a quote for cloud hosting IBM MAS that meets the requirements of the business. While the estimates given in this article are reasonable, official pricing should be used for final decision making. 

There are many advantages (not just financial) to the cloud that might not be apparent, so let us help you work through the details and develop a solution that benefits the business now and well into the future.