What is Really New with MAS 9.1?

IBM released Maximo Application Suite (MAS) 9.1 in June of 2025. While the MAS environment has been out for several years, the releases since MAS 8.x have included not only obvious user level changes, but many behind-the-scenes administration and operations functions have seen changes and enhancements as well. 

This article is not an exhaustive list of What’s New in MAS 9.1, but it hits what, in our opinion, the more substantial changes that need to be well understood when upgrading or adopting MAS 9.1 for the first time. 

MAS is not just “Maximo” 

Maximo Application Suite (MAS) is a collection of software components that deliver features/functions well beyond those in Maximo of the past. When IBM releases a new version of MAS… 9.1 for example… all the underlying components are also put at that same release level. For example: in the case of MAS Manage (the Maximo of days gone by) it is now at release 9.1. MAS Manage is the component where Maximo features/functions such as work orders, preventive maintenance, contracts, inventory, scheduling, service requests, purchasing, etc. are located. 

Mobile Apps 

Primarily focused on MAS Manage functionality, MAS 9.1 has added a new mobile application: Incident Reporter. Users are granted access to new applications in the same manner as in previous releases of MAS. All Maximo Application Framework (MAF) applications that are mobile enabled provide off-line capability. There is very little a user cannot do in the applications while they are off-line as when they are on-line. There is now also a “Mobile Admin” section under MAS Administration to adjust the experience for mobile users such as data synchronization. 

A few specific mobile applications such as Technician, Inspections, Service Requests, and Assets have been enhanced with features such as the ability to update Work Order Attributes, require an electronic signature (eSig) as a response in an Inspection form… you can already capture a wet signature… and additional fields have been added to the Assets application. The Calibration functionality that has always been under the traditional Work Order Tracking application is now also in the mobile Technician application. The Receiving and Issue, and Transfer applications have also added enhancements. 

Specific to the MAF Platform itself, its administration has been raised to the MAS level, setting the stage for mobile applications to be developed across the MAS environment. Many performance changes have been made, and additional “pre-load configuration” capabilities have been added. These have noticeably increased the performance of mobile applications. Further, the Microsoft version of the mobile applications are now available directly from the Microsoft Store. There is no longer a “special” file-set and installation process for them. Now, just as with iOS and Android apps, they are simply downloaded from the store to the user’s mobile device. 

Also, as part of the MAF Platform there is a drag/drop editing application, “Application Configuration,” that is simply part of MAS…. No longer needing a local Docker instance. While it is not to the level of the legacy Maximo Application Designer, it does make implementing changes to mobile applications that much easier. 

Allow us to add that the TRM Rules Manager Studio is fully MAS compatible. It also enables the development and deployment of business rules for not only the traditional applications, but also the MAF mobile apps. Rules can fire on the mobile device whether it is on or off-line. 

There is quite a long list of changes for mobile administrators, such as the ability to clear the log file cache, prevent GPS spoofing, time zone configuration, identify users with mobile access, and support for large files as attachments. With a “mobile first,” approach, we will see further motion when it comes to mobile application development across the MAS environment. 

Spatial/ESRI arcGIS Map Viewer and Performance 

With MAS 9.0, IBM introduced a new version of the Map viewer for the traditional applications and the MAF mobile apps. Now the same code base is being used for viewing Maps, making the user experience more consistent. This new viewer has also increased Map rendering speeds dramatically. (This author can attest to this!) There is also more flexibility to provide off-line Maps for the mobile users and several new features around searching and navigating the Maps that are helpful. Also, “inside maps,” a feature ESRI developed awhile back is also supported. Now users can have access to maps of the inside of buildings and structures. 

New MAS Manage functionality 

With 9.0, and continuing into 9.1, there can be a connection from MAS Manage to IBM Watsonx. Called the “AI assistant.” This service can be trained, using your work order data, to provide suggestions to users for making failure reports and other work order data field entries. It can also alert to duplicate or similar records. 

The Reliability Strategies application has also been enhanced in 9.1 to provide a place to add RPN (Risk Priority Number) and action types. 

Not new to MAS 9.1, but worth mentioning is the new Work Order application. It is located under the MAS Manage Work Orders module, and is an MAF application, but is not mobile enabled. It provides a summary and “where along the lifecycle a work order is,” view. This application will be where we will see more functionality and connections to Watsonx as new releases come out. 

Dashboards are a new function to MAS Manage, and with the release of MAS 9.1 there is now a Planning Dashboard and enhancements to the Dispatching Dashboard. The Card gallery, where you select what is to be displayed on a Dashboard has also been enhanced. 

Installation, Java 17 and User Management 

With MAS 9.1, there is a set of “foundational services,” that have been removed from the various MAS components to unify setup, assess, and viewing for Administrators. If you are upgrading from MAS 9.0 to MAS 9.1 there are specific steps that need to be taken to accommodate this change. 

Java 17 is now required to operate MAS 9.1. This release is exclusively based upon Java 17. The run time Liberty version that is part of MAS has also been upgraded to Java 17. Industry solutions and add-ons, including MAS Health/Predict, are also undergoing the transition to Java 17. There are some JAR file compatibility issues that may require troubleshooting.  Any customizations, automation scripts, reports, and web services should be well tested after the upgrade to ensure functionality. 

IBM continues to make changes as to how Users are provisioned in MAS. With 9.1 there are changes to LDAP, single sign-on with OpenID, password expirations, and the administration of User sessions. SMTP can also be controlled at the MAS level. 

For MAS, TRM RulesManager Studio has functionality called RampUp that can be used to build and run scripts to validate the system after an upgrade and certainly as the system changes in the future. Unit tests can be recorded and built for both traditional and MAF Manage applications to automate the testing and validation of the organization’s business logic.  These tests upgrade with Manage so they can be run as the organization moves to Manage 9.1 and beyond. Having them in place ensures system stability while reducing user testing time and effort for every Manage upgrade and hotfix. 

Applications, industry solutions, and add-ons 

Two new and very capable add-ons have been added to MAS. IBM Maximo Real Estate and Facilities will, to the trained eye, look like IBM TRIRIGA. This is true! Now MAS Users can leverage the functionality of TRIRIGA all in one environment. 

Maximo Asset Investment Planning is a very new add-on. AIP takes advantage of Asset data captured in MAS Manage and uses it to run scenarios that are based upon the clients’ “value” list. If the client is looking to increase the performance of their assets by making investments, AIP can help point out options and specific plans to make that happen. 

Maximo Assist is now renamed to Maximo Collaborate. If you are upgrading from 9.0 to 9.1, the name will automatically change. 

By now you understand the Graphical Scheduling applications are simply a part of MAS Manage. As such, with MAS 9.1, the optional Maximo Optimizer can be deployed and used to augment Assignments and Dispatching in the Graphical Scheduling apps. The Optimizer has been enhanced with new what-if algorithms and critical path methods. External assignments can also be considered during the optimization process. There is even a Scheduling Dashboard that shows where in the optimization process a schedule is. 

MAS Health has increased the usefulness of the Location, Assets, and Meters hierarchies that it draws from MAS Manage. An “Asset Dashboard” is now available that can show the user data from Health, Predict, Monitor, and Manage all in a single place. The Watsonx Assistant is also available now in MAS Health to retrieve and answer questions. 

Wrap up… 

TRM was an early adopter of IBM MAS when it was first released. As such we now have many years of experience in upgrading clients from Maximo to MAS. We have done simple upgrades to very complicated ones involving many interfaces and moves from on-prem to the cloud. We keep ourselves uniquely current with what IBM is developing and how our clients could benefit from the new functions. 

MAS 9.1 is no exception… the applications and feature/functions continue to roll out providing even more value now and for the future. Contact us to see how we might assist you in making the decisions around your upgrade or a new implementation of IBM MAS. 

Here are a couple of helpful inks where some of this information came from. 

IBM 9.1 what’s new link – https://www.ibm.com/docs/en/masv-and-l/cd?topic=new-in-91 

Java 17 announcement – https://www.ibm.com/support/pages/ibm-maximo-manage-transition-java-17-maximo-application-suite-91-support-announcement