At its annual financial analyst meeting last month, MRO Software Inc. outlined plans for 2003, which include a major new product release, tailored vertical applications, and expanding market reach through an alliance program that began last year and now consists of 43 partners.
An upgrade to MRO's Maximo enterprise asset management suite that adds support for IBM's AIX operating system and WebSphere middleware was expected to be available late last month. But executives said a major new release, due out late in 2003, will merge its IT asset management application, obtained through the acquisition last year of MainControl, into Maximo, rounding out the current production, fleet, and facility functions to deliver on the company's "strategic asset management" vision.
"We are not going to mute the strength [of the product] by shoving IT into the mix, but if we have a good relationship with a customer, it will be an opportunity to cross sell," says MRO CEO Chip Drapeau.
Also this year, specific products for the oil and gas, transportation, and power industries will emerge based on a framework that has Maximo at its core and adds functions from alliance partners.