For years, using AI in asset management primarily meant generating insights from asset data. With IBM Maximo Application Suite (MAS) 9.2, AI is now helping teams take action.
MAS 9.2 incorporates multiple AI tools, including AI Service, the Maximo MCP server, Maximo Assistant and Maximo Condition Insight. These tools, together with additional AI capabilities, provide a governed foundation for deploying AI assistants and agents that can interact with Maximo data, processes and workflows — while Maximo Manage remains the system of record.
For IBM Business Partners, this is more than another product release. MAS 9.2 creates opportunities to help customers move from AI experimentation to practical, governed AI that can be used for asset maintenance, reliability, field service, safety and operations.
MAS 9.2 is designed to make AI an integral part of how work gets done.
This release expands IBM’s asset-first AI approach with multiple tools designed to connect intelligence directly to operational workflows.
- AI Service provides a governed foundation for deploying and managing AI assistants and agentic capabilities within the Maximo ecosystem
- The Maximo MCP server allows AI assistants and external agents to access approved Maximo capabilities through standardized tool calls.
- Maximo Assistant handles complex, multi-step interactions across Maximo processes.
- Maximo Condition Insight uses asset history, work orders, inspections, meter readings and reliability strategies to diagnose issues and recommend actions.
MAS 9.2 also introduces new capabilities and workflows designed to enhance the use of AI. For example, it enables organizations to connect with externally developed agents, including those built with IBM Bob and other AI platforms. And it facilitates cross-system AI orchestration, connecting AI-driven processes across systems and teams to reduce manual coordination.
Identifying three key partner opportunities
For partners, MAS 9.2 creates important opportunities for moving customers forward with AI.
1. Activating the AI capabilities already in MAS 9.2
Many customers will need help operationalizing the AI tools and capabilities delivered within the platform. Partners can facilitate adoption of Maximo Assistant and Maximo Condition Insight. They can then help customers establish AI-powered reliability workflows, field service experiences and safety and compliance capabilities. Partners can further assist with document intelligence and information extraction as well as implementing agentic workflows through AI Service and the Maximo MCP server.
For many customers, focusing on these existing AI capabilities is the fastest path to measurable value. Partners can help them identify high-value use cases, establish governance, drive adoption, train users and accelerate time to business outcomes.
2. Building customer-specific AI agents
The second partner opportunity is to move beyond traditional implementation services and create differentiated, customer-specific AI solutions. Using IBM Bob as the agent development platform plus AI Service and the Maximo MCP server as the operational framework, partners can develop AI agents tailored to specific customer requirements. These agents can integrate with proprietary business applications and then capture institutional knowledge, automate processes and execute customer-specific workflows.
3. Helping organizations govern at scale
As organizations begin using AI-based tools and deploying AI agents, governance can quickly become a challenge. They need visibility into the performance of AI workloads, resource utilization, infrastructure demand and cost.
These needs create a natural expansion opportunity for IBM Business Partners. Partners can introduce solutions such as Instana for observability and performance monitoring, Turbonomic for intelligent resource optimization and Apptio for financial visibility and cost management. Discussions about these solutions can open additional opportunities for consulting, implementation, managed services, optimization and ongoing AI lifecycle management.
Demonstrating how solutions work together with Arrow
Customers need to understand how these IBM capabilities fit together, how they affect existing operational processes and how they can deliver measurable value. Through Arrow experience centers, partners can help answer customer questions and demonstrate how capabilities work. Specifically, partners can lead demonstrations that review the embedded AI capabilities within MAS 9.2 and then enable customers to explore the types of AI agents they can use. Overall, partners can show how MAS 9.2, AI Service, the Maximo MCP server, IBM Bob and IBM observability and FinOps solutions all fit together as part of a broader AI and automation strategy.
Envisioning the larger partner-led journey
MAS 9.2 helps build a natural progression for operationalizing AI across the enterprise. IBM Business Partners can streamline that progression, helping customers activate the AI capabilities available in Maximo; develop custom agents; and add governance and observability to ensure customers are making the most of their investments. Using Arrow experience centers enables partners to clearly demonstrate what is possible for each step in that journey.
