Maximo 7.6.1 EOS: What Your Company Should Know

Being forced to move to MAS 8 may not be your best move. Here’s how to get around the lack of options.

Rest assured your company is not the only one sweating a move to Maximo Application Suite 8 and the lack of choices available to keep the software you have. The tiered timelines and conditional support circumstances behind IBM’s long-term Maximo 7.6.1. EOS (end of support) plans have created ongoing grief for several businesses and departments. It’s another incident of an industry-leading IBM® software being held back by vendor business practices that could be considered highly fluid or even obtuse.

The good news? You can keep your Maximo 7.6.1 implementation as long as you want, even if IBM would rather you didn’t and won’t support you.

We’ve been fielding questions about the move to MAS 8 since the IBM EOS announcement – and they’re ramping up with the pending loss of software support for the flagship software. Here are answers to the Maximo support questions that could be holding your tech stack back.

When does Maximo 7.6.1 move to EOS status?

Quoting IBM directly:

“Effective 30 September 2025, regular base support is no longer provided for Maximo Asset Management 7.6.1.x. Customers have the option to purchase one year of Extended and up to five years of Sustained Support.”

However, the full answer might not be so straightforward. Our customers tell us only certain Maximo 7.6.1 users, namely the ones with active plans to move to MAS 8, appear to be eligible for added support options. If you want to keep MAS 7.6.1, you will most likely lose IBM support. But bear in mind, this doesn’t have to prevent you from keeping your current implementation.

What happens when Maximo 7.6.1 goes EOS?

Your implementation will no longer have IBM support for the software. Depending on your industry, the loss could lead to bad IT practices or a violation of regulatory terms requiring active support. Expanded IBM support is typically defect-based, meaning certain outcome-based support objectives might not be achievable once the switch flips. And in this case, expanded support options only appear to be available with demonstrated, documented plans to move to IBM’s cloud architecture.

Additionally, the pending move to EOS status for the software means users can expect few, if any, significant software improvements/developments over the next year. IBM is not prone to invest in development resources when a product will soon be unsupported.

What’s the functional difference between Maximo 7.6.1 and MAS 8?

There is virtually no incremental functional value. The biggest change is the delivery model. MAS 8 is hosted in IBM’s public cloud, limiting available choices and potentially throwing working business systems into disarray – one reason migrations tend to come on yearslong timelines with high budgets.

Utilization will require your systems to interface with RedHat OpenShift. Depending on your internal teams’ experience with the platform, that will require serious changes to the way the software is implemented, administrated, used, and licensed (more on this below). You might also need to hire people or retrain current staff to interact with a wholly unfamiliar set of operational rules and standards.

What about pricing and licensing?

MAS 8’s license and audit terms are managed under IBM’s new AppPoints program, which marks a dramatic shift from standard licensing models and could ultimately result in customers paying 35% more for the same functionality hosted on a different cloud. That, in turn, adds another layer of complexity for non-IT pros who interact with the licensing side of software, such as software asset managers and procurement stakeholders.

How does Extended Support for MAS 7.6.1 figure in and how much does it cost?

Extended Support users evidently must demonstrate active plans to move to MAS 8 to receive IBM Extended Support. It’s a fair assumption the brunt of the program will come with a focus on migration assistance support, which is not necessarily the ongoing active support customers need for their current implementations.

This program will run from the September 2025 Maximo EOS date through 2028 to account for the high difficulty and technical lift of a migration, but if you don’t need that kind of care to begin with, the lengthy timeline might not provide any real value in working context.

That means customers could end up paying a 30% surcharge over their annual IBM Support and Maintenance fee to receive a type of support that doesn’t suit their needs and for a migration they might not want.

As a Maximo 7.6.1 user, what are my choices?

Generally, current Maximo users have three options to move forward:

1. Begin preparing for a Maximo cloud migration. Redeployment is costly and takes years, and MAS 8 licenses evidently cost 35% more than their Maximo 7.6.1 counterparts. In many situations, financial moves and technical lifts on this scale simply don’t make sense for a company that is happy and functional with its current Maximo implementation.
2. Lean on Extended Support while you prepare for MAS 8 migration. This is not the best option if you aren’t sure why you’d want to carry on with a migration to begin with. And that’s provided IBM will support you. We’ve heard from concerned customers that IBM will not provide support if you can’t prove active plans to undergo the lengthy Maximo cloud migration process.
3. Stay on your current version of Maximo with the help of an independent support provider. Independent third-party software maintenance (TPSM) providers like Origina can bridge the service gaps IBM leaves behind when they abandon support on their offerings with high standards of care and costs that routinely beat the software megavendor’s support by 50%. Instead of paying 30% more for support that might not help you tick the right boxes, you could end up paying half your present support costs for a team that’s dedicated to keeping you in the software you currently have, for as long as you want it.

Can a TPSM provider assist with my unsupported or pending EOS version of Maximo?

Origina provides proactive maintenance, IBM® support, and IBM® software security for all versions the user is entitled to. Instead of putting your runway on permanent detour with a changing business and delivery model, we extend it – meaning you can keep your Maximo implementation for as long as you like while you figure out what, if any, steps come next for your implementation.

Facing EOS of your current Maximo implementation and not sure what to do?

There are definite advantages to staying with the on-premises and local cloud software you currently have whether you know what your next move is or not. Moving from your company’s architecture to RedHat OpenShift, meanwhile, might result in control, functionality, and licensing detriments that are difficult to fully understand until you’re already in the weeds.

Our suggestion: Don’t make the move to MAS 8 just because the limited options available to your team make you think you must. Other options with strong support, security, and licensing help are available.

Reach out for a Maximo consultation that looks beyond cloud migration.