Understanding the Preventive Maintenance Software Market Numbers

The size of the preventive maintenance software market is discussed in millions of dollars, with high compound annual growth rates (CAGRs) of 10% to 15%. These figures are related to the market and are widely available online. This article clarifies the meaning and direction of these numbers to get a better understanding.

Maintenance and operations professionals often focus on solving their immediate problems when purchasing preventive maintenance software. While this is understandable, providing an overall market perspective is also valuable for these professionals. By doing so, they can take a top-down approach instead of their bottom-up one, which is more driven by their immediate problems.

The goal is to understand who drives the market, what demand factors are involved, and how the supply influences its growth and evolution. Maintenance professionals should comprehend the market size and understand what those numbers mean and what they reveal.

Considering all of this will assist maintenance professionals in evaluating preventive maintenance software solutions when purchasing. This is the primary aim of this preventive maintenance software market discussion.

Market Size

Unsurprisingly, market value numbers differ considerably depending on the preventive maintenance market research source. This is understandable because research around the preventive maintenance software market isn’t as organized and formalized as some of the more researched software categories like CRM and ERP. Several online internet market research firms have published figures on the PM software market. Top consulting firms like Gartner and Forrester have yet to cover it as a separate vertical. Secondly, from a market perspective, preventive maintenance software tends to fall under the categories of enterprise asset management software market (EAM Software) and computerized maintenance management software (CMMS). This causes market size numbers to be blurred.

Here are some preventive maintenance software numbers we found.

• According to the online research firm Industry Research, the global preventive maintenance software market size was valued at USD 1 billion in 2022 and is expected to expand at a CAGR of 13.88% during the forecast period, reaching USD 2.27 billion by 2028.
• Similarly, Straits Research says the global enterprise asset management market size was valued at USD 3.64 billion in 2022. It is projected to reach USD 7.52 billion by 2031, growing at a CAGR of 8.4% during the forecast period (2023–2031).
• According to Markets and Markets, the predictive maintenance market was expected to grow at a CAGR of 30%, from USD 4.2 billion in 2021 to USD 15.9 billion by 2026. Note that these numbers reflect the overall predictive maintenance market, not just the preventive maintenance software market.
• Verdantix forecasts the EAM software market to reach $5.4 billion in 2026.

The market size figures above represent the global market, including North America. The market size numbers straddle categories beyond just preventive maintenance software. In their recent article on SaaS statistics, Vena Solutions mentioned that North America accounts for 44% of the global market. We could go with a similar number of 44% in the North American preventive maintenance software market. All in all, we are looking at significant market size numbers when it comes to the United States. Specifically for the preventative maintenance software market, 44% of USD 1 billion in 2022 and USD 2.27 billion in 2028 gives us USD 440 million and around USD 880 million, implying that the market will double in about 6 years, at a CAGR of 12%.

This article analyzes the demand for preventive maintenance software from two perspectives, top-down and bottom-up, to make sense of these numbers. We will also discuss the supply side to substantiate the reality of these numbers subjectively.

Demand Side: Top-Down View In the top-down view, we examine how various sectors contribute to the combined US gross domestic product (GDP). The approach here is to see how much spending on preventive maintenance software could be derived from the GDP contribution of sectors that require preventive maintenance. Here is the GDP breakdown table from the US Bureau of Economic Analysis.

The above table demonstrates the scale of the potential of the preventive maintenance software market in the US. For example, the market size numbers are mind-boggling if you look at the GDP contribution of the “manufacturing” industry (2.9 trillion dollars for 2023). The following table presents some market-size scenarios regarding preventive maintenance in the manufacturing industry.

Based on fairly conservative scenarios of 1%, 2.5%, and 5%, the size of the US preventive maintenance software market ranges from USD 290 million to USD 7.25 billion. This is only for the manufacturing industry. All other industries, including professional services, real estate, retail, educational services, construction, and others, require preventive maintenance in some form and, consequently, preventive maintenance software. Thus, the preventive maintenance software market projections are realistic and promising.

Demand Side: Bottom-Up View

In the bottom-up view, we look at the number of maintenance professionals in the market. The approach here is to see how much spending on preventive maintenance software could be derived from a probable number of users in the market. To find this out, we relied on the social media platform LinkedIn to provide data related to maintenance professionals. It is understood that not all maintenance professionals are on LinkedIn, nor are all maintenance professionals users of preventive maintenance software. This approach aims to give a broad sense of the value of the market and use it to validate market size numbers published by research agencies.

We first examine the manufacturing industry.

Manufacturing

We looked at the data obtained from LinkedIn using the following filters:

• Company Industry = Manufacturing
• Company Size = All
• Job Titles = Containing “Maintenance” as a keyword. LinkedIn currently does not list “Maintenance” as a job function.

Refer to the appended LinkedIn screenshot showing the result based on the above filters.

According to LinkedIn, the audience size of maintenance professionals in the manufacturing industry, including Oil & Gas is roughly 230,000.

Other Industries

When we include industries (other than manufacturing) that employ maintenance as a job function, the number of maintenance professionals more than doubles to 530,000. (Refer to the table below)

Estimating Preventive Maintenance Software Market Size

This estimation aims not to give a precise number but to validate some of the numbers given above in the context of the preventive maintenance software market.

We make the following assumptions:

• All LinkedIn maintenance professionals are users - All maintenance professionals on LinkedIn are users of preventive maintenance software. We assume that maintenance professionals on LinkedIn are better oriented toward technology and belong to teams that have adopted preventive maintenance software.
• No additional users - Maintenance users could be more than the number given on LinkedIn. But, in this estimate, we take the stance of “no additional users.”
• Price - The median price of preventive maintenance software is $50/month per user. This will be multiplied by 12 months to arrive at the annual spend per user.

Supply Side

On the supply side, we present a largely qualitative argument on how supply-side dynamics support the growth in the preventive maintenance software market.

The supply drivers are:

Many CMMS Vendors

The first factor is the abundance of CMMS vendors. Numerous preventive maintenance software vendors exist, as evidenced by software listing websites such as SoftwareAdvice, Capterra, and G2 Crowd, which feature 300 to 500 listings. This large number of vendors addresses a wide spectrum of needs. On one end, enterprise requirements are primarily met by IBM and Oracle, catering to the Enterprise Asset Management (EAM) space. Alternatively, more straightforward solutions serve small manufacturers or enterprises with minimal maintenance management needs.

For example, Click Maint CMMS is highlighted for its user-friendly interface for this simpler end of the spectrum. The software enables maintenance professionals to adopt it quickly without extensive training, streamlining processes and enhancing productivity early on. The focus is on driving value fast by incorporating ease of use and user adoption into the product's core design.

PE and M&A Activity

The second supply-side factor supporting market growth is increased private equity (PE) and mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity. Previously, growth capital was scarce in this space, with internal accruals from large companies or bootstrapped startups being common. However, more growth capital has been invested in this market in recent years, creating numerous opportunities. This capital comes from private equity and venture capital firms transitioning from high-tech ventures to supporting old economy industries like manufacturing in adopting preventive maintenance software.

This activity does not come just from PE and VC firms. Industrial behemoths like Siemens are entering and impacting the market. Siemens' recent acquisition of Brightly is one example.

TMA Systems acquires MEX

A few months ago, TMA Systems, backed by Silversmith Capital, acquired MEX, a maintenance software provider based in Brisbane, Australia. TMA Systems, headquartered in Tulsa, Oklahoma, specializes in enterprise asset management and CMMS solutions. This acquisition enhances TMA Systems' portfolio and expands its global maintenance management market reach. In March 2023, TMA Systems also acquired MaxPanda, a smaller CMMS software provider based in Winnipeg, Canada, targeting SMBs.

Siemens acquires Brightly Software for US $ 1.6 Billion

In June 2022, Siemens Smart Infrastructure acquired Brightly Software, a US-based provider of asset maintenance management solutions, for $1.575 billion—nearly 10 times Brightly’s annual revenues. This acquisition underscores the ongoing transformation within the enterprise asset management (EAM) software market and the preventive maintenance software sector. Traditionally dominated by incumbents such as IBM, SAP, and Oracle, the market has seen a wave of acquisitions involving mid-sized CMMS firms and larger EAM software suppliers by established firms in adjacent markets. Additionally, startups' emergence of new EAM / CMMS / preventive maintenance solutions has introduced several new players.

Siemens' acquisition follows Brightly’s series of strategic purchases. Brightly existed in its original form - Dude Solutions - for almost two decades. Since 2019, under the ownership of investment firm Clearlake Capital, Brightly has acquired Australian asset investment planning (AIP) software provider Assetic and UK-based asset management software firm Confirm in 2020 and ESG reporting solution provider Energy Profiles Limited in 2022.

Brightly’s software portfolio, spanning EAM, CMMS, and energy management, along with its diverse customer base in education, government, life sciences, and manufacturing, made it an appealing acquisition for Siemens. When combined with Siemens' recent acquisition of predictive maintenance software provider Senseye in June 2022, this move expands Siemens’ asset management software capabilities for both industrial and non-industrial customers. The acquisitions of Brightly and Senseye enhance Siemens' competitive edge through increased expertise in digital solutions, complementing its core engineering, services, and manufacturing offerings.

Despite its market maturity, Siemens’ entry into the EAM software space highlights the significant opportunities within the EAM sector.

Limble CMMS

In 2023, Limble CMMS raised $58 million in a Series B funding round led by Goldman Sachs Growth Equity, bringing its valuation to $450 million. Limble focuses on helping organizations track and maintain physical assets, capitalizing on the enduring need for mechanics and maintenance. The fundraising highlighted the potential opportunity Limble CMMS is looking for. Like other preventive maintenance software players, Limble sits between two generations of enterprise IT, bridging traditional business operations and modern digital transformation, cloud migration, and IoT advancements. This shift reflects the changing landscape of business management, from on-premises software and disconnected solutions to integrated, cloud-based solutions that enhance communication and productivity.

Limble CMMS's $58 million Series B funding from Goldman Sachs Growth Equity indicates that institutional investors are increasingly interested in companies that help old economy sectors adopt preventive maintenance software for product development and market expansion.

Government Support to US Manufacturing

US manufacturing is coming back. McKinsey's research reported that effectively transforming the US manufacturing sector could boost the GDP by $275 billion to $460 billion while creating 1.5 million jobs. These projections are encouraging since the number of manufacturing plants in the United States has fallen roughly 25 percent since 1997.

Another tailwind factor is the increasing government support for US manufacturing. Recent fiscal policies aim to increase tariffs to discourage imports and offshoring, potentially stimulating domestic investment. Think tanks like the Economic Policy Institute argue that these tariffs could increase US investment, some of which may support the preventive maintenance software market.

What Does the Future Hold for Preventive Maintenance Software?

The preventive maintenance software market is expected to grow with current projections. However, developments in AI and machine learning could significantly impact this growth. The future remains uncertain as technology evolves rapidly. Manufacturing businesses’ adoption of new technologies will also influence market growth. In the short term, positive momentum is anticipated, but long-term resilience will depend on advancements in AI and smart manufacturing technologies.