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If your organization has moved to Maximo Application Suite (MAS), you've heard the term AppPoints.

But many teams still ask the same questions:

• What actually consumes AppPoints?
• Why do some users require more than others?
• How can we manage AppPoints without restricting productivity?

Understanding the basics can help organizations make smarter decisions about roles, security groups, and application access.

How AppPoints Work

In Maximo Application Suite:

• Users draw from a shared AppPoint pool
• AppPoints are consumed concurrently while users are active
• The highest-level application accessed during a session determines the AppPoints used
• When a user logs out or their session ends, those AppPoints return to the pool

This means organizations can support more users than they have AppPoints, as long as not everyone is using high-tier applications at the same time.

Why Concurrent Usage Matters

Many organizations initially assume they need AppPoints for every Maximo user.

That's not how MAS licensing works.

Example:

• Your company may have 200 Maximo users
• But only 40–60 may be active at the same time

In that scenario, AppPoints only need to cover peak concurrent usage, not total users.

This flexibility is one of the reasons MAS licensing works well for large organizations.

Typical Role Examples

Here's a simplified example of how application access often aligns with roles:

How Integrations Can Affect AppPoint Usage

Another factor that can influence AppPoint consumption is third-party integrations.

Many Maximo environments integrate with systems such as:

• ERP platforms (SAP, Oracle, etc.)

• Monitoring or IoT systems

• Mobile applications

• Data analytics platforms

• Custom applications or middleware

These integrations typically connect through APIs or service accounts.

If integrations authenticate using a licensed Maximo user account and access applications, they may consume AppPoints just like a human user session.

Examples include:

• Middleware connecting through a Maximo user account

• Custom applications calling Maximo APIs using user credentials

• Automation services logging in as a named user

To manage this effectively, organizations should:

• Review integration service accounts

• Assign appropriate security roles

• Avoid granting integrations access to higher-tier applications unnecessarily

Often integrations can function perfectly with very limited application access, which helps prevent unnecessary AppPoint consumption.

What Can Increase AppPoint Consumption

AppPoint usage can increase when:

• Many users log in at the same time (shift start, morning planning meetings)

• Users access higher-tier applications

• Security groups grant access to applications users rarely need

• Training or test users are assigned production-level roles

• Integration accounts have access to advanced applications

By monitoring peak concurrent usage, organizations can better understand how many AppPoints they truly need.

AppPoints Health Check Checklist

Here are a few quick checks administrators and system owners can review this week.

✔ Review Security Groups

• Are users assigned to multiple overlapping groups?
• Do groups grant applications that users rarely use?

✔ Verify Role Alignment

Ask:

• Do technicians have access only to the applications they need?
• Do planners or supervisors have broader access where appropriate?

✔ Check for Inactive Users

Look for:

• Accounts that haven't logged in recently
• Temporary users who no longer need access

Cleaning up inactive accounts helps maintain accurate usage.

✔ Review Access to Advanced Applications

Confirm that users who can access tools like:

• Scheduling
• Analytics
• Configuration applications

Actually need them for their job responsibilities.

✔ Review Integration Accounts

Check:

• Which service accounts integrations use

• Whether those accounts have more application access than required

• Whether integrations authenticate as named Maximo users

✔ Review Test and Training Environments

Ensure:

• Training users are not assigned production-level security roles
• Test environments use appropriate access levels

The Takeaway

Learn More

If you want to explore how AppPoints work in Maximo Application Suite, IBM provides detailed documentation:

IBM Maximo Application Suite Overview https://www.ibm.com/docs/en/SSRHPA_cd/appsuite/overview/index.html

Administering Licenses and AppPoints Usage https://www.ibm.com/docs/en/masv-and-l/cd?topic=administering-licenses-apppoints-usage

Monitoring AppPoint Usage in MAS (Includes video) Licensing in Maximo Application Suite - IBM Documentation

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Julie Rampello
Max Content Solutions - IBM Champion 2026 & 2025
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