Data‑Driven Insights: How Maintenance Is Evolving in 2024

The Future of Maintenance

Over the past year, hundreds of maintenance professionals shared their journeys toward more effective programs in our Fiix Score survey. Analyzing that data has given us a clear view of today’s maintenance landscape and the direction the industry is headed. Below are the most compelling trends and their implications for the future of maintenance.

Digital Transformation Is the New Standard

More than 46% of respondents now rely on maintenance software to run their operations, while only 18% still use paper or physical work boards. The trend toward modern, cloud‑based CMMS solutions is accelerating across every sector.

Digital transformation in maintenance is no longer a futuristic buzzword—it is the present reality. The shift to mobile‑enabled, cloud‑based systems—often referred to as Industry 3.0—has moved from a two‑year outlook to everyday practice. Facilities that fail to adopt these technologies risk falling behind as production‑heavy sites embrace digital integration.

With the foundation already laid, the next priority for maintenance teams will be system optimization. Implementing a CMMS is straightforward, but mastering it is a strategic challenge. Organizations that cultivate a culture of continuous improvement within their maintenance software will reap the greatest efficiency gains in the coming years.

44 Key Takeaways on the Past, Present, and Future of Maintenance

Data Management Is Keeping Maintenance Professionals Up at Night

More than 28% of survey respondents identified data collection and organization as their biggest obstacle. As facilities adopt sophisticated digital tools, the volume of data has exploded, making effective data management increasingly critical.

While modern systems simplify data entry, they also demand robust processes for sorting, cleaning, analyzing, and acting on information. Falling behind in data management can erode the benefits of digital transformation.

To meet this challenge, maintenance teams will shift toward systems that streamline data capture and reporting—like a CMMS—while technicians will need to prioritize accurate, timely data entry and basic analytics skills.

From Putting Out Fires to Preventing Them

An impressive 75% of surveyed maintenance professionals now use preventive maintenance (PM) as their primary strategy. This marks a clear move from reactive to proactive practices across industries worldwide.

Preventive maintenance is becoming easier to plan and execute thanks to cloud‑based, mobile platforms and holistic approaches such as Total Productive Maintenance. PM lays the groundwork for predictive maintenance (PdM), which, although requiring significant investment and change, is the next logical step for facilities aiming to stay ahead five years and beyond.