IFS To Establish A&D Business Unit Combining MXi MRO Solutions For Defense Market

DW : How will IFS position in the A&D sector be enhanced with the acquisition of Mxi Technologies?

Graham Grose: IFS is already well positioned as a leader in the global A&D market with a solid customer base in both commercial aviation and defense sectors and the acquisition of Mxi Technologies offers a great opportunity to build upon this position. Mxi, as a market leader in the maintenance software sector thanks to successful implementations of its Maintenix solution at many defense organizations, has become renowned for its compliance-centric approach. This approach is an excellent fit for IFS and offers great opportunities in addressing the challenges of the A&D market moving forward. Mxi will benefit from the global presence of IFS, and IFS will establish a new Aviation & Defence Business Unit by combining the Mxi team with the Aerospace & Defense Center of Excellence and some of the regional A&D specialists to aggressively grow sales of Mxi and IFS products into the A&D industry.  

DW : What was the primary reason for this acquisition - is it financial or enhancing the technical position of IFS?

Graham Grose: The primary driver is to combine the strengths of both companies to better serve and grow our position within the global aviation & defense market. Both IFS and the company selling Mxi, Moelis Capital Partners / Nexphase (a US private equity firm), agreed that there is a very strong strategic rationale for combining the two businesses and that IFS presented a natural home for Mxi, its customers and staff.

DW : Do you plan an increase in the number of specialist A&D solutions portfolio of IFS, post MXI acquisition?

Graham Grose: IFS Applications and the Maintenix product suites are attractive to specific customers in the market, so we will continue to invest in and develop both product lines. There is of course great opportunity to integrate the two products and offer these to certain clients. Operationally our teams will align, but we will offer customers a maintenance solution as a best-of-breed or as an end-to-end enterprise solution.

DW : How will this acquisition enhance your position Vs. your competitors in the A&D sector?

Graham Grose: The acquisition is a great fit for both companies. The IFS vision is to be the leading global enterprise software company that enables operational excellence for companies in asset, service & product centric industries. Mxi provides leading maintenance solutions to commercial aviation and defense industry across the world. By combining IFS and Mxi, IFS is establishing itself as a world leader in both commercial aviation & defense asset management and maintenance solutions.  

DW : Could you please elaborate on MXI’s MRO software solution for defense operators. What platforms does it cover and what are its unique features?

Graham Grose: Defense organizations are constantly striving to meet stringent performance targets and achieve affordable operational readiness. These efforts are complicated by the variety and complexity of assets operated out of both permanent and remote deployed sites. At the same time, maintaining complete, real-time visibility of in-theater operations and assets must be balanced with requirements to preserve information security. The pressure to deliver results, while maintaining operational readiness, tactical performance and mission integrity can seriously compromise cost containment practices. Mxi Technologies provides defense operators with an MRO software solution that extends and deepens the functionality of IFS applications, as well as complementing the existing IFS strength in MRO. Mxi’s Maintenix product suite consists of the Operator Edition and MRO Edition and includes capabilities that will extend and deepen the functionality of IFS applications, especially addressing the line maintenance area, as well as complementing the existing IFS strength in MRO. This helps build customer confidence and loyalty to secure long-term contracts — important in the heavily scrutinized defense industry – and provide visibility when quoting and executing to the terms and conditions of service-level agreements.

DW : Can you name any defense industry/government client of MXI and the work done for them?

Graham Grose: Mxi is the leading Aviation Maintenance & Engineering best-of-breed vendor in the industry focused on large fleets across defense and commercial aviation, with many marquee customers. In the defense sector, customers include BAE Systems, Pratt & Whitney, Saab, Canadian Department of National Defense, Swedish Air Force (FMV), US Navy and CGI Sweden.