CMMS vs EAM: What's the Difference and Which Does Your SA Operation Need?

If you are evaluating software to manage maintenance and assets, you will quickly run into two acronyms: CMMS and EAM. Vendors use them in different ways, and the line between them is blurry. For South African operations — mines, factories, facilities — the practical question is not which term to use but which type of system fits your scale, complexity, and budget. This article clarifies the difference between CMMS and EAM, where they overlap, when each makes sense, and how to choose in the local market.

What Is CMMS?

A Computerised Maintenance Management System (CMMS) is software that supports the day-to-day execution of maintenance. Its core purpose is to schedule, assign, track, and record maintenance work so that nothing falls through the cracks and you have an audit trail for compliance.

Typical CMMS capabilities include:

Work order management — Create, assign, prioritise, and close work orders; track status and labour time.
Preventive maintenance (PM) scheduling — Trigger PM tasks by time (e.g. weekly, monthly) or usage (hours, kilometres, cycles).
Asset register — A list of maintainable equipment with location, criticality, and links to work history and procedures.
Spare parts and inventory — Track parts, reorder levels, and link parts to work orders.
Reporting and compliance — PM compliance, overdue work, labour and cost by asset or period, and reports for OHS Act or MHSA evidence.

A CMMS answers: What work is due? Who does it? Was it done? What did it cost? For a clear overview of how a CMMS works in the South African context, see our guide on what is CMMS in South Africa.

What Is EAM?

Enterprise Asset Management (EAM) is a broader concept. It covers the full lifecycle of physical assets: design, procure, install, operate, maintain, refurbish, and dispose. EAM software often includes everything a CMMS does plus:

Lifecycle and capital planning — Project and budget for new assets, replacements, and major overhauls.
Procurement and supply chain — Tendering, contracts, and procurement linked to assets and projects.
Project management — Large projects such as shutdowns, upgrades, or new installations.
Financial integration — Deep links to ERP for depreciation, capitalisation, and cost allocation across the organisation.
Multi-site and group consolidation — Group-wide asset hierarchies, standardised coding, and rolled-up reporting.

EAM answers: What do we own? What is it worth? When do we replace it? How do we fund and execute that? It is aimed at organisations that need to manage assets as a strategic portfolio, not only to run maintenance.

Where CMMS and EAM Overlap

The overlap is large. Most EAM suites include a maintenance module that does what a CMMS does: work orders, PM scheduling, asset records, and maintenance reporting. Many vendors market their CMMS as “EAM” or “asset management” to sound more strategic. In practice:

A standalone CMMS focuses on maintenance execution and compliance. It may have a simple asset list and basic cost tracking but does not replace your ERP for finance or procurement.
An EAM platform typically includes CMMS-style maintenance plus lifecycle, projects, and ERP integration. It is one system for asset strategy and execution.

So the real choice is often: do we need a focused maintenance system (CMMS), or do we need the full asset lifecycle and enterprise integration (EAM)? Answering that clearly avoids buying an EAM when you only need execution, or underbuying with a light CMMS when your organisation already depends on group-wide asset and project data.

When a CMMS Is Enough (Most SMEs)

For many South African operations, a CMMS is the right fit.

You likely need a CMMS when:

Your main pain is execution — work not done on time, no clear record of what was done, difficulty proving compliance to inspectors or insurers.
You have a manageable asset count — dozens to a few hundred maintainable items, not thousands across many sites with complex hierarchies.
Maintenance and operations drive the need; you are not trying to replace ERP for procurement, projects, or group finance.
Budget and implementation speed matter — you want a system that can go live in weeks, with transparent rand pricing and minimal customisation.
You need OHS Act and MHSA compliance — work orders, PM schedules, and audit-ready records — without the overhead of a group-wide EAM rollout.

Mines, manufacturers, and facilities in this position often get the best result from a dedicated CMMS that does maintenance and compliance well, rather than a large EAM project that may be overkill. For a comparison of options in the local market, see best CMMS software in South Africa.

When EAM Makes Sense (Complex Lifecycles, Large Enterprises)

EAM becomes relevant when asset decisions are strategic and cross many departments.

Consider EAM when:

You manage large, long-life assets (e.g. mining equipment, process plants, fleet) and need to plan and budget for replacement, refurbishment, and major overhauls over many years.
Capital planning and depreciation are part of the same conversation as maintenance; finance and maintenance need one view of asset cost and condition.
You run large projects — shutdowns, upgrades, new installations — and want those projects and their costs tied to the same asset register and history as routine maintenance.
You operate many sites or business units and need group-wide asset hierarchies, standardised coding, and consolidated reporting for the board or group maintenance function.
You already use a group ERP (e.g. SAP, Oracle) and want asset and maintenance data integrated so that maintenance spend, capitalisation, and procurement flow through one system.

In those cases, a CMMS alone may leave gaps: you still do capital planning in spreadsheets, project management elsewhere, and finance in ERP. An EAM can unify that — at the cost of a larger project, higher licence fees, and more dependency on the ERP vendor or integrator. The trade-off is deliberate: EAM suits organisations that are ready to invest in a single, enterprise-wide view of assets; everyone else is often better off with a CMMS that solves the maintenance and compliance problem first.

The South African Context: SAP PM, Pragma, and Cloud CMMS

In South Africa, the CMMS vs EAM question often shows up in three ways.

SAP PM (Plant Maintenance) — SAP’s maintenance module is EAM in spirit: it sits inside SAP ERP and ties maintenance to finance, procurement, and project systems. Many large enterprises use it because they are already on SAP. For them, “CMMS vs EAM” is partly “standalone CMMS vs SAP PM”. SAP PM is powerful but expensive and complex; it makes sense where the organisation is committed to SAP and has the budget and IT support. Smaller operations or those not on SAP often find a standalone CMMS simpler and faster to implement.

Pragma and other local EAM/CMMS players — Pragma and similar vendors offer asset and maintenance solutions that range from CMMS-style execution to full lifecycle EAM. They understand the local market, MHSA, OHS Act, and B-BBEE. The choice here is less about the label and more about scope: do you need only maintenance and compliance, or full lifecycle and group reporting? A cloud CMMS like Lungisa can cover the former; if you need the latter, a local EAM provider may be a better fit.

Cloud CMMS — Purpose-built cloud CMMS products focus on work orders, PM, assets, and compliance, with transparent ZAR pricing and quick rollout. They rarely replace ERP or do full EAM lifecycle and capital planning. For most SMEs and single-site or mid-size multi-site operations, that is enough. You get maintenance under control and proof of compliance without a multi-year EAM project.

A Simple Decision Framework

Use these questions to steer toward CMMS or EAM:

What is the main problem? If it is “work not done, no records, compliance risk,” start with a CMMS. If it is “we need to plan and fund asset replacement across the group,” EAM or an EAM-style module (e.g. SAP PM) may be relevant.
How big and how complex? Single site or a few sites, hundreds of assets, maintenance-led need → CMMS. Many sites, complex hierarchies, capital and projects integrated with maintenance → consider EAM.
What do you already run? If you are on SAP and maintenance must feed finance and procurement in SAP, SAP PM or an SAP-connected solution may be necessary. If you are not on SAP or maintenance can stand alone, a dedicated CMMS is often simpler.
Budget and timeline? Tight budget and need to show results in months → CMMS. Large budget and willingness to run a longer project for group-wide asset and project integration → EAM.
Compliance first? For OHS Act and MHSA, what matters is consistent work orders, PM schedules, completion records, and reports. A CMMS that supports those and aligns with ISO 55000 asset management principles can meet the need without full EAM.

Quick Reference: CMMS vs EAM at a Glance

Focus	CMMS	EAM
Primary purpose	Schedule, execute, and record maintenance	Full asset lifecycle plus maintenance
Typical users	Maintenance and operations	Maintenance, finance, procurement, projects
Asset scope	Maintainable equipment and work history	Full portfolio, capital, depreciation
Implementation	Weeks to a few months	Months to years, often with ERP
Best fit	Single or few sites, execution and compliance	Multi-site, group reporting, capital planning

Use this table as a starting point when you discuss options with IT, finance, or vendors. The boundary is not rigid: some CMMS products add light project or procurement features; some EAM implementations start with the maintenance module and expand later. The important thing is to match the system to the problem you are solving today, without overbuying or underbuying.

Summary

CMMS vs EAM is really about scope. A CMMS focuses on maintenance execution and compliance; an EAM extends to the full asset lifecycle, capital planning, projects, and deep ERP integration. Most South African SMEs and mid-size operations are better served by a CMMS that does maintenance and compliance well. Large enterprises with complex asset portfolios and existing ERP may need EAM or an EAM-style module. Use the decision framework above to match the system to your problem, scale, and budget. If you would like to see how a focused CMMS can support your maintenance and compliance without the complexity of full EAM, you can explore Lungisa or contact the Skynode team to discuss your requirements.