IBM Turbonomic helps Maximus cut resource waste, reduce costs, and deliver better services to communities
Maximus, headquartered in Tysons, Virginia, is a trusted partner in government technology, helping federal, state, and local government agencies deliver essential services to millions of people. But after migrating to the cloud using a lift-and-shift approach, the company faced a critical question: how do you ensure efficiency when thousands of servers are oversized and underutilized? With workloads spread across 4,000+ cloud-based servers across hundreds of cloud accounts, the stakes were high, as every inefficiency could lead to wasted dollars. While its native cloud tools offered insights, false positives, that were identified, slowed progress. Maximus needed a smarter, automated way to right-size resources, reduce costs, and improve operational efficiency without compromising service delivery.
To overcome its cloud optimization challenges, Maximus partnered with IBM to implement IBM® Turbonomic® —an AI-powered IT automation platform that became a key enabler of operational efficiency. The ability of Turbonomic to integrate multiple data sources and deliver actionable insights allowed Maximus to right-size infrastructure, eliminate resource waste, and improve performance. Its capabilities freed engineers to focus on higher-value tasks, while custom grouping and policy features ensured decisions aligned with application tiers. IBM worked closely with Maximus to tailor the solution, transforming manual, reactive processes into automated, proactive optimization. As Chris Ray, Vice President of Cloud Technology at Maximus, noted, “Turbonomic gave us the visibility we needed to optimize spend and improve performance at scale. With over 1000 compute instance types across the major cloud providers, using technology to assess the right option is the only way to keep up.”
The cloud operations transformation and IBM Turbonomic implementation helped Maximus achieve measurable efficiency gains and cost savings. The company eliminated overprovisioning, streamlined resource allocation, and improved application performance—enhancing service delivery for its government clients. With new capabilities in place, engineers now focus on higher-value tasks, while Turbonomic ensures workloads receive the resources they need. Chris Ray continues, “This optimization has the potential to deliver significant ongoing savings. If you can reduce compute and storage by just a few cents per hour, across thousands of resources that are running 24 hours x 365 days a year, it adds up to very real dollars.” Marie Russell, Vice President, Global Strategic Partner Acceleration said, “IBM has proven to be a trusted advisor and partner. Turbonomic is the enabler our organization needed -- automating right‑sizing at scale, improving operations, and strengthening performance so our engineers can focus on mission outcomes for the citizens we serve.”
Beyond financial impact, Maximus has strengthened its ability to deliver seamless, equitable access to critical services across government entities. Looking ahead, Maximus plans to expand Turbonomic adoption globally and implement its FedRAMP-authorized version, available in the FedRAMP Marketplace, to support federal clients. Chris Ray states, “Turbonomic isn’t just a tool, it’s a catalyst for cultural and operational change. It allows our engineers to more quickly assess and remediate improperly sized workloads, reducing potential production issues, reducing costs, and in some cases both at the same time.”
Maximus, founded in 1975 and headquartered in Tysons, Virginia, provides technology-enabled services and solutions that help government agencies deliver critical programs to citizens. Serving federal, state, and local clients, Maximus focuses on improving public service delivery through innovation and operational efficiency.
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