When software changed facilities management
Facilities management (FM) was a prime target for technology innovation. Software automation eliminated paper-based workflows and repetitive tasks. Data, benchmarks, and insights proved more reliable than opinions and anecdotes when addressing critical FM decisions, like whether to replace or repair essential equipment.
Today, there are a dozen technologies assisting facilities managers (FMs) and corporate real estate (CRE) professionals. The alphabet soup of abbreviations for these solutions is confusing even for practitioners: CMMS, IWMS, EAM, CAFM, BMS, FMIS, ERP, AOM, etc.
Nevertheless, these software solutions help FM and CRE pros better meet the responsibilities of their ever-expanding job roles. At the same time, software adds yet another expectation—and job requirement—for FMs to be technology conversant.
Freed from the costs and clutter of purchasing and maintaining their own software assets, SaaS customers could focus instead on creating value. They bought the benefit the software delivers, not the assets.
SaaS software, now a standard in facilities management, makes FMs more productive by freeing them from the clutter of repetitive, time-consuming tasks. Reclaimed time can be used to focus on complex problems, which may be solved by advanced software features, like AI, BI, analytics, and insights.
FM software will ease that disruption. FM teams are more productive today precisely because of innovative software enabling them to do more in less time, often with fewer resources.
Software ate slow-moving, technology-averse businesses and replaced them with ones that solved common problems more quickly, more cheaply, and with better user experiences. Think Uber, Amazon, Square, DoorDash, and many others.
Innovations in facilities management, whether for workflow efficiencies, sustainability, energy management, mobile apps, or integrations, are all software-based.
Perceptions of facilities management are shifting from cost center to value driver. Higher FM operational and financial performance, driven by software, benefits the entire company.
To learn more about the impact of technology on facilities management, especially related to FM job roles, check out our new white paper, “Technology Advances Are Changing the Facilities Management Role.”
