4 Signs Your Facility Management System Needs An Overhaul

Facility leaders often rely on an arsenal of technology to keep their workplace running efficiently. With so much to oversee, you need a powerful facility management system that gives you a unified view of everything.

Signs that Your Facility Management Software is Outdated 

But as you’ve likely recognized throughout your career, not all facility management software is equal. Here are four signs it’s time to upgrade yours.

1. Your Facility Management System Software Updates are Expensive

Over time, software functions become outdated, and support for older technology becomes obsolete. If you want your software to be fully productive and secure, you have to update to the latest version. Unfortunately, some facility management solutions charge hidden fees for even the most basic updates. And if you’re using an on-premise facility management system, updates can take a year or more and cost close to $1 million. Meanwhile, your own team is assuming the majority of the project management stress and the risks.

But even with a so-called SaaS system, there can be additional costs or unexpected downtime. Some providers roll out big annual updates that can take the software offline for several days.

That’s why it’s so important to look for a facility management system that includes all upgrades as part of your monthly or annual fee and deploys them as soon as they are ready.

2. Your Floor Plans Aren’t Accurate

You rely on floor plans for everything from planning moves to forecasting utility costs. So if your floor plans aren’t accurate, it will throw off everything else, too.

Some IWMS software relies on images that account for total square footage but doesn’t differentiate between space that’s actually usable and space that isn’t.

The only way to be sure your floor plans are accurate is to convert them into AutoCAD layers (or work with a provider who can do that for you) and then integrate those files into more robust space management software. This way, you’ll have full visibility into the entire space and how it’s utilized.

3. You Lack Visibility Into Your Organization’s Data

As a facility management leader, you’re responsible for analyzing data to help increase operational efficiency, decrease costs and stay proactive about maintenance. But some facility management software systems don’t offer the reliable or granular data access you need to inform your decisions. That’s because they might only be designed to address a single solution, such as space management or room reservation. They’re only showing you one part of the bigger picture.

You need an integrated workplace management system (IWMS) that gives you full transparency into how all systems and assets are performing across your organization.

By logging onto a single platform, you should be able to:

• See how much of your space is occupied or vacant
• Identify space utilization trends over time
• See which rooms are being used and which are underutilized
• Plan and execute office moves
• See maintenance records for specific assets and total maintenance costs
• Resolve service requests and identify patterns that may point to bigger issues…

…and much more.

This way, you and other facility management leaders across your organization will have access to the insights you need to keep your company running smoothly.

4. You Can’t Effectively Integrate Existing Systems

From IT software to HR tools, your company likely uses several different types of technologies to solve several different problems. A facility management system should help you bring all of these solutions together so you can share data and compile reports in one user-friendly platform — but many don’t.

That’s why it’s essential to invest in a platform that integrates with applications your organization is already using. This way, you can eliminate redundancies and improve cross-departmental decision-making.

Consider Other Facility Management Software Options

As a workplace leader, you already have too much on your shoulders. The last thing you need is ineffective technology creating new hurdles you don’t have time or energy to navigate. If you’re feeling frustrated by your facility management software, it’s time to explore other options when you think your organization is ready for a facility management software.

Check out the latest Verdantix report to see how our IWMS stacks up against other competitors.