Best Facility Management Software
Buyer's Guide
In today's technology-driven world, facilities management is challenging. It encompasses all the tools and services used to ensure the smooth and efficient functioning of buildings, real estate and infrastructure.
The goal of facilities management is to provide a safe and suitable physical environment that meets the essential needs and functions of an organization. There are various facility management software solutions available on the market to address these challenges with diverse capabilities.
Executive Summary
- With an FM solution, you can keep tabs on your inventory, track facility usage and costs, manage maintenance, and more.
- FM software has a lot of overlap with CMMS and CAFM. Your need for each one of these depends on what type of business or facility you manage.
- Facility software is integral in hiring, paying and rating contractors and keeping tabs on maintenance statuses within your agency.
- A facility management solution helps ensure compliance, cut down on expenses and boost productivity.
- A successful software search includes gathering requirements, considering a product’s total cost of ownership and preparing questions to help you find the right fit.
- What Is Facility Management Software?
- Primary Benefits
- Implementation Goals
- Basic Features and Functionality
- Advanced Features to Consider
- Current & Upcoming Trends
- Software Comparison Strategy
- Cost & Pricing Considerations
- The Best Facility Management Software
- Questions To Ask Yourself
- Questions To Ask Vendors
- Next Steps
- Additional Resources
What Is Facility Management Software?
Facilities management software is a specialized solution that offers a comprehensive overview of your asset management and maintenance requirements on a daily basis. Selecting the right FM software requires careful consideration and, often, customization to align with the specific layout and resources of your facilities.
Assessing your needs and preferences is crucial to determine which type of FM software will best suit your business.
Facility Management vs. CAFM vs. CMMS
Computerized maintenance management systems (CMMS) software plays a crucial role in driving facility and maintenance operations. It's important to note that CMMS software primarily focuses on managing equipment and maintenance tasks. If your organization heavily relies on equipment, you'll likely find CMMS software to be the most beneficial.
On the other hand, computer-aided facilities management (CAFM) software helps you handle administrative tasks such as item tracking, facility/worksite monitoring and third-party contractor management. It often integrates with CMMS, computer-aided design (CAD) systems and building information models (BIMs) software.
Due to the versatility and adaptability of such software, it comes as no surprise that various industries use it. For smaller companies with simpler needs, lightweight products or basic versions of advanced systems are available. Conversely, robust solutions cater to the requirements of large multinational corporations that need advanced features and handle more complex operations.
In this guide, we’ll explore the unique functions offered by FM software, identify the diverse areas where you can apply it and discuss key considerations when establishing your facilities management requirements.
Primary Benefits
FM software solutions bring many benefits to the table, such as maintaining regulatory compliance, increasing efficiency and reducing expenses.
Maintain Regulatory Compliance
Your industry is likely subject to multiple regulations. You can configure FM software to test for compliance issues and enforce necessary activities. This also helps you ensure you’re maintaining health and safety requirements for your employees or tenants. Additionally, the software allows you to store required documentation for audits and insurance purposes.
Reduce Expenses
Effective budget management is crucial for any company, and using the advanced features of an FM solution enables you to track unplanned expenses and implement necessary cost-cutting measures. By reducing the cost of untimely repairs, eliminating service overlap or redundancy, and optimizing resource and space use, you can focus your budget on essential services.
Improve Efficiency and Productivity
Inefficient equipment and processes can have a detrimental impact on production and daily work schedules. With FM software, your employees can concentrate on their daily operations and complete their work more efficiently, leading to improved productivity.
Facilitate Mobility and Collaboration
Efficiently managing work and facilitating effective communication with your team, even from remote locations, is essential. Having constant access to all your data through desktops, mobile devices or tablets significantly enhances your ability to make informed and timely decisions while overseeing multiple facilities.
Expert recommendations and analysis on the top Facility Management Software
Implementation Goals
Companies managing their assets, work orders and physical spaces on spreadsheets and other basic tools could stand to benefit from implementing facility management software into their workflows. Here are a couple of implementation goals you can achieve:
| Goal 1 Gain a Powerful View of Your Facility | By consolidating and centralizing your resources within a single program, FM software provides you with valuable and actionable intelligence. You can use this overview for various processes, ranging from asset life cycle management to tracking, warehousing and beyond. |
|---|---|
| Goal 2 Track Your Inventory and Plan Ahead | Your technicians and employees use your assets constantly,. so you’ll have to do maintenance sooner or later. Good FM software will show you and your technicians what maintenance inventory you have left, where it’s located, what condition it’s in and more. |
| Goal 3 Reduce Reliance on Older Tools | While spreadsheets and handwritten documents may serve as basic tools for facility management, they’re far from efficient and lack scalability. Facility management tools provide real-time updates on inventory and asset conditions. They also offer features such as work order management, third-party contractor management and many other functionalities that older tools can’t provide. |
| Goal 4 Cut Down on Inefficiencies | Effectively managing a facility requires overseeing numerous assets and employees, which can lead to waste and decreased productivity. However, facility management software offers a solution by optimizing moving routes, asset allocation and other processes to minimize these issues. |
Expert recommendations and analysis on the top Facility Management Software
Basic Features & Functionality
| Maintenance Management | Effective facilities management involves prioritizing maintenance, as any faulty assets or resources can impede your operations. With a well-designed system in place, you can effectively plan, track and maintain resources in your facility, stay compliant with regulations and control your expenses. |
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| Physical Building Administration | Connect top-notch maintenance software to critical infrastructures such as HVAC equipment, enabling remote facility management. Managers can conveniently adjust temperatures, lock doors, activate facility equipment and more, all from their mobile phones or web portals. Certain systems even provide basic analytics packages that offer valuable insights into your building, including heatmaps, energy usage data and resource expenditure. |
| Life Cycle Management | As facilities and their assets undergo regular use, they are bound to experience wear and tear, necessitating repairs. With an FM solution, you gain the ability to make informed, long-term decisions regarding purchases, future requirements and enterprise planning. |
| Work Order Management | As a facility owner, you can anticipate a significant influx of work orders on a daily basis. This is an unavoidable aspect of facility ownership, as maintenance issues arise and necessitate repairs or replacements. An effective FM software solution will include a robust work order management system to handle these tasks efficiently. |
| Preventive Maintenance Tracking | A preventive maintenance module is crucial to minimize unexpected equipment failures. FM software can streamline the process and automate scheduling, ensuring your team carries out maintenance tasks at the optimal time. |
| Inventory Management | Irrespective of the scale of your company's facilities or the volume of assets you have, implementing a systematic inventory management system can bring significant advantages. These tools enable you to maintain an accurate inventory record, determine the additional assets needed and monitor how employees use them. |
Expert recommendations and analysis on the top Facility Management Software
Advanced Features & Functionality
Effectively managing a wide array of assets, including tools and human resources, entails meticulous planning and coordination. While it’s common to come across software recommendations that emphasize this point, it’s crucial to recognize the uniqueness of your business and its specific requirements.
While we can provide recommendations for features that we believe are suitable for most companies, it’s important to acknowledge that there’s no universal solution when it comes to software. However, we believe the range of features we suggest extends beyond the basic suite and serves as a solid starting point for your considerations.
| Project Management | Managing multiple projects across different locations can be challenging, but implementing an effective project management system simplifies the process. With the right system, you can efficiently plan and execute projects, oversee budgets, determine resource allocation, establish workflow processes, and set realistic timelines. |
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| Reporting | FM software allows you to analyze real-time data and visualize it through graphs and charts. An enterprise reporting module can track and comprehend performance metrics, KPIs and other relevant factors tailored to your specific needs. To simplify the process, you can automate report generation and schedule them for predetermined intervals. |
| Transportation Management | Transportation management lets you automate travel request creation and approval. It helps you efficiently manage, track and schedule trips, requests and more. You can share trip details with the entire team and automate notifications to the requester, driver and approver whenever there’s a change in the request. |
Expert recommendations and analysis on the top Facility Management Software
Current & Upcoming Trends
To dig deeper into the trends we’ve covered below and more, check out our article — Facilities Management Trends: The Future of Facilities Management.
Here are the top trends in facilities management.
Harnessing the IoT and Connected Devices
Over the years, the facilities management industry has embraced the potential of Internet of Things (IoT) and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies. As these technologies continue to evolve and become more accessible, organizations around the world are benefiting from them.
According to a report by IoT Analytics, the number of connected IoT devices is projected to reach 29 billion by 2027, highlighting the increasing prevalence and significance of the IoT in the industry.
Moving Towards Preventive Maintenance
Despite the availability of more efficient alternatives, such as preventive maintenance, many organizations still rely on reactive maintenance. This approach isn’t just costlier — it’s also less effective.
By using on-site facilities management software that can identify and track assets within a facility, teams can proactively anticipate maintenance needs and ensure optimal operation. This shift towards preventive maintenance can lead to improved efficiency and cost savings for organizations.
Shifting to Hybrid Work
The trend of hybrid working is growing stronger every day. According to Microsoft, 51% of hybrid employees are planning to transition to full-time remote work, while 57% of remote employees are open to the idea of adopting a hybrid work model.
Facility management teams need to adapt to these changes while ensuring the quality of their services. This may involve promoting coworking spaces, implementing flexible work hours and developing mobile apps to facilitate productive work from any location.
Expert recommendations and analysis on the top Facility Management Software
Software Comparison Strategy
A vendor’s reputation, experience and history are all things you should consider when wading through lists of vendors and software.
Start your search by determining your requirements early on. No two businesses will have the same list of requirements, so it’s good to know in advance your needs and wants and what you can safely compromise on. To make things easier for you, we offer helpful, free facility management requirements templates to guide you in your search for facility management system software.
Finally, use our facility management software pricing guide to narrow down the list further until you’ve got at least three to five vendors who you think will cover most of your needs.
Cost & Pricing Considerations
The cost of software varies depending on the deployment method. For example, if you choose an on-premise solution, the cost would be higher upfront, as you’ll have additional maintenance and hardware costs. Some companies offer licensed purchases, while others — primarily cloud-based/SaaS platforms — offer subscription pricing.
Common additional factors to consider include:
- Customization
- Installation and setup
- Integration
- Maintenance costs
- Product training
- Add-on or advanced features that aren’t included in the basic package
See prices for the top Facility Management Software... Plus get important questions to ask.
Best Facility Management Software
Navigating through the numerous choices out there can be overwhelming. There’s no one-size-fits-all solution, and the best choice for your company depends on how well the software's features match your needs. That said, here is the list of the top solutions according to our analysts.
eFacility
eFacility is a comprehensive facility management solution designed to streamline and simplify building, asset and resource management. With its user-friendly interface and robust features, it enables you to effectively track maintenance, manage work orders, schedule inspections and monitor facility performance.
Easily manage space allocation and booking. Source
FAMIS 360
FAMIS 360 is a robust facilities management platform that optimizes how you oversee your facilities. It facilitates work order management processes, automates preventive maintenance programs and provides valuable insights through real-time data analytics.
Plan and track maintenance activities efficiently. Source
Facilitron
Facilitron is a leading facility management platform that simplifies facility rental scheduling and management processes. It provides a centralized hub for managing facilities, ensuring seamless coordination and maximizing facility use. It’s the go-to solution if you’re seeking to optimize facility rental operations and enhance customer satisfaction.
Get valuable insights and reports on space usage. Source
Cryotos
Cryotos is an innovative facilities management system that empowers you to efficiently manage facilities and operations. With its comprehensive suite of features, it facilitates seamless work order management, preventive maintenance scheduling, asset tracking and resource allocation.
Assign tasks to staff, monitor due dates and revisit closed work orders using Cryotos. Source
MPulse
MPulse offers equipment, inventory and facilities tracking, along with effective preventive maintenance, scheduling and reporting. It provides features like work order management, vendor management, labor resource management and more.
Access work order information, including requester, location, department and more, from mobile devices. Source
Expert recommendations and analysis on the top Facility Management Software
Questions To Ask Yourself
To determine what you'll need to do to start using FM software, you should sit down with key stakeholders and ask yourself a set of questions geared toward your facility, your wants and your needs.
- What features do we require to resolve our current pain points?
- Will there be a need to commit specific IT resources or personnel to this software and its deployment?
- What level of customization do we need?
- Do we need software that can scale with our organization?
- Do we need a native mobile app to manage multiple facilities remotely and improve communication?
Questions To Ask Vendors
It’s also good to compile a list of questions you can ask vendors — both about their company and their product. Here are some ideas to get you started.
About the Software
- How often do you update the platform?
- What is the user level of the facility management software? Is it easy to use and intuitive?
- Are the reporting capabilities robust and detailed enough to meet our needs?
- Does it offer advanced technologies such as AI and IoT capabilities?
- How well can the solution scale alongside our business? Will scaling up eventually cost more, and if so, how much?
About the Vendor
- What is your installation and integration methodology?
- Do you have a solid record for delivering on time and within budget?
- Do you actively invest in continuous software improvements, or is this a lower-priority solution or module?
- Are any of your strategic partners and customers willing to speak on your behalf and become references?
- Do you have services for complex technical processes such as data migration, implementation and customization? Are these included in the price, or do they cost extra?
Expert recommendations and analysis on the top Facility Management Software
Next Steps
In today's increasingly complex facility management landscape, relying solely on offline methods can be challenging. This is where facility management software comes into play, offering a wide array of benefits, from enhanced efficiency to improved collaboration. Therefore, choosing the most suitable FM software for your needs is crucial and requires careful consideration.
The right software solution empowers you to effectively manage various aspects such as space, buildings, assets, occupants and services.
Need help in finding the right solution? Check out our free facility management comparison report. It helps you compare your requirements against these and other leading FM solutions so you can shortlist vendors and start reaching out for more information.
For additional assistance, we recommend exploring the resources below to further support your journey.
Additional Resources
Top 10 Facility Management Software Leaders by Analyst Rating (of 345 products)
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