Integrated Workplace Management-What is it?

There's been considerable hype around integrated management and systems. But in the case of integrated workplace management, there is real value and performance behind the concept. In essence, organizations are learning to manage enterprise assets, contracts and services horizontally, that is, overcoming the "stove pipe" approach to workplace management and tieing processes together into a seamless and integrated fashion using IWMS systems. In the past, separate departments managed real estate transactions, space management, operational maintenance management, and project management. In many cases these functional departments reported to different executives, using separate "point solutions" and data bases to manage each discrete function. The result has been protracted schedules, redundant use of staff; surplus facilities, missed contract obligations, and frustrated and dissatisfied users. Now with IWMS, these functions can be tied together using a common data base, single software platform, common process tools, and performance metrics that reveal performance and trends across the portfolio. The main components of an IWMS system follow the complete life cycle of the facilities portfolio, beginning with strategic portfolio planning; project management, space management, real estate portfolio and transaction management, and day to day maintenance and operational management. Everyone including service partners, users, workplace staff, and senior management work from a single data base, with role based portals at the front end; analytical tools, performance metric dashboards, and process support tools. IWMS also manages a host of services including employee self-service; room reservations, work order requests, and maintenance requests. Some enterprises are incorporating some aspects of IT management into the IWMS system, moving toward an integrated service desk; and correlating employee data, with facilities and IT data.

I fully expect the IWMS market to continue to grow at a double digit rate over the next year driven by the need to streamline operations, reduce cost, improve efficiencies, and also to respond to the need to "green" your portfolio, enhance information transparency in support of compliance requirements, and support the need for business continuity and disaster recovery. Many companies learned a bitter lesson after Hurricane Katrina, by not having a fully current and integrated view into their facilities portfolio, location status, vacancies, and where their people actually worked, and how this work could be redirected to alternate locations quickly.

Another driver of IWMS is the growing popularity in telework, and worker mobility. Telework has grown enormously over the last five years. Some estimates gauge the total telework population (those that work one or more days a week out of the normal office location) to be at least 25% of the workforce. It's critical to have the software tools that can support a mobil workforce, and be able to identify and schedule work locations, conference rooms, and deliver employee services on line no matter where the employee chooses to work. IWMS connects the dots between facilities, IT, and HR. I fully expect this class of software to become the next major enterprise software solution along side ERP, CRM, SCM, and HCM. Already the deal sizes of these installations far exceed 7 figures, and its not untypical to see installations including licence, services, and training, exceed eight figures.

What's your view of the IWMS market? In future BLOG entries I'll focus on some of the critical issues in effectively selecting and installing an IWMS system.