What is IWMS software?

Managing large-scale workplace operations efficiently and effectively is crucial for enterprises in today’s fast-paced business world. Many organizations are turning to Integrated Workplace Management Systems (IWMS) to streamline and integrate various aspects of their workplace. 

From managing extensive lease portfolios (and their compliance headaches), to genuinely understanding the space and resources you need in the workplace, an IWMS delivers a robust set of tools designed to consolidate and optimize essential processes for real estate, facilities, maintenance, and resources. 

In this blog, you’ll learn about the intricacies of IWMS and why they’re critical for modern workplaces. 

What is an integrated workplace management system (IWMS)?

An Integrated Workplace Management System (IWMS) is a comprehensive software platform that combines multiple functionalities to streamline and automate various aspects of workplace management. IWMS systems provide a centralized database and interface for handling diverse activities, including facility management, maintenance, real estate lifecycle management, capital project management, and resource management. By integrating these functionalities into a single platform, IWMS systems enable organizations to enhance operational efficiency, improve decision making, and optimize resource allocation. 

Why is an IWMS system important for enterprises?

A successful enterprise organization must ensure efficient space utilization, maintain a comfortable and productive environment, handle maintenance and repairs, and make informed decisions about real estate investments. 

An IWMS system plays a pivotal role in addressing these challenges by providing a holistic approach to workplace management. By consolidating data, automating processes, and facilitating data-driven decision making, IWMS systems empower enterprises to optimize their resources, enhance operational efficiency, and reduce costs. 

Functional areas of an IWMS system

IWMS systems cover various functional areas crucial for effective workplace management. Let’s explore some of the critical areas where IWMS software proves invaluable: 

Facilities management

IWMS systems offer comprehensive tools and functionalities to streamline facilities management. This includes space utilization management, asset tracking, lease administration, move management, and workplace services. By centralizing data and automating processes, IWMS software helps enterprises optimize space allocation, improve occupancy rates, enhance workplace experience, and ensure compliance with regulations. 

Facilities maintenance

Maintaining a well-functioning workplace is essential for productivity and employee satisfaction. IWMS systems provide features for managing preventive and reactive maintenance, work order management, vendor management, and asset lifecycle tracking. Organizations can proactively address issues, reduce downtime, extend asset lifespan, and optimize maintenance costs by automating maintenance processes. 

Real estate lifecycle management

Real estate is a significant investment for organizations, so effective real estate management is crucial for optimizing returns. IWMS systems offer capabilities for real estate portfolio management, lease administration, space planning, site selection, and financial analysis. IWMS software helps organizations make informed decisions, mitigate risks, maximize space utilization, and optimize lease agreements by providing real-time insights into real estate assets. 

Capital project management

From small renovations to large-scale construction projects, capital projects require careful planning, execution, and monitoring. IWMS systems help enterprises manage project timelines, budgets, resource allocation, vendor coordination, and progress tracking. By providing transparency and control over capital projects, IWMS software lets organizations complete projects on time, within budget, and with minimal disruptions to daily operations. 

Resource management

Efficiently managing resources such as equipment, vehicles, and personnel is essential for seamless operations. IWMS systems offer features for resource scheduling, tracking, and utilization analysis. By optimizing resource allocation, IWMS software helps organizations reduce costs, improve productivity, and deploy assets and personnel efficiently. 

What are the benefits of an IWMS system?

Implementing an IWMS system can bring a wide range of benefits to enterprises. We’ve grouped some of the critical advantages into three main areas: real estate management, workplace management, and operations management. 

Real estate management:

1. Efficient lease administration: With IWMS software’s lease administration functionality, organizations can gain a holistic view of their lease portfolio, review lease commitments, and ensure compliance. The software streamlines lease management processes, reduces administrative burdens, and helps organizations make informed decisions about lease agreements. A real-world example is a multinational corporation using IWMS lease administration software to track and manage leases across multiple locations, ensuring they meet their lease obligations and optimizing their real estate portfolio for maximum efficiency, scalability, and profitability. 
2. Robust lease accounting: IWMS systems equipped with lease accounting software help organizations meet the latest IFRS 16 requirements more eastily. By automating lease accounting processes, organizations can improve financial management, enhance reporting accuracy, and streamline lease-related financial operations. You can use IWMS lease accounting software to ensure compliance with accounting standards, accurately calculate lease expenses, and provide transparent financial information to your stakeholders. 
3. AI-powered lease abstraction: IWMS solutions with AI-powered lease abstraction capabilities offer advanced data extraction, analysis, and consumption from commercial leases. This technology-driven approach enhances the auditability, transparency, and accessibility of lease data, enabling organizations to make data-driven decisions and optimize lease-related processes. Lease abstraction software makes it a breeze to extract critical lease data, analyze lease terms and conditions, and gain valuable insights into their lease portfolio, facilitating strategic decision making and powerful risk management. 

Workplace management:

1. Practical space management: With many offices and workplaces now having reduced staff onsite on any given day, it’s essential to understand your spaces’ impact on employee performance as well as your revenue and portfolio. IWMS software provides powerful space management tools for visualizing floor plans, optimizing workspace utilization, and reducing occupancy costs. By efficiently managing space allocation, organizations can enhance collaboration, improve employee experience, and maximize available space to create a more collaborative and productive work environment and reduce costs in a tight market. 
2. Seamless room/desk booking: With space management comes effective resource allocation for your team and contractors. Integrated workplace management software offers user-friendly meeting room and desk booking software that can be accessed via desktop or mobile devices. By simplifying the process of reserving and managing workspaces, you’ll improve team productivity, reduce conflicts in selecting popular meeting rooms, and enhance overall workplace efficiency with streamlined collaboration. If your organization offers flexible work arrangements, room and desk booking software lets employees easily find and reserve available desks or meeting rooms, making it simple for those onsite to use the resources you offer to complete the job. 
3. Efficient people presence management: Understanding who works onsite and remotely is critical for keeping your workplace safe and secure. Large-scale enterprise organizations have a vast array of IP they want to protect, from essential data to the teams working in their buildings daily. IWMS systems with people presence management tools, including kiosks and apps, help organizations manage employees, visitors, and contractors from pre-visit compliance to onsite access and tracking. These tools ensure a secure and controlled environment while simplifying visitor management processes and freeing the front desk and reception teams to fulfil the many other duties in their busy work schedule. By monitoring visitor and contractor movements, you can effortlessly maintain a high level of security and compliance and ensure only those who should be onsite gain access to your organization. 

Operations management:

1. Proactive facilities management: IWMS software offers proactive facilities management capabilities for preventive and ad hoc maintenance, asset lifespan optimization, and cost minimization. Organizations can reduce downtime, extend asset lifespan, and minimize ownership and operation costs by automating maintenance processes. One example is a hospital using IWMS facilities management software to proactively schedule maintenance tasks, ensure the smooth operation of critical medical equipment, and minimize disruptions to patient care. 
2. Energy and sustainability optimization: IWMS systems with energy and sustainability features or modules significantly benefit organizations looking to reduce energy costs, improve environmental sustainability, and enhance workplace health and occupant well-being. Organizations can achieve significant cost savings by monitoring energy consumption, identifying inefficiencies, and implementing sustainable practices while demonstrating their commitment to environmental responsibility. By monitoring energy usage across your portfolio, you’ll locate high-consumption areas and highlight where and how to implement energy-saving measures while tracking positive progress towards organizational and governmental sustainability goals. 
3. Efficient project management: IWMS software provides deep financial functionalities for all phases of project management. By integrating project management capabilities, organizations can effectively plan, execute, and monitor projects, ensuring they are completed within budget and timelines. An example is a construction company using IWMS project management tools to track project costs, allocate resources, monitor project progress, and streamline stakeholder communication, leading to successful project delivery and improved profitability. 

By using IWMS solutions in real estate, workplace, and operations management, organizations can optimize their processes, improve efficiency, reduce costs, and create a productive and sustainable work environment.  

Want to know more?

MRI Software has gone a step beyond the IWMS with our extensible workplace management solution – or as we call it, the XWMS. This open and connected solution gives you the ability to add different aspects of the workplace system when you need them, providing total scalability. 

To learn more or to arrange a demonstration, contact us today. 

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