Nivedha Sridhar, Facilio's director of marketing, considers challenges facing operators of legacy computerised maintenance management systems (CMMS), and how the latest iterations of operational maintenance software can keep businesses ahead of the curve.
Despite its reputation for being somewhat of a laggard in adopting new technologies, the built environment is experiencing a watershed moment as it embraces transformation and catches up with other industries.
Several compelling factors are bringing about the metamorphosis for operators of real estate, including the impact of the climate crises, the pandemic, and now a looming global recession.
Operations and maintenance (O&M) teams are realizing the value of doing more with less
Each stakeholder in the life of a building has priorities.
But these priorities are now changing.
While tenants / customers once wanted cheap office space and glamorous facilities, now they prioritise health, safety, hybrid-friendly and sustainable spaces.
Building owners now want more from their buildings too - they want access to generational data, visibility into the granular as well as big picture, and value for money.
This shift in priorities has led to the role of O&M teams evolving too - they no longer are tactical task owners but need to become value drivers playing a more strategic role in the building portfolio’s performance.
Unfortunately, the technology they are currently using doesn’t support this shift.
There's a huge latency between legacy CMMS tools and the state of building operations today.
Traditional CMMS needs innovation big time
O&M teams are still stuck with the rigidity, inadequacy and non-interoperability of traditional CMMS software.
Here’s what O&M is missing out on:
Customers are forced to adopt system processes and change their O&M activities according to the rigid-default process.-item wp:list-item
Any system is only as good as the people who use it.
The complexity of legacy tools stands in the way of field teams using them to their full potential.
What they need is an easy-to-navigate user interface that works seamlessly on their phone or tab.
Besides, bloated systems which don’t allow the flexibility of adding or removing modules turn out to be expensive and resource intensive.
What is common in all of these?
With more getting done through emails and spreadsheets, your current solution is inadequate, surely!
What can a ‘future-ready’ connected CMMS do?
Modern O&M teams understand that building portfolios require robust and efficient software to manage this transformation and support the expanding roles of O&M.
Today’s CMMS should effectively oversee operations, review performance, optimize costs, and improve operational efficiency in the long term, all through a single dashboard, and reimagine property operations as a holistic and unified function.
Here’s where a connected CMMS enables a single-pane-of-glass for large property operations and maintenance teams.
A CMMS needs to effortlessly connect people, processes and systems, keeping people at the center of it all.
The solution must seamlessly integrate into the organisation’s existing processes under one digital ecosystem.
It needs to go beyond work orders and maintenance to automate processes, enable stakeholder engagement, and drive connected efficiency.
‘Future-ready’ CMMS is a user-friendly open-source ecosystem with sustainability at its core, offering unlimited scalability and seamless cross-functional communication capabilities.
Some of the world’s most successful real estate and facilities management organizations are already driving business value with a Connected CMMS platform.
Building owners now want more from their buildings too
It’s only a matter of time that others follow.
