Computer Aided Facility Management (CAFM) software enables facility managers to plan, execute, and monitor all activities involved in space and workplace management, asset management, reactive and planned preventative maintenance, operational facility services, room reservations, and any other customer service request.
There is often confusion between CMMS and CAFM software, even though they serve very different purposes. CMMS (Computerized Maintenance Management System) software is primarily focused on preventive and corrective maintenance of technical equipment. CAFM software, on the other hand, covers a broader functional scope: space management, user services, work environment, and occupant well-being.
Ultimately, information from computer aided facility management software (CAFM) solutions allows managers to improve long-term planning of space, facilities, maintenance, services and budgets to ensure full alignment with core business needs.
A picture is worth a thousand words. Therefore, CAFM software integrates CAD drawings in various processes including space management, scenario planning, layout plans, flexible workplaces, moves, and technical management.
To ensure an efficient re-use of CAD drawings with CAFM software, drawings need to comply with conventions for layer structures, polylines, symbols, blocks, text, dimensioning, etc. These can either be your company standards or standards set by bodies such as ISO, CEN, or IFMA.
Compliance with these conventions allows you to ease the process of connecting CAD drawings to your CAFM solution and consistently exchanging relevant data including spaces, dimensions, and assets.
CAD drawings only deliver added value in CAFM systems when they are consistently updated. Updating CAD drawings is typically a specialized job in AutoCAD® that involves moving walls, merging or redefining spaces, and reallocating assets or departments. While these changes can be made quickly and easily within the CAD environment, they must also be reflected accurately in the CAFM database.
Modern CAFM software handles such data exchange processes in different ways: either through periodic imports of revised CAD drawings, or via real-time synchronization with the database. This ensures a consistent connection and reliable integration between CAFM and CAD.
A key strength of CAD software like AutoCAD® is its ability to create multiple scenarios for processes like space planning, move management, and asset management. When combining these scenarios with a CAFM solution, you can report, compare, and analyze scenarios to ensure the best choice.
Once a scenario has been chosen, the CAFM system will automatically update your database and support the processes with project management, workspace management, work order control, and budget management.
When combining CAFM (Computer Aided Facilities Management) and CAD, you can easily visualize real-time database information (including space usage, vacancies, and emergency escape routes) with colored mappings. This graphical visualization helps answer the “where” questions like where departments are located, where assets are situated, or where free space is available.
Modern CAFM solutions include viewers to allow a broad audience to query CAD drawings without specialized CAD software. Even apps on mobile phones can be used to query graphical information easily to search for free spaces, workplaces, or to simply find a colleague.
Computer Aided Facility Management software has undertaken major developments in both functionality and technology. Importantly, the integration of different Facility Management (FM) and Corporate Real Estate (CRE) processes within one single solution. Many organizations are still using point solutions or their in-house tools for specific processes, but there is a clear trend toward more integrated solutions.
Several software vendor label their CAFM system as IWMS (Integrated Workplace Management System) or CPIP (Connected Portfolio Intelligence Systems), but what’s the real difference in terms of functionality, technology, and value for your business?
Initially, CAFM systems were designed to handle specific facility management tasks, such as space planning, asset tracking, and maintenance management. These early systems focused on providing tools for recording and visualizing data, often with a strong reliance on CAD for space management. By the late 1990s and early 2000s, as organizations sought greater efficiencies and comprehensive insights across multiple operational areas, CAFM systems began incorporating additional functionality to support broader business processes. Organizations wanted a unified solution that could integrate real estate management, maintenance, and capital project management rather than relying on separate systems for each.
In 2004, Gartner introduced the term Integrated Workplace Management System or IWMS to reflect a whole new generation of unified software solutions. An IWMS was defined as an enterprise-class software platform that integrated key functions across five essential domains into a single technology platform with a centralized data repository. These five domains were:
An IWMS thus differs significantly from a CAFM by offering a much broader range of features and capabilities. But as Gartner notices, perhaps the most important difference is that true IWMS solutions are based on one single technology platform and database repository. This sets it apart from being a collection of point solutions.
In the late 2010’s, Connected Portfolio Intelligence Platforms (CPIP) emerged to represent the next evolution of CAFM/IWMS. CPIP solutions deliver enhanced customer value through insights derived from Internet of Things (IoT) and more advanced analytics. They integrate real-time data capture and advanced capabilities, such as predictive analytics and AI, to provide a more connected and intelligent offering.
Discover more about IWMS and CPIP, and find out if either solution meets your needs.
Are you still wondering what the main differences are between a CAFM, CMMS, IWMS, and CPIP? The table below highlights the main pros and cons of each solution.
| System | Focus | Pros | Cons |
|---|---|---|---|
| CAFM | Space management, maintenance scheduling, asset tracking and resource allocation | Cost-effective for smaller organizations, quicker implementation, customization options | Narrow functionality scope, limited scalability, more operationally focused, less strategic |
| IWMS | Space management, maintenance management, asset life cycle management, integrated services, energy and sustainability management, real estate management | Integrates and centralizes data from various sources, departments, and systems in real time, scalability. Configurability, integrates strategic insights with operations | May have longer implementation, extensive feature set may be overwhelming for organizations with limited requirements |
| CMMS | Maintenance operations and equipment upkeep | Streamlines maintenance processes and access high quality data for decision making | May have longer implementation, may require new process adoption |
| CPIP | Real-time data integration, advanced analytics, IoT-enabled insights, and smart building management | Provides enhanced customer value through IoT and analytics, supports smarter workflows and greater automation, modular and cloud-based for easy integration with third-party apps | May require significant investment in IoT infrastructure, complexity in managing and integrating diverse data sources, potential need for specialized skills to leverage advanced analytics |
Basically, an IWMS is an enterprise system designed to support a wider set of functions for large complex organizations. In contrast, CAFM has a narrower focus for managing facilities and their physical spaces, primarily aimed at medium to small organizations. A CMMS supports maintenance operations and equipment upkeep. And CPIP systems encompass all these functionalities but require more time for complete integration.
The combination of computer-aided facility management (CAFM) with the Internet of Things (IoT) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) is turning conventional buildings into smart, efficient environments. This integration significantly enhances facility management by improving efficiency, sustainability, and cost-effectiveness.
Are you reviewing which solution will best meet the needs of your organization? Then reach out to us for a personalized demo to see how Planon can empower your facility teams to meet today’s real estate needs, as well as those of tomorrow.
One of Planon’s clients, the University of Sunderland, found their legacy CAFM system was no longer keeping up with needs and expectations, and they decided to search for an IWMS instead to improve operations and reporting across multiple departments. They went live with Planon in 7 weeks.
Information from CAFM solutions help organizations manage their buildings and facilities more efficiently. This is how different professionals may use CAFM software:
Facility Managers
Real Estate Managers
Maintenance Managers
A professional may use Computer Aided Facilities Management (CAFM) solutions in the following ways:
Computer Aided Facility Management (CAFM) software offers a multitude of benefits for facility managers, empowering them to efficiently plan, execute, and monitor various activities related to space and workplace management, asset management, maintenance, operational services, room reservations, and customer service requests. Below are some of the key benefits:
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