Facility management is getting more complex.
In today’s facility management industry, using one tool to try and achieve everything doesn’t work anymore. With Maintenance 5.0 and the increased emphasis on efficiency, human centricity, and sustainability, not to mention the competition’s raising standards, the ability to tailor your operations to your specific needs can be a game-changer.
This is why integrations and integrability are crucial, and why the intelligent maintenance management platform (IMMP) is gaining popularity among top facility managers worldwide. As a platform intentionally designed for this purpose, the IMMP enables you to connect other tools more efficiently and seamlessly.
The old CMMS can perform inventory tracking, preventive management plan creation, and work order closure very well — many powerful tools available excel in these tasks. However, integrations are the main area where they may have some limitations.
Integrations are key
At Infraspeak, our philosophy towards integrations is very clear. We currently support over 100 different integrations — IOT devices, software and hardware — and the reasons are simple:
- Scalability — we understand that every operation is different and we want to enable all types. This means we need to consider different preferences and management styles.
- Flexibility — nobody wants to be tied in! Choose integrations freely with the knowledge that you’ll have the flexibility to add/remove/change tools as you grow.
- Collaboration— the FM world is tough enough as it is without extra obstacles! Integrating key tools used by other departments adds visibility and keeps everyone on the same page.
Today’s article is going to read a little bit like late-night shopping tv. You know the sort! A ‘what’s what’ of available integrations that we support. We firmly believe that there is an integration out there that will transform any operation, but naturally, it can be hard to know where to start.
Let’s now run through the 5 main integration categories together and look at a few of the most popular choices that we support right now — remember, we can always add another integration if you need it — our API is very, very open.
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software
In many companies, a significant amount of key data and information is generated and used by other departments. Staff running compliance, staff management, and procurement may not use the same tools that facility managers use every day.
This is where ERP integration truly shines. The ERP brings all this data together into a single source of truth, providing all departments with complete control and visibility over all areas of their operations. ERPs are very powerful and can process thousands of data points per minute!
If you have one already, great! Time to integrate it. If you’re still deciding whether the ERP-IMMP integration is for you, here are some of the main reasons you should consider it:
- Automatically sync data on stocks, customers and services provided
- Save time by automating invoice creation and inventory management
- Decrease the risk of human error by cutting data entry
- Increase productivity
- Simplify reporting
- Speed decision-making by having access to all the data you need!
Some of the most popular ERPs that we support are:
SAP, Cegid Primavera, PHC, SAGE
Accounting and sales tools
Your finance department is the oil that lubricates the whole machine, yet often they work with the odds stacked against them — if they can’t get invoices in through the door and POs sent out quickly, your company will grind to a halt. Inefficient communication processes, hours spent manually running calculations on discounts and filling out invoices, manually updating spreadsheets to reflect all the work they just did…
They definitely deserve a helping hand and integrating your IMMP with one of the world-class accounting tools available is a great step in the right direction.
The benefit of a tool like Xero is, once again, centralised data. This all-in-one accounting tool will transform not only your maintenance operations but your entire finance operation, maintenance included. You’ll be able:
- Access all invoices, contacts and accounts remotely
- Connect your bank and save all your details.
- Easily sync financial information.
- Collaborate in real-time with partners and teammates.
- Work with your accountant, bookkeeper or employees to iterate invoices and POs.
It’s very clear to see how this will change your operation for the better, but your maintenance operation more specifically? Well, here’s how:
- Approve a sale in Infraspeak’s Sales app and it will appear on your tool as a pre-invoice. All your accounting team need to do is confirm payments!
- Improving transparency and customer trust — they’ll have more and better payment options including online card payments! No more dodgy PDFs.
- Adjust contracts and set prices more accurately and in a smoother, more sophisticated way — this will save you and the customer heaps of time!
- Eliminating paper and duplicate records — not much more to say!
Some of the most popular accounting tools that we support are:
Xero, Quickbooks, Zoho Invoice, FreshBooks
Building Management Systems (BMS)
Facility management and building management are not identical, but, of course, there’s considerable overlap. In a contemporary building, numerous systems and processes work together, and traditional facility services and maintenance are only some of the processes that require management. You’ll also need to manage access control, video surveillance, fire prevention systems, electrical systems, and much more.
The big advantage of a BMS for many companies is sustainability — they’ve been shown to cut energy consumption by up to 30%. Indeed, they have been proven to work so well that by 2025, building automation control systems (BACS) like the BMS will be required in all European Union commercial buildings.
Integrating your BMS with your IMMP is an exceptional way of adding one final layer of efficiency and intelligence to your operations — e.g. work orders are inextricably linked with facility management but clearly have a huge impact on building management processes like fire prevention. Users would otherwise need to log data twice and this wastes time and resources and reduces the chance of you identifying crucial patterns, spikes or outliers.
Some of the most popular BMSs that we support are:
Siemens Desigo™ CC, BISYS (PRIAC), Projedomus
Data Analytics Platforms
The value of commodities has changed significantly over the years. In the past, salt was commonly used in business deals, but now, data is the new currency. Data is a crucial driving force behind all operations, and the more you know and understand your data, the greater your chances of success. It’s that simple!
The thing that’s awesome about operational data is that most of the time, whatever it is you want to find out is already there — you just need to find a way of accessing, processing and visualising it in a meaningful way that allows you to make proper insights.
Fortunately, there are plug-and-play solutions out there which can process your Infraspeak’s key data on work orders, planned jobs (and even things like billing data from integrated accounting tools 👀) to create clean, comprehensive, usable graphs and reports that will transform your business intelligence and decision making.
It’s an absolute must!
Some of the most popular data analytics platforms that we support are:
IoT devices and hardware
Great things come in small packages… big packages… sensor-shaped packages and other shaped packages! The opportunity today to customise your operation using cutting-edge IoT (Internet of Things) devices and hardware is more significant than ever before.
Unlike the other categories, it’s hard to give an overview of what you can achieve with these devices are there are so many, and each one is so different! Instead, we’ll provide you with a list of our favourite 3 IoT-hardware integrations that our platform supports:
1. Airthings
Airthings is a Norwegian global company and producer of indoor quality monitors for homeowners, businesses and professionals. Airthings monitors people’s close environment with simple, affordable, and accurate solutions to help people breathe cleaner air. They offer scalable solutions that fit seamlessly with the Infraspeak platform — saving money, and energy and protecting the environment! An awesome gadget that works in any type of facility.
2. Occupancy sensors
Facilities, surprise, surprise, use different amounts of energy based on how many people are using their space! This isn’t rocket science, but achieving accurate people counts can be difficult to implement in practice. Fortunately, technology saves the day once again.
Occupancy sensors detect people in a room or corridor, enabling you to measure space utilization. They can save up to 60% in energy costs and reduce waste by 68%. When integrated with Infraspeak, they can trigger work orders, such as cleaning a restroom after 100 uses.
3. Energy Monitoring
Similar to using sensors to monitor air quality, you can save huge amounts of energy, and money and improve your sustainability performance by linking energy monitoring software to your assets. They’ll keep track of how much energy is being used and feed that data back to you in useful, actionable insights.
This allows you to:
- See and centralise energy consumption trends inside Infraspeak on our Utilities app.
- Open WO based on consumptions out of a pre-defined threshold
- Optimise the energy performance of your facilities over time
There are different ways that these systems can be set up, depending on which option you choose. Engie, KISense and Cubi Energy are just some of the options we support — we can help you choose the best one for your business! Just ask.
Decision time can be hard!
With so much incredible software and hardware out there, choosing the right integration for your operation can be hard.
You need to consider current operational priorities and how this may change moving forward; purchasing costs and relative ROI; who will use a potential integration… the list goes on and on.
Integrations may sound intimidating, but they’re straightforward and easy with our platform. Our integration specialists can guide you through the options and help you choose the best one for your needs. Whether you need an ERP like SAP or Power BI, we’re here to help.
Reach out to your customer success manager or schedule a demo with one of our experts to find out a bit more about our platform and available integrations.
