By analyzing hundreds of interactions with software buyers, we what facilities management software buyers are seeking in a system, from the most common applications used, their pain points with current methods and demographic information.

1. Software Advice BuyerView:
Facilities Management Report
Insight into today’s software buyer

2. Facilities managers are crucial employees of businesses in a wide variety of
industries. Whether it's offices, school buildings, apartments or manufacturing
plants, facilities management software is required to effectively track equipment,
schedule regular maintenance and generate reports to identify inefficiencies. To
get a better sense of how facilities managers use software, we analyzed
hundreds of interactions with software buyers to find out:
• What are the most common methods facilities managers use to perform their
duties?
• How do the top industries in our sample use software differently?
• Why are they seeking new software solutions?
Abstract

3. The largest percentage of buyers (28 percent) say they have no formal system in
place. Coming in second, 23 percent say they use pen and paper.
Many Buyers Have No System in Place for Managing Facilities
Percent of sample N = 386
Pen and paper
Spreadsheets
Multiple methods
Facility/maintenance management software
Email/text messages
Custom software
Property management system
Database system
AutoCAD
Nothing
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30%
23%
12%
10%
9%
5%
4%
28%
2%
2%
1%

4. Educational facilities managers tend to use software most often (37 percent),
compared to 6 percent of those with offices and 12 percent for those in health care.
Educational Manager Most Likely to Use Facilities Management
Spreadsheets
Pen and paper
Email/text messages
Facility/maintenance management software
AutoCAD
Custom system
Nothing
0% 10% 20% 30% 40%
26%
11%
14%
23%
15%
33%
9%
11%
6%
37%
12%
6%
7%
5%
28%
17%
35%
0%
2%
2%
2%
Office Educational Health Care
N = 46N = 47 N = 43

5. Nearly 40 percent manage one to four buildings, while just over one-fifth manage
10 to 24. Overall, three-quarters manage between one and 24 buildings.
Buyers From Small Businesses Seek Software to Maintain Records
1%15
2 - 4%24
5 - 9%15
10 - 24%21
N = 386
25 - 49%9
50 - 99%7
100 - 199%4
200+%5

6. The greatest percentage (35 percent) cite challenges with keeping records for
services performed. Another 22 percent need to improve maintenance scheduling.
35 Percent Need New Software to Improve Record-Keeping
Improve record keeping
Improve maintenance scheduling
Need to automate
Need facilities-specific system
Current is not user-friendly
Current is missing features
Improve integration
Current is poorly supported
Need to scale up
Need space management
0% 10% 20% 30% 40%
35%
22%
19%
11%
9%
7%
6%
6%
5%
3%
Percent of sample N = 386

7. For 31 percent of buyers, keeping maintenance records with manual methods is a
daunting task, and 27 percent simply want to automate their existing methods.
Manual Method Users Also Need Better Record-Keeping
Improve record keeping
Need to automate
Improve maintenance scheduling
Current is poorly supported
Need facilities-specific system
0% 10% 20% 30% 40%
31%
27%
22%
4%
3%
Percent of sample
N = 125

8. The largest percentage of PMS users say they are seeking new software because
they need a system designed specifically for facilities management (22 percent).
PMS Users Lack Facilities Management-Specific Features
Need facilities-specific system
Current software missing features
Current is poorly supported
Improve record keeping
Improve maintenance scheduling
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25%
Percent of sample
N = 65
22%
17%
9%
8%
8%

9. Read the full report
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10. Software Advice™ is a trusted resource for software buyers. The company's
website, www.softwareadvice.com, provides detailed reviews, comparisons and
research to help organizations choose the right software. Meanwhile, the company’s
team of software analysts provide free telephone consultations to help each
software buyer identify systems that best fit their needs. In the process, Software
Advice connects software buyers and sellers, generating high-quality opportunities
for software vendors.
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