Digital adoption in facility management industry: Reinventing the future of facilities with Digital FM

“Originally published by Angad Rajain on LinkedIn”

In the backdrop of COVID-19 pandemic, the way organizations utilize real-estate has changed rapidly, transforming the means through which facility management provider can support them. Many of the businesses have already chosen the avenue of reducing the office space and shrinking the office locations. Some, on the other hand, are still exploring the alternatives such as adopting permanent hybrid workforce model and making workplaces safer for occupants.

As per a 2020 survey from CISCO, 97% of employees want changes in workplace management to make them feel safer at work while 96% indicate they need intelligent workplace technology to improve work environments. While businesses need to provide safe work atmosphere, requiring new efforts and solutions, mitigating costs and capturing savings are the pressing concerns for businesses. Fortunately, Digital FM can play a significant role in making the work environment safer and more comfortable for employees. In the current situation, facilities managers advise the C-suite and key decision-makers on the kind of right facilities and solutions required to create new levels of workplace safety, employee experience, and space utilization.

Technology has always been at fore in facility management industry during pre-corona times, but it has now emerged as quite inevitable for any FM company. The FM companies which ignore technology or underestimate the value it holds at this time are in danger of being left behind. In fact, the global FM industry has started adopting Internet of Things (IoT), Artificial Intelligence (A.I.), Saas and connectivity-based approach to manage and optimize buildings. Be it IoT powered iRobot Roomba vacuum cleaner or smart/intelligent bulbs which adjust their colour balance and brightness throughout the day according to the light of the room, tech-enabled FM systems increase control over buildings, automate the workflows, and brings data collection and analytics in play.