What is IWMS: Definition, stats, and sustainable building benefits

The market for integrated workplace management systems has gained traction in recent years with the pandemic and rising energy costs accelerating demand and driving growth. According to Research and & Markets, the global IWMS market will reach $12.1 billion by 2027.

Today, a growing number of commercial real estate pros rely on IWMS software tools to streamline property management, optimize facilities utilization, and reduce costs. And with customers and employees increasingly demanding greener business practices, many are using the software to implement sustainability.

What is IWMS?

IWMS stands for integrated workplace management system. These software solutions provide a centralized platform for managing corporate real estate and facilities.

An IWMS streamlines real estate processes by providing an integrated system for multiple functions, including:

1. Space management, maintenance, and optimization
2. Lease management, including compliance
3. Capital project management
4. Personnel/staffing
5. Sustainability and energy management

Gartner is credited with coining the term and defining its functions two decades ago.

An IWMS helps reduce real estate and facility costs so building execs and real estate pros can increase building efficiencies, create more transparency, and provide a flexible environment to improve the customer experience as well as business productivity.

IWMS software often leverages the internet of things (IoT) devices that monitor and automate building equipment like lighting and HVAC systems. This integration provides companies with real-time information such as energy consumption and equipment performance that they can use to improve space utilization and maintenance.

Integrated workplace management benefits

One of many tools and strategies a commercial real estate pro needs in order to succeed is technology to better understand how property and facilities are being used. There are many ways an IWMS platform can help with this, including managing space with hoteling to visitor management to tracking and improving sustainability performance.

An IWMS solution provides a broad range of benefits, including:

1. Cost savings with improved operation efficiency and resource optimization
2. Increased productivity through automation and an improved employee experience
3. More effective portfolio management through strategic planning
4. Improved sustainability with better energy conservation and reduced waste
5. Better agility to adapt to changing market conditions

For the average enterprise, Research and Markets estimates that an IWMS solution can:

• Improve facility usage efficiency by 40%
• Reduce facility maintenance costs by 16%
• Improve workspace management by up to 46.7%

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Striving for sustainability: 4 ways an IWMS can help 

The days of sustainability being a mere buzzword are long over. Sustainability is now an expected corporate initiative, and consumers demand open and honest communication about an organization’s carbon footprint. Customer expectations have increased, and building owners need a way to record, report, and act on their environmental efforts.

According to Deloitte’s 2024 commercial real estate industry outlook, nearly 60% of real estate companies don’t have the data, processes, or internal controls needed to meet environmental, social, and governance (ESG) requirements.

Here’s where an IWMS really shines. With the right system in place, real estate pros, investors, and property owners can:

1. Monitor facilities and maintain an audit trail for ESG data, including energy and utility data.
2. Gain visibility into how many people are in the office/building and use that insight to optimize space usage (i.e., hoteling).
3. Automate the management of utilities. For example, when no one is in the building, automatically turn off lights or adjust thermostat settings.
4. Create custom reports on energy consumption and emissions and provide the results to stakeholders, giving the open and transparent communication that customers want and expect.

By leveraging technologies like IWMS and integrating them together with other systems such as ERP, facility management, and finance, you can turn insights into actions and create smart, sustainable facilities. You can be a good steward for both your business and the environment.

Now’s the time to build trust and transparency with your stakeholders and harness the power of your data to create a more sustainable world.