FM:Systems
Systems

Given that most businesses operate across multiple facilities, the challenge for companies is to gain insight into their under-utilized office and research space. The need is to understand the placement of workstations, the identity of occupants, and the utilization of the spaces. “In the realm of facility and real-estate information, we provide value to our customers by helping them optimize their real-estate, understand the use of their existing facilities and develop the data needed to reduce vacancies,” says Michael Schley, CEO and Founder, FM: Systems.

Raleigh-based FM:Systems helps facilities and real estate professionals improve customer service, reduce costs and increase productivity enterprise-wide. FM:Interact, the integrated suite of powerful web-based facility management tools helps manage today’s dynamic facilities and real estate workflow needs, offering visibility into space and occupancy. “The ability to deliver enterprise software in a rapid manner is core to what we do. We add central value to our client’s operations in the allocation of right seats to people, managing real estate, and getting more out of the available space. Microsoft technologies, which we use in our product, are making this feature possible by linking people to the visuals of floor plans,” says Schley.

Being gold partners with Microsoft, Schley extols Microsoft product’s ease of deployment in an enterprise setting. “Using Microsoft technologies like Active Directory gives easy access to the ‘who’s who’ of the organization. We cross-map that in several ways—the seat allotment of individuals, capturing data on who comes in to work each morning, reaching out to them and connecting with other information,” says Schley.“For the hosted environment, we are using the Microsoft Hyper-V product for virtualization of our data center. We maximize the use of hardware, by creating a number of virtual environments with this technology.”

FM:Systems’ typical client engagement starts with the need analysis, and presents best of class concepts. Schley says, the ideal situation is tailor the technology solution to the customer’s unique needs while helping the customer improve their processes to take advantage of technology.

“Rather than writing custom code, we use our system’s configuration tools to quickly and easily create new data schema, business logic and even presentation logic to deliver a tailored solution rapidly and cost effectively” says Schley. Upgrades to newer version are faster since clients do not have one of a kind custom solutions—every customer has a unique solution; but all customers run the same underlying code.

Schley describes an example that happens often when companies want to grow smartly. A large technology company had more space when they acquired companies but fewer people. Their need was to streamline and enhance the space utilization. By implementing FM:System’s software, the line managers could visually comprehend the space. “A department manager could now know that they are being charged for 20 workspaces. They might want to retain 15 and return 5 to the general pool of workspaces. “This company is saving 55 million dollars a year in real estate,” adds Schley.

In yet another example, an aerospace company had envisaged building a new facility for their projected additional workforce. Through FM:Systems’ software implementation, their facilities department proved that they had space available in the existing building and therefore avoided constructing the new building.

For the hosted environment, we are using the Microsoft Hyper-V product for virtualization of our data center

For the road ahead, Schley opines that since FM:Systems’ business collaborates with different business entities, the firm is incorporating newer and better technologies to add more products benefitting its global customer-base.