IWMS: Chaos or Creation? 10 "lines in the sand" to draw and cross when preparing to deploy an IWMS solution in your organization.
An Introduction to this Blog Series:
An Integrated Workplace Management System (IWMS) is defined as an enterprise-class software platform that incorporates the functionality an organization needs to manage and plan its real estate assets and facilities infrastructure. Contemporary IWMS platforms provide centralized management of a company’s real estate and leases, projects, facilities and space, maintenance operations, and environmental sustainability initiatives. Leading solutions also compel process adherence through the use of workflow automation.
Corporate Real Estate (CRE) leaders are being dealt increasingly complex networks of subsidiaries, customers and vendors. With real estate being an enterprise asset that typically represents their second largest spend, leaders are realizing that IWMS can no longer be thought of as a luxury, but must be thought of as an essential part of the enterprise technology landscape with benefits that will occur at an enterprise-level. In response, some common emerging goals around CRE technology that an IWMS addresses include:
- Alignment of organizational strategy with business processes.
- Availability of standardized information to stakeholders.
- Consolidation of the technology systems landscape.
- Elimination of redundant workstreams and creation of operational efficiencies.
- Improved governance and risk mitigation.
- Creation of an enterprise-wide analytical view.
- Cost reduction.
While there are many success stories from the last decade as to how technology can help you land in Utopia, there is also strong evidence that suggests that you stand the chance of arriving in the Land of Dystopia before your initiative matures and bears fruit. The risk of failure is not exclusive to IWMS. IT industry surveys offer sobering statistics for those who may be planning to invest in technology.
The Standish Group’s 2009 "CHAOS Summary” report shows a continued trend towards decreased IT project success rates, with only 32% of all respondents surveyed "succeeding in delivering on time, on budget, with required features and functions”. 44% were considered challenged in these categories and 24% of projects in the survey were cancelled prior to completion, or they were delivered and shelved.
With IT budgets typically on the decline in a challenging economy, failure can be a devastating blow.
Are you planning to cross the line in the sand and deploy an IWMS solution in your organization? Have you already taken the leap? Would you rather learn from your own mistakes, or from the mistakes of others who have been there?
Read on for ten observations and a little sound advice around what we believe to be common lines between failure and success.
| Visit the blog again soon to see each of the 10 "lines in the sand" as we continue to post and discuss. We look forward to your feedback. |
This White Paper in its entirety authored by Michael Levine, BRG Senior Vice President of Strategy and Marketing. This series is property of BRG.
