The difference between EAM/CMMS and IWMS
Iwmsnews.com frequently receives some very interesting questions that I want to share with you. These questions are a wonderful source of information of challenges that you face in your daily operations and I personally want to encourage you to keep sending those questions to me.
In this case one of our readers is involved in the process of launching a new EAM/CMMS system and he has asked for my advice. To clarify his question I have copied (parts of) the email below:
Question
Dear Steven,
The company I work for is getting close to launching a SaaS EAM/CMMS system. The system will have:
- Asset Management
- Work Order Management
- Inspection Management
- Document Management
- Work Dashboard(s)
- Meter Reading Dashboard(s)
- Mobility
We have a lot of experience in the lodging vertical and are slowly moving into other verticals with this product.
- Do you have any advice on feature/functions that you think are requirements?
- What separates a EAM/CMMS from a IWMS and why is that distinction important?
Answer
Regarding your first question:
Even for me it’s hard to advice you on a feature level what the requirements of your potential customers would be. However, I’ll try to give you some guidelines which can assist you in understanding the need of the customer. First of all to me your application seems to be operationally focused. Despite the fact that the application will contain Work Dashboards and Meter Reading Dashboards I don’t see Reporting as integrated part of the solution.
From my point of view the output of the system (reports, dashboards, etc.) will eventually define it’s success. If your solution can provide tactical insight to which Assets need to be replaced or even disposed based on specific parameters then your solution will provide added value for your customer. And that is what it is all about! Your solution should provide decision support for the MT based on aggregated data from different parts of the system.
In addition to reporting I would advice you to think about the following functionalities since they play an important role for almost all customers when selecting a EAM/CMMS.
- Contract and Warranty Management
- Budget Management
- Resource Scheduling
- Strategic Maintenance Planning
- Workflows
To what extend the above list applies to your customers is depending on a per customer base but this should help you prepare for questions that customers will ask.
Regarding your second question:
In general an EAM/CMMS is considered to be a vertical within an Integrated Workplace Management System. An IWMS covers more than just Maintenance related functionality. It also covers other areas of the customer working environment. Other key areas in IWMS’s are:
- Corporate Real Estate
- Project Management
- Facilities and Space Management
- Employee Services
The distintion between EAM/CMMS and IWMS is important as in the marketplace all non-corebusiness is becoming increasingly aligned and thus integrated. The need for integration has driven the development of IWMS’s over the last decade and will do so even more in the near future. From this perspective IWMS’s are becoming a strategical management asset to most companies.
Yours Sincerely,
Steven Hanks
CEO iwmsnews.com
Steve,
Thanks for answering my question. It was well though out and I have shared it internally. I’m pretty sure we can handle everything from the first part of the question, but we will discuss the parts in the second part of the question.
When we launch the product I would love your feedback from a demo.
Thanks for your help,
chris
Hi Chris,
I have to thank you for your wonderful question. Thanks for letting me answer it. I’m looking forward to your demo. Y
Yours sincerely,
Steven