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So far David Nicholson has created 8 blog entries.

ARCHIBUS and IoT

2018-03-29T17:20:28-05:00

The ARCHIBUS Difference

Experience counts, as well as Expertise. World class ARCHIBUS IoT Solutions for smart buildings are a result of the experience and expertise gained helping organizations maximize the value of their space. Every second of every day, ARCHIBUS customers utilize the powerful software capabilities of ARCHIBUS to make space- saving, revenue-generating, and productivity-enhancing decisions that impact their real estate portfolios.

Achieve Unparalleled Benefits

With ARCHIBUS IoT Solutions, space planning and occupancy management reach new levels of effectiveness. Using occupancy data collected from IoT technologies embedded within your organization’s smart building ecosystem, ARCHIBUS helps you:

  • Reduce real estate footprint, negotiate favorable lease agreements, and lower costs by identifying underutilized facilities, spaces, and seats.
  • Maximize occupant productivity by resizing and reconfiguring spaces of any type (office, open plan, conference, etc.) to fit mission objectives. •
  • Use trending occupancy data to ensure fairness in space allocations and space chargeback agreements for teams and individuals across the organization. •
  • Accurately bill facility occupants for actual space use, and for spaces booked but not occupied.
  • Forecast near to mid-term utilization of existing space inventory, and inform decisions to expedite or delay capital expansion projects.

Seamless Integration with Sensors and Locational Technologies

ARCHIBUS integrates seamlessly with a variety of smart technologies that detect space occupancy and locational presence. Learn More about ARCHIBUS and IoT

 

ARCHIBUS and IoT2018-03-29T17:20:28-05:00

ARCHIBUS Strategic Space Plannng

2018-01-17T07:40:12-06:00

Simplify strategic space planning and forecasting to support multifaceted space planning requirements

Benefits

  • Optimize space planning and forecasting at all levels—from the portfolio, city, site/campus, to the building and room levels
  • Plan short, medium, and long-term “what-if” scenarios for organizations of all sizes
  • Simplify strategic space planning, leveraging existing space inventory and use information
  • Ensure that key stakeholders envision and optimize requirements with detailed event-driven
    scenarios, including space configuration/allocation, leased/owned properties, and projects

Plan what-if scenarios of future space requirements for multiple building locations

Real estate, infrastructure and facilities professionals and teams require the ability to integrate and adjust existing space plans that align with the strategic space plan. They also define specific implementation plan requirements such as real estate transactions and renovation tasks, need to discuss affinities and moves with stakeholders, and flow results to projects, moves, and space inventory. The ARCHIBUS Strategic Space Planning application reduces the effort needed to accomplish these goals by integrating key stakeholders’ information in a single, central enterprise information model.

ARCHIBUS Strategic Space Plannng2018-01-17T07:40:12-06:00

3 Ideas for ARCHIBUS Managers in 2018

2018-03-29T17:20:29-05:00

3 Ideas for ARCHIBUS Managers in 2018

If you manage an ARCHIBUS system, use the first quarter to assess facility management (FM) goals. Assuming your objectives for the year are set, the ideas below provide insights on how to ensure things stay on track. These include goal alignment, IoT risk assessment, and system access.

1. Align FM goals with other departments and the broader enterprise.

Departmental goals often drift apart due to a variety of internal dynamics. For Facility Managers, ensuring your work aligns with other departmental priorities is important. In addition, FM goals should support objectives set by executive leadership.

As expected, some organizations align internal goals better than others. For an ARCHIBUS manager, three areas stand out. They include IT, Finance, and Human Resources (HR). It is tempting to believe that coordination between business units is the norm. But departments often initiate projects that run at cross-purposes. Below are trends in these areas to keep on your radar.

For IT, the movement of enterprise systems to cloud platform providers remains a goal. These projects may impact your ARCHIBUS implementation. Of course, hosted services are available for ARCHIBUS. If you plan to move your on-premise system to the cloud, you should contact your ARCHIBUS partner for guidance. The question to ask is: Do such plans exist on the IT roadmap? If so, how does this impact the ARCHIBUS system?

CFO’s are increasingly looking to improve the flow of financial data. Some finance executives are promoting a ‘data-driven culture.’ Facility Managers may wince at the idea of being responsible for more data or reporting. However, this moment may offer an opportunity to upgrade or expand your FM system. With the help of your ARCHIBUS partner, a case for enhancements can be made. With an investment in the existing system, finance achieves better data capture. In turn, the importance of ARCHIBUS increases among key stakeholders.

Human Resource (HR) departments continue to ramp-up the remote workforce. Knowing the objectives of HR can help you prepare for space management projects. Does your existing system allow for hoteling and reservations? If not, defining future workforce expectations might be a good idea. Facility Managers should ask whether departments are considering new enterprise software. Integration with another database is something you want to know about as soon as possible. Because ARCHIBUS is an open-architecture database, system integration is a well-defined process. That is the good news.

Some believe routine communication between departments is linked to a larger planning process. But years of experience with organizations shows this assumption does not always hold true. Key takeaway: Make sure your goals are aligned with key departments across the enterprise.

2. IoT. Think and plan before you plug in.

Many organizations are hot for IoT. IoT (Internet of Things) is a universe of connected devices providing key physical data. This data is processed in the cloud to deliver business insights. There is no doubt that Facility Management stands to gain by implementing devices of this type.
But placing euphoria for technology before caution can bring disaster. Specifically, there are serious security concerns to consider. Your IoT devices could serve as the first node of entry for a hacker. Data privacy is of paramount importance. Before implementing a set of gadgets, it is best to discuss the plan with IT and the vendor. For example, how often and how long will the vendor provide firmware upgrades to your device? Vendors looking to cash in on this market will be focusing on their next device. At some point, your organization may be at risk because of outdated equipment. This is just one of a long list of concerns. Key takeaway: if you plan on an IoT project in 2018, spend time thinking and planning for all scenarios – good and bad.

3. Consider ways to increase access and transparency. By doing so, you leverage the power of your system. As a result, productivity and workplace cohesion improve.

Increasing access by adding licenses may help to distribute the workload across the organization. Administrative and managerial roles can use self-service features to manage data and view reports. Increased system access creates a sense of transparency. Expanding access also improves the understanding of how resources are allocated. Providing access to key personnel allows your staff to focus on mission-critical workflow and projects.

Extending the power of your ARCHIBUS system to mobile increases access and productivity. From space planning to asset management, a mobile-enabled system delivers much-needed relief to resources. Implementing mobile into your FM workflow saves time and money. Key takeaway: Increasing system access empowers staff and improves workplace understanding. Extending the system through mobile increases productivity.

We hope these ideas give you something to think about. We encourage our clients to take a proactive approach in planning. In doing so, we want to challenge the common assumptions taken in many organizations. Achieving business goals requires collaboration. New technology does provide opportunities – but also entails risks. And increasing system access does bring many benefits.

We wish you a great start in 2018.

The Team at OnLINE FM

3 Ideas for ARCHIBUS Managers in 20182018-03-29T17:20:29-05:00

Corporate Real Estate / Facilities COE – Thought Leadership Panel

2018-03-29T17:20:30-05:00

Corporate Real Estate / Facilities COE – Thought Leadership Panel

January 18, 2018 – January 18, 2018
10:00 AM EST
Virtual Online

Focusing on higher level issues relating to corporate real estate portfolio management professionals, the Corporate Real Estate/Facilities Center of Excellence addresses those concerns with a series of success stories covering total infrastructure planning and execution. Topics addressed will include: strategic planning, global real estate management, lease/buy decisions, FASB, the capital project approval cycle, managing capital projects, and strategic green initiatives

Register for Event Here

Corporate Real Estate / Facilities COE – Thought Leadership Panel2018-03-29T17:20:30-05:00

Why Software Support for Facilities Management is Crucial for Success

2018-03-29T17:20:31-05:00

Tim Robinson and the team at OnLINE FM believe it is important to communicate the realities of software support. To this end, OnLINE FM created a brief guide for those who want the real story on what to expect from different levels of support. The guide defines hourly, basic, application, and professional support. For existing ARCHIBUS clients and those evaluating their options, this support guide delivers valuable information.

Guide: Why Software Support for Facilities Management is Crucial for Success

Why Software Support for Facilities Management is Crucial for Success2018-03-29T17:20:31-05:00
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