I'm convinced that the power of integrated workplace management systems (IWMS) will be embraced and leveraged by thousands of businesses seeking to substantially improve their cost structure, energy efficiency and worker productivity in this period of global recession (depression?) And the initiatives by the Obama adminsitration will propel this uptake in IWMS particularly for the public sector. Let me explain:
- The stimulus package will stress infrastructure investment particularly for energy efficiency projects. IMWS has the functionality and tools to analyze and track the energy efficiency and carbon footprint of the enterprise.
- President Obama has insisted that the stimulus package be executed with two key priorities-transparency and governmental oversite. IWMS will clearly assist both the private sector and government regulators to track, analyze, and assess the performance of these infrastructure investments. The IWMS functionality of portfolio performance management can be readily adapted to enhance transparency and accountability.
- Infractructure projects will demand sophisticated project and program management tools. These tools are readily available in IWMS software, and would be particularly applicable for the upgrade or new build of educational and medical facilities.
- With a shrinking workforce, at least in the short term, businesses must drive greater productivity and operational effectiveness. By employing the process management capabilities of IWMS, businesses can greatly enhance the productivity of their facilities operations staff.
- The economic meltdown is hitting every sector of the economy, but none more so than the retail industry which is experiencing horrendous declines in consumer demand. By utilizing IWMS, retailers can vastly improve the complex process of store closings and/or redeployments, cutting the cycle by weeks even months, translating directly into improved cash flow.
- At the center of the economic crisis is toxic financial assets, typically sub-prime mortages on properties where loan balances exceed the market value of the properties. Government agencies like the Resolution Trust Corporation of the 1980s will emerge to manage these vast portfolios of underperforming assets. IWMS can be leveraged to manage these complex portfolios, and offer the process tools, reporting mechanisms, and data base management capabilities that will be essential to execute millions of transactions in the disposition of these assets over time.
The confluence of two huge forces: the economic crisis combined with the new adminsitration's insistence on transparency and accountability, will drive focus and demand for the capabilities of IWMS. These systems enhance transparency by providing a lens into the assets and costs of corporate and governmental portfolios. The systems enhance accountability by providing performance management capability around the management of real estate portfolios and workplace services. I predict that the new adminsitration will discover the capabilities of IWMS and take the lead in deploying this software in many of the government agencies including specifically Treasury, EPA, Energy, Commerce, and perhaps both the Defense and State Departments. This is particularly good news for the IWMS vendors and service firms.
