Comparison of CAFM Software (at least a small attempt)

No more dry consultant prose. After all, those who manage facilities don't fight with "synthetic synergy potentials" in everyday life, but with broken elevators, lost rental agreements, and Excel spreadsheets from hell.

Here is the unvarnished reality check for 8 arbitrarily ;-) selected CAFM tools – including the question of who really delivers and where you are just buying expensive frustration software.

Archibus: The Safe for Large Corporations

Archibus is not a fancy crayon tool for the mid-sized market, but a ton-heavy enterprise behemoth. If you manage tens of thousands of square meters and are looking for complete integration from real estate to maintenance to IoT, there is hardly any way around it.

• The catch: Archibus is only as good as your data. Garbage in = garbage out. Without months of data cleansing and tough change management, the system will become a million-dollar grave.

• Prognosis: 6 to 12 months implementation time. Absolutely start with a test area, otherwise your team will go crazy.

Planon: The Multi-Site Classic

Planon is the Dutchman among CAFM systems: structured, reliable, and extremely strong when you need to bring dozens of locations under control simultaneously.

• The catch: The modular license model sounds fair, but it will secretly drain your money for many locations if you don't nail down the scope from the start.

• Strength: Excellent dashboards for SLAs and budgets across multiple locations.

FM:Systems: The Space Whiz

If your biggest problem is: "Where the hell is everyone actually sitting and why are half the offices empty?", then FM:Systems is your candidate. The focus is clearly on space planning and occupancy analysis.

• The catch: Anyone looking for a full-fledged contract or deep maintenance module will have to build extensively.

• Practical Tip: Perfect for the hybrid world of work, but don't skimp on clean recording of your room IDs before starting.

IBM TRIRIGA: The AI Heavyweight

TRIRIGA is the solution for global corporations with their own IT army. Those who need to consolidate hundreds of locations, complex leasing models, and ESG sustainability goals into a single source of truth often end up here.

• The catch: Don't expect 'out-of-the-box' magic. It will take many months and a lot of consultant fees until TRIRIGA runs as desired.

• Conclusion: Maximum power with maximum complexity.

SpaceIQ: The Workplace Specialist

Don't feel like dealing with cumbersome monster software? SpaceIQ focuses on fast visualization, desk sharing, and sensor data. The interface is designed to be used without a three-day training.

• The catch: It is a pure space and workplace tool. You won't find classic asset management or maintenance planning here.

Lucernex: The Contract Artist

Part of the Accruent ecosystem and the absolute specialist for everything related to lease agreements, CAM reconciliations, and real estate controlling.

• The catch: Not a system for the technician with a wrench on site.

• Conclusion: Anyone who loses track in the jungle of lease agreements and ancillary cost statements will save real money with Lucernex.

SAP EAM: The IT Stroke of Fate

Does your company already run SAP S/4HANA at the enterprise level? Then the IT department will want to sell you on SAP EAM. The advantage is obvious: seamless data flow into financial accounting and procurement.

• The catch: The user-friendliness often still feels like the 90s, and the customizations are extremely rigid and expensive. Only worthwhile for true SAP behemoths.

iOffice: The Staff's Favorite Tool

iOffice puts the employee experience at the center. Desk booking via smartphone app, easy room booking, intuitive service tickets.

• The catch: Beautiful on the surface, but for the tough FM processes in the background (maintenance intervals, budgeting), integration with stronger back-end systems is absolutely necessary.

What You Really Need to Know Before Buying (FAQ)

Which tool is right for me? For medium-sized portfolios with multiple locations, modular cloud solutions are best. Planon or FM:Systems If you primarily want to organize office spaces, opt for SpaceIQ or iOffice.

Why do so many CAFM projects fail? It's almost never the software's fault. The two biggest killers are sloppy master data (old Excel remnants) and a lack of Change Management. If employees don't want to use the app, even the best dashboard is useless.

Cloud or On-Premise? In 95% of cases, cloud. You save yourself your own server infrastructure and get updates automatically. On-premise is almost only worthwhile today for highly sensitive infrastructures or extremely strict regulatory requirements.

How do I best get started? Take a Location as a pilot project. Clean up the data there, test the interfaces, and only then roll out the system gradually to the rest of the portfolio.