Contrary to popular belief, you don’t need to invest a fortune to get value from your data or wait months or even years for ROI. The key lies in strategically identifying where you want to create an impact with your data. Start with the end in mind.
In the built environment; information is flowing from various sources – operating platforms, energy metering, access control systems, IoT devices, CAFM and BMS systems, etc.

A common mistake we’ve seen in the industry is capturing this data for the sake of capturing data.
The raw data is mostly rubbish. So, organisations decide to gather it, clean it, prepare it and two or three years later, and several hundreds of thousands of pounds down, they’ve got a massive data warehouse with lots of neat data.
But they don’t have a clue what they’re going to do with it. And only at this point do they start thinking about what impact it could have and what value it could deliver.
What we've always said is - no, start with the impact, and look for low-hanging fruit first.
Pick two or three bits of data, get that value immediately, and then look at the next impact.
That way, you don’t have to build a business case that costs a fortune, like some of the big FM companies do, in order to drive data-informed actions and be able to get a return on investment.
Think of the insights that you want to derive to reduce risk, reduce costs, or increase turnover. Think of the impact it will have on the organisation over time.

Start with the end in mind.
The era of simply measuring KPIs is (or at least should be) over.
Key performance indicators, by definition, focus on the past. They provide us with a history lesson.
We’re now in an era where data can and should be used to have an impact on the future, and only then it is truly valuable.
- Ask yourself:
- What question do I want to answer?
- What's the value of answering that question?
- What will it give me once I've answered it?
- A lot of the questions sometimes are about vanity rather than sanity. So, you need to dive deeper:
- What will it do for me in the future?
- What can I predict?
- What can I assume?
- What can I understand that is likely to happen?
- And most importantly:
- What action is that going to allow me to take?
Remember, 90% of insights die at the dashboard; it’s putting your newfound knowledge to work that generates the impact.
How exactly does it apply to FM operations?
Whether you’re the in-house FM professional striving to fine-tune building performance or the service provider fielding clients’ demands beyond mere KPI stats, the principles remain the same.
Now, you’ve likely heard variations of the following sentiment echoed countless times, almost to the point of cliché. Yet, clichés are so often said because they hold true:
COVID’s impact has reshaped our relationship with facilities.

With hybrid and flexible work models taking centre stage, FM professionals must pivot to align with this new paradigm of building utilisation and optimisation.
The burning questions we ought to be posing are:
- How can we leverage our building's space more efficiently?
- How can we cut costs when that building isn't being used effectively?
- When is our staff in?
- What do our staff need?
- When are they not there?
- How can we repurpose the space during these downtimes?
And those are not typically the type of questions that you will answer through a set of KPIs.
So, how do you answer them?
Analytics in Facilities Management
Typically, we see that the more data sources you combine, the higher the value of the insights.
In any scenario, eight or ten different data sources are blended to uncover valuable patterns and information that create the real impact on the organisation.
We talked about 5 hacks to maximise the impact of your FM data here, but to summarise:
- Get granular on your energy data
- Prioritise health and wellness initiatives
- Scenario planning
- Optimise your workspace
- Analyse your maintenance data
Start small, think big.
In the realm of FM, data isn’t just about numbers—it’s about driving meaningful change. Don’t drown in a sea of information; focus on what matters. Leverage diverse data sources to unearth actionable insights.
It's not about the past; it's about making impact on the future.
