At the FMA’s FM Connect 2026 in Brisbane, Australia, Service Works Global (SWG) hosted an interactive masterclass for senior FM professionals exploring how organisations can overcome data silos and achieve greater value from PropTech integration.
Led by account manager Roshan Jhoomuck, product solutions manager Pål Janson and senior project manager Lionel Waugh, the session combined frontline insight from facilities managers, experience from client digitalisation projects and technical expertise around APIs and system integration.
The challenge of fragmented facilities data
Facilities teams rely on information for assets, maintenance, compliance, sustainability, space and contractors. However, this data is often spread across CAFM platforms, building management systems, spreadsheets, drawings and other applications.
Multiple systems and logins slow response times, duplicated entry creates opportunities for error, and reporting can become a time-consuming exercise in locating and reconciling information.
Jhoomuck began the masterclass stating “facilities managers rarely have a shortage of data. The challenge is finding it, knowing whether it can be trusted and bringing it together quickly enough to support the decision they need to make.”
Integration is already within reach
The session challenged the idea that integration must begin with a large digital transformation project. Many organisations already connect their CAFM with finance, contractor management, BMS or other operational systems.
These connections can reduce double entry, improve accuracy and make information more accessible. However, a CAFM is designed primarily to manage facilities and maintenance activity, rather than act as the central integration hub for every building and enterprise system.
Waugh explained how open APIs allow specialist systems to exchange information automatically while continuing to perform the functions for which they were designed.
Integration in practice
Real-world examples from SWG demonstrated how connecting information can support a variety of FM outcomes. These included bringing together sensors, asset records and digital building data to enable more predictive maintenance; combining energy, occupancy, comfort and space information to support sustainability; and consolidating data held across multiple systems to reduce logins and help teams respond more quickly.
“Integration works best when it starts with a clear operational need, whether that is improving asset reliability, strengthening compliance or supporting better sustainability decisions,” advised Janson.
Attendees tackle real site challenges
The interactive part of the masterclass invited attendees to work in groups and explore how integration could resolve a range of site-based FM challenges. They identified relevant systems and data sources before presenting their proposed solutions to the room.
Reporting and compliance proved particularly popular subjects, reflecting the pressure on facilities teams to produce accurate evidence from information held across multiple platforms.
The discussion reinforced a central message from the session: organisations do not need to connect every source at once. Starting with a defined operational challenge can deliver practical value while creating a foundation for wider digitalisation.
By making information easier to access, trust and act upon, integration can reduce administrative effort, improve reporting and compliance, strengthen asset performance and support better-informed decisions across the building lifecycle.
