CMMS vs IWMS vs CAFM: Which One Do You Need?
CMMS vs IWMS comes down to scope. A CMMS (computerized maintenance management system) runs maintenance: work orders, preventive schedules, assets and parts. An IWMS (integrated workplace management system) covers the whole real estate and workplace portfolio: leases, space, maintenance, projects and often energy. CAFM (computer-aided facility management) is the oldest and loosest label, usually software built around floor plans, space and assets. Choose by the problem you have most days: maintenance points to a CMMS, portfolio and lease decisions point to an IWMS.
The labels overlap more than the vendors admit, so here is what each one means according to the people who define the categories, and a table of what each usually includes.
What the analysts say each one is
CMMS. Gartner's IT glossary still defines a CMMS in its manufacturing origins: "Application software used to provide for work and materials management of maintenance activities in a manufacturing organization." Verdantix, which covers buildings software, defines commercial buildings CMMS as "Software that maintains a database of maintenance operations data, facilitating the planning, scheduling, tracking, measurement and optimization of maintenance activities across work orders, inventory and asset information management for commercial real estate and facilities."
A practitioner's version, from an IFMA Facility Management Journal article in February 2026: facility managers use a CMMS "to organize maintenance activities, track assets, manage work orders and plan for future capital needs."
IWMS. Verdantix now files IWMS together with what it calls connected portfolio intelligence platforms, and defines the combined category as "A unified application suite covering real estate portfolio management, lease management, space and workplace management, facilities maintenance and service management, energy intelligence and building asset lifecycle management." Gartner still publishes research on the category under the IWMS name, including its Market Guide for Integrated Workplace Management Systems from September 2024.
CAFM. Neither analyst publishes a public definition of CAFM that we could find; Verdantix lists it as a category name in its software roadmaps. In practice, vendors use the term for systems that manage space, moves and assets around floor plans, and it is used more in the UK and Europe than in the US.
What each one usually includes
Vendors vary, so read this as the typical scope, not a rule.
| Capability | CMMS | CAFM | IWMS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work orders and service requests | Core | Usually | Yes |
| Preventive maintenance schedules | Core | Usually | Yes |
| Asset register and maintenance history | Core | Usually | Yes |
| Parts and supplies inventory | Usually | Sometimes | Sometimes |
| Floor plans, space and moves | Rarely | Core | Yes |
| Lease administration | No | Sometimes | Yes |
| Real estate portfolio management | No | No | Core |
| Energy and sustainability | No | Rarely | Often |
| Capital projects | No | Rarely | Often |
The pattern: a CMMS goes deep on maintenance and stops there. An IWMS goes wide across the portfolio, which is why it is usually the most expensive and slowest to roll out. CAFM sits in between, anchored on space.
Which one do you need?
Start from the work your team does every day, not from the category name.
- Most of the day is reactive and preventive maintenance, with technicians in the field. A CMMS fits.
- Most of the day is space: moves, seating, floor changes. CAFM or the space module of an IWMS fits.
- The big decisions are about the portfolio: which leases to renew, which buildings to keep. An IWMS fits, if you have the team to run it.
- The day is everything at once: requests, vendors, supplies, a mailroom, leases, a cleaning crew and a time clock, in a handful of buildings. None of the three labels fits cleanly, and a stack of separate tools means the same building, vendor and person get typed into each one.
That last group is bigger than the software categories suggest. In a small IFMA benchmark of European facilities teams published in 2022, 69% of respondents said they used Excel or manual spreadsheets to manage, schedule and track maintenance costs and activities. The sample was small (about 35 respondents) and European, so treat it as a sign rather than a statistic: for many teams, the real alternative to all three categories is still a spreadsheet.
Questions to ask any vendor, whatever they call themselves
- Show me a request from the moment it is logged to the moment it closes. Every step should carry a time and a name. See our post on work order response time for why.
- What happens to the next preventive maintenance date when a job runs late? The answer tells you if they understand calendar versus completion scheduling.
- Where do vendors' insurance certificates live, and who is warned before they expire?
- How long until my team is using it every day? Months of configuration is normal for an IWMS. It should not be for day-to-day operations.
- Which modules can I switch off? You should not pay for, or train people on, what you do not use.
Where MAFM fits, and where it does not
MAFM is built for the last group above: facilities teams that run daily operations across several areas at once. It is one system for service requests, assets and preventive maintenance, supplies inventory, leases, space and desks, the mailroom, vendors, scheduling and the time clock, with modules switched on per company. Our founders run their own facilities company on it.
It is not an energy management platform, and it does not connect to building automation systems. If those are the center of your work, a specialist tool or an IWMS will serve you better. See the platform overview for the full module list.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between a CMMS and an IWMS?
A CMMS manages maintenance: work orders, preventive schedules, assets and parts. An IWMS covers the wider real estate and workplace portfolio, including leases, space, maintenance and often energy and capital projects. Most IWMS products include CMMS features; few CMMS products include portfolio features.
What does CAFM stand for?
CAFM stands for computer-aided facility management. It usually means software built around floor plans to manage space, moves and assets, sometimes with maintenance. The term is used more in the UK and Europe than in the US.
Is IWMS still a software category?
Yes, though the label is shifting. Gartner still publishes IWMS research, and Verdantix now groups IWMS with connected portfolio intelligence platforms in one category covering real estate, leases, space, maintenance, energy and asset lifecycle management.
Do small facilities teams need an IWMS?
Usually not. An IWMS is designed for large real estate portfolios and takes significant effort to run. A small or mid-size team is better served by a system that covers its daily operations well and lets it switch off what it does not need.
If you are weighing your options, talk to an operator who runs their own buildings on MAFM.
