What is CAFM and how does it differ from CMMS or IWMS?

CAFM, CMMS, IWMS… What’s the difference, and why should you care?

Another day, another acronym in facilities management. CAFM. CMMS. IWMS. 

If you’ve been trying to figure out what’s actually ‘worth’ investing in or just what each one actually ‘does’ you’re in the right place.

What even is CAFM?

CAFM stands for Computer Aided Facilities Management. It’s basically your command centre for managing buildings, maintenance, and everything in between.

Need to track your assets, stay on top of compliance, chase down contractors, log faults, or prove you’re hitting your KPIs? A CAFM system keeps it all in one place, clean, trackable, and useful.

A CAFM is built for FM teams managing a single site or multiple locations, and gives you more time to focus on strategic work than busy work.

But isn’t that just a CMMS?

Sort of. 

A CAFM and a CMMS are practically the same. The terminology just depends on where you live.

In the UK?  People say CAFM.

In the US?  They’ll probably call it CMMS (Computerised Maintenance Management System).

They both focus on:

• Asset management
• Reactive and planned maintenance
• Work order tracking
• Contractor coordination

But here’s the subtle difference:

CMMS tends to stick with the basics, asset registers, reactive jobs, planned maintenance.

CAFM zooms out. You still get the maintenance tools, but with extra layers for compliance tracking, contractor performance, cost visibility, and strategic reporting.

So if you’re looking to just manage jobs a CMMS will probably cut it.

If you want to join the dots across your sites and stay ahead of the game, go CAFM.

Then there’s IWMS.

IWMS - Integrated Workplace Management System. It’s a lot of a platform.

IWMS incorporates a much broader set of facilities, such as room booking and desk utilisation, and is typically used more in the commercial office environment.

In other words, it’s a massive tool with big scope. Real estate, lease management, sustainability dashboards, hybrid working tools. You name it, IWMS probably covers it.

But fair warning: with that scope comes setup time, complexity, and a price tag.

Compared to IWMS, a CAFM system is:

• Faster to implement
• Easier to use
• Better aligned with day-to-day FM workflows

In a nutshell…

CMMS: Good for maintenance teams.

CAFM: Good for FM teams.

IWMS: Good for enterprise-level real estate empires.

If you need something powerful but practical, something your team will want to use, CAFM is likely the sweet spot.