A 2025 guide to IWMS vs. Workplace Experience platforms

When planning 2025 workplace strategies, many teams are faced with prioritizing the efficiency of the workplace and improving employee experience. Each day, we help teams balance and unify priorities around “people” and “place” to achieve new levels of workplace excellence.

The tools you use can make all the difference. Integrated Workplace Management Systems (IWMS) and Workplace Experience (WEX) applications are powerful platforms built to address facility managers’ unique challenges. But how are they different, and which technology is right for your organization?

This comprehensive guide will explore the key features of IWMS and WEX platforms, highlight their differences, and help you choose the solution that best aligns with your goals. 

What are integrated workplace management systems?

Integrated Workplace Management Systems (IWMS) are comprehensive software platforms designed to manage and optimize the physical spaces where work happens. These tools are invaluable for businesses that want to ensure their facilities operate efficiently, from real estate portfolio oversight to day-to-day maintenance operations.

At their core, IWMS platforms focus on “places”—buildings, offices, and other physical assets. They provide facility managers and decision-makers with the tools to streamline workflows, reduce costs, and make data-driven decisions about how space is utilized.

An IWMS is often seen as the backbone of workplace management. It connects various aspects of facility operations into one centralized system, giving organizations visibility and control over their physical environments. Whether you’re looking to optimize space usage, plan capital projects, or reduce energy consumption, an IWMS platform is built to meet these challenges head-on. These solutions are modular in structure and teams can adopt one or more modules based on their goals and the work at hand.

Ready to take control of your workplace? See how OfficeSpace Software’s space management features can help you make smarter, faster decisions.

What are workplace experience applications?

Workplace Experience (WEX) applications focus on “people” in the workplace. While IWMS platforms focus on the physical infrastructure, WEX applications prioritize enhancing employees’ interactions with their workplace, making day-to-day tasks more seamless and engaging.

WEX tools foster collaboration, simplify logistics, and boost overall employee satisfaction. From booking a desk to navigating a complex office layout, workplace experience applications allow employees to easily access the resources they need to be productive and connected in their workspace.

These applications help organizations foster a more connected and inclusive culture by focusing on employee well-being and experience. These platforms are particularly effective for companies attracting and retaining top talent in an increasingly competitive job market.

Curious how a WEX application can elevate your workplace? Learn how OfficeSpace’s room booking, desk booking, and visitor management features can transform your office into a hub of collaboration and employee satisfaction.

Overlap between the two software solutions

With the rise of WEX solutions, IWMS platforms have built lightweight capabilities to facilitate employee experience workflows, like reserving desks and conference rooms. WEX solutions, on the other hand, have begun to deepen space management workflows to provide better insights to facilities teams to drive real estate decision making. Both solution types exist to help teams:

• Streamline workplace management
• Improve decision-making
• Enhance employee experience
• Optimize real estate expense

Ultimately, the best solution for your organization depends on your goals. 

• Are you looking to optimize real estate assets and infrastructure? An IWMS probably makes more sense for you. 
• Are you more interested in increasing employee engagement and collaboration? In this case, a WEX application would be more appropriate.

We’ll touch on these goals a bit more later. For now, let’s explore the features of each solution. By understanding the unique differences of each workplace tool, you can make informed decisions on which one is better for your business.

Key features of an IWMS

Portfolio management

Portfolio management in an IWMS focuses on real estate management at a large scale. These platforms provide corporate real estate teams with tools to manage and track office buildings, floors, leases, and more, ensuring that every site in the portfolio is used optimally. By offering real-time data insights about your portfolio, occupancy, utilization, and real estate expense, IWMS systems help you make data-driven decisions that optimize real estate and reduce costs.

Space management and optimization

You can maximize your real estate investments by building, analyzing, and modifying floor plans and tracking how spaces are used over time. This includes identifying inefficiencies, making space adjustments, and improving the overall use of every space type.

Facility maintenance

Maintenance management is another core feature of IWMS software. With facility management software, you can make sure your office spaces remain in peak condition. From managing service requests to scheduling predictive and preventative maintenance tasks, IWMS solutions streamline workflows and reduce downtime. These platforms are also capable of forecasting potential problems before they arise, allowing decision-makers to get ahead of issues.

Capital project management

Workplace management software includes tools that help facility managers oversee capital projects from start to finish. Whether you’re undergoing a renovation or a complete office redesign, IWMS systems allow teams to plan, budget, and track project progress. These tools ensure that large projects are completed on time and within budget while also optimizing the use of office space to meet long-term business goals.

Sustainability

Sustainability is an increasingly important consideration for workplace leaders looking to minimize their environmental impact and achieve cost savings. IWMS platforms support energy management by monitoring energy usage, identifying areas where energy is wasted, and helping organizations reduce emissions. Businesses can reduce costs and limit their carbon footprint by optimizing space usage and implementing sustainability initiatives.

Key features of a workplace experience application

Desk booking

Flexible work is here to stay, as evidenced by the 2024 Q4 Flex report. Desk booking systems within WEX applications allow employees to reserve workspaces in real-time, making it easier to find a place to work and include features to manage hot desking, desk hoteling, desk lending, and more. This flexibility improves collaboration and helps optimize space allocation, ensuring the office works efficiently for employees on any given day.

Room Booking

Meeting rooms are the home for collaboration in the workplace. Room booking features simplify scheduling conference rooms, bridging remote attendees into calls, and ensuring that valuable room space is used optimally. By integrating room booking with calendar systems, employees can quickly find and reserve meeting rooms without the risk of double booking, improving overall productivity. Top WEX tools include integrations with Microsoft Teams, Outlook, and Google so that rooms can be reserved directly in the tools teams use daily.

Visitor management

A WEX application can streamline visitor check-in through features like contactless sign-ins, kiosks, and pre-registration and increase security on-site.

With digital visitor management tools, organizations can also track who enters and exits the building and at what time for a smooth guest experience.

Amenities

WEX platforms guide employees to resources, amenities, and teammates to improve the on-site experience in the workplace. With visual and interactive floor plans, desk and room booking systems, and request management systems, employees can see available workstations, submit work orders, request amenities, find their way to the printer or restroom, and schedule room reservations.

Wayfinding

Wayfinding features are essential for connecting modern teams with their environment and each other. With interactive maps and guidance tools, employees can quickly navigate their office environments without getting lost. Whether finding meeting rooms, restrooms, or specific teams, wayfinding tools help people move through the work environment efficiently, improving the overall experience and minimizing time wasted.

Employee coordination

In the age of hybrid work, collaboration and employee orchestration are major areas of focus for workplace strategists. WEX platforms help organizations coordinate employee schedules to guarantee face-time on site and make time in-office more rewarding. By integrating with communication tools and calendars, these platforms support seamless coordination and keep things running smoothly.

Virtual assistance

Virtual assistance tools are designed to help employees streamline their daily tasks. These AI-powered assistants help workers with everything from booking desks and meeting rooms to answering workplace-related queries. By providing quick solutions to routine office tasks, virtual assistance improves employee efficiency and enhances the overall user experience.

Choosing the right workplace tool for your organization

Here are a few factors to consider when choosing the right workplace tool for your company in 2025:

Your organization’s primary focus

• If your focus is on optimizing real estate, space, and facilities, an IWMS may be the right choice.
• If improving the employee experience, flexibility, and collaboration is your priority, a WEX platform may be more suitable.

Flexibility and scalability

• If your organization plans to scale, support hybrid work, or accommodate flexible team sizes, a WEX platform offers the flexibility you need.
• If you need to manage multiple office locations and complex facilities, an IWMS provides the comprehensive tools necessary for large-scale operations.

Integration needs

• Consider how well the platform integrates with your existing tools, such as Microsoft Teams, Google Calendar, or Slack. A WEX platform often provides seamless integrations for team collaboration and scheduling.
• An IWMS can integrate well with real estate planning tools, maintenance software, and other operational tools for businesses that require more complex asset and facility management.

Budget considerations

• WEX platforms are generally more cost-effective, making them an accessible choice for businesses focused on employee experience without needing extensive facilities management.
• IWMS platforms tend to come with higher costs due to their robust feature sets focused on space optimization, asset management, and maintenance.

Future of work considerations

• If your organization prioritizes hybrid work, a WEX platform will help keep employees connected and supported regardless of where they work.
• If your company is focused on optimizing physical office spaces and real estate, an IWMS offers the tools to maximize space utilization and operational efficiency.

Looking for a tool that combines space management capabilities with employee experience solutions? 

With robust features like desk booking, room reservations, real-time data analytics, and employee coordination, OfficeSpace is designed to streamline both your office operations and enhance the workplace experience for your team. Reach out for a product demo.