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Glossary

CMMS

A Computerized Maintenance Management System (CMMS) is software that centralizes maintenance data and processes.

What is a CMMS? Computerized Maintenance Management Systems for CRE Explained 

Key takeaways:

A CMMS brings maintenance planning, scheduling, and reporting into one place, giving property teams clear visibility into assets, vendors, and compliance.
With AI, CMMS software adds predictive monitoring and automated escalations, helping CRE teams prevent costly breakdowns and cut downtime.
Visitt’s AI-powered CMMS connects preventive and predictive maintenance with inspections, tenant requests, compliance and portfolio oversight, offline-ready mobile tools, and multilingual support, to give property teams one platform for faster adoption, smarter planning, and portfolio-wide visibility

What are Computerized Maintenance Management Systems?

A Computerized Maintenance Management System (CMMS) is software that centralizes maintenance data and processes. It manages asset records, work orders, preventive maintenance schedules, inventory, and compliance documentation, giving property teams a single system of record for planning, execution, and reporting. In commercial real estate (CRE), the CMMS acts as the hub where every task, asset, and part related to the property or facility’s maintenance is logged and tracked. 

This includes:

  • Registering and cataloging assets
  • Assessing those assets’ health over time
  • Planning preventive maintenance schedules
  • Automating routine maintenance tasks
  • Creating and assigning work orders
  • Tracking inventory and spare parts
  • Recording costs, time, and service details
  • Storing and managing inspection and compliance documents

While many still view the CMMS as work order management (WOM) software, WOM is just one function within a CMMS. A CMMS takes it further by:

  • Linking work orders to asset records, vendor details, costs, and inventory for a full picture.
  • Updating maintenance history automatically and keeping compliance logs audit-ready.
  • Extending oversight across properties, so managers can compare performance, uptime, and spend portfolio-wide.

What is a CMMS used for?

The purpose of a CMMS system is to bring all maintenance activity into one place so property teams can keep buildings safe, assets reliable, and records accurate. Managers use the CMMS to support their daily flow of work, while field staff use their mobile apps to log inspections, upload photos, check assignments, and stay on task while out of the office. 

With AI-enabled CMMS software, the system adds a predictive layer. It identifies recurring patterns in work orders, highlights equipment drifting out of normal performance, and alerts managers when service levels risk being missed. In many cases, the CMMS generates proactive tasks on its own, such as scheduling vendor visits, reserving parts, or escalating issues to portfolio leads. In this way, small problems are contained before they disrupt tenants or drive up costs.

CMMS software automating fire safety compliance and predictive maintenance for roof chiller units with work orders, vendor management, real-time tracking, and asset performance reporting
Smart CMMS Workflows for Fire Safety & Equipment Maintenance

Why is a CMMS important for CRE?

Time and money are the two resources property teams never have enough of, yet both are consumed by maintenance. So much so that a 2024 State of Industrial Maintenance Report found that 64% of facilities spend up to 20% of their annual operating budget on maintenance, and 20% dedicate even more. With the CMMS now making up one-fifth of the global asset management market, it has become a standard investment for firms looking to control costs without compromising service.

What’s more, these days, property managers are expected to play a direct role in keeping tenants happy. In fact, CBRE data shows that quality building management influences 80% of tenants’ decisions to renew a lease. AI-enabled CMMS systems give managers the foundation to consistently meet those expectations with proactive service. Instead of draining budgets into resolving emergencies, teams can focus resources on the work that keeps tenants satisfied and properties competitive.

Feature Legacy Systems AI-Driven CMMS
Work order management Digital repositories with basic search Centralized CMMS platform stores all work orders with status updates, asset history, materials used, and documentation
Scheduling Fixed preventive schedules, rescheduling requires manual updates Automated preventive and predictive maintenance scheduling and SLA tracking, supported by visual planning boards that recalculate workloads and budgets instantly
Materials & inventory management Standard inventory modules track stock but require manual reorder management CMMS software tracks parts in real time with barcode/QR scanning, automates resupply, and provides cost visibility across facilities and vendors
Resource planning & dispatch Tasks allocated by managers, limited visibility into workload balance CMMS system assigns tasks based on availability, certifications, and workload, with automatic dispatching to mobile devices in the field
Mobile access Basic mobile apps available but often limited in functionality or offline use Mobile-first CMMS platform supports offline updates, photo capture, and instant access to maintenance data anywhere
Reporting & compliance Reporting available but often siloed and not audit-ready Audit-ready dashboards consolidate inspections, certificates, and vendor logs with compliance alerts to avoid lapses
Financial oversight Separate integration with accounting systems, limited visibility for managers Built-in cost tracking with real-time sync to budgets and capital planning, connecting maintenance activity to financial performance
Portfolio visibility Data segmented by property, difficult to benchmark across sites Unified CMMS system delivers portfolio-wide analytics on asset lifecycles, vendor performance, and resource use

CRE adoption challenges vs. benefits

Industry forecasts show the CMMS market climbing from about $1.6 billion in 2023 to more than $4.2 billion by 2033, expanding at roughly 9% each year. Yet within the more traditional CRE industry, it’s likely adoption is below average, as property teams are challenged with:

  • Resistance to change among staff
  • Limited leadership buy-in
  • Integration with older systems
  • Training gaps and skill shortages
  • Data migration hurdles
  • Cost of implementation and support

But when CRE teams do implement an AI-enabled CMMS, they benefit from:

  • Less downtime, longer asset lifecycles
  • Lower maintenance and inventory costs
  • Preventive and predictive scheduling
  • Audit-ready compliance records
  • Centralized data for portfolio-wide visibility
  • Smarter use of staff and vendors
  • Consistent positive tenant experience and stronger retention

Which use cases show the value of AI in CRE CMMS systems?

An AI-enabled CMMS turns maintenance from a reactive burden into a proactive strategy across clear use cases. These include preventative maintenance coordination, compliance, inventory management, mobile access in the field, and financial planning. The result: improved uptime, compliance, and tenant experience.

Preventive maintenance coordination across properties

Property teams use CMMS preventive maintenance schedules to make sure elevators, fire systems, and HVAC are serviced on time across every site in the portfolio. Tasks trigger automatically, technicians get the right instructions on their phones, and managers see completion status without chasing updates.

Audit-ready compliance 

With CMMS software, inspections, certificates, and safety checks are logged automatically. Instead of scrambling for paperwork before an audit, property teams generate digital records in seconds. The system also alerts managers when compliance documents are close to expiring, reducing the risk of fines or failed audits.

Smart parts and inventory management

Every repair updates stock levels automatically. The CMMS platform flags low inventory, triggers reorders, and prevents capital from being tied up in excess parts.

Mobile access in the field

Technicians can access the CMMS system from their phones to view asset records, log inspections, and update work orders on site. This real-time connection ensures repairs, compliance checks, and parts use are documented accurately, without having to return to the office.

Guided capital planning

Every repair, inspection, and vendor update logged in the CMMS builds a full history of asset performance. Property managers can pull reports to see which equipment is draining budgets, compare reliability across sites, and decide when replacement is smarter than another round of repairs. AI surfaces the patterns early, so decisions are proactive instead of reactive.

What does your CMMS look like with Visitt?

Visitt’s CMMS software combines all the features of a traditional CMMS system with the advantage of AI and full integration into building operations. Preventive and predictive maintenance are automated, downtime is reduced, and inspections, service requests, compliance, and tenant experience all connect within one unified platform.

With Visitt, property teams gain portfolio-wide visibility from a single dashboard. Technicians log tasks, photos, and notes on mobile—even offline—with automatic sync later. Multilingual support keeps teams aligned across sites, while AI flags recurring issues, optimizes schedules, and ensures work is completed before it impacts tenants.
See the difference AI-powered CMMS makes for your portfolio

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