People like Chris Kniola are trying to change that. "We're trying to help [IT] understand, but it's taking some time," says Kniola, project manager of facility technology at a large financial services company near Chicago.

Kniola, who just earned his master's degree in IT, works in design construction but took on the role of IT project planner for the facilities group. Now he's trying to cultivate a relationship with IT, although much of the IT work still falls to his group.

Small change no more

But the days when IT could afford a laissez-faire attitude toward facilities applications are gone. The market for integrated workplace management systems (IWMS) has evolved over the past few years, Bell says. Such systems are now characterized by enterprise-level software that integrates project management, real estate portfolio and lease management, space management and maintenance management. The systems have become linked with ERP and human resources systems such as PeopleSoft, and the investment for big companies can exceed US$1 million. "It's certainly getting the attention of the CIOs and IT people because of the size, magnitude and complexity," he says.

Facilities management is really about cost cutting. "Real estate historically was looked at by management as a fixed cost. You touched it every three or four years maybe," Bell says. "Now the workplace is much more dynamic. It's beginning to turn real estate into a variable cost."