Commercial Facility Management Software: The 2026 Buyer's Guide
8 min read
By STEADYWRK Team, STEADYWRK
Commercial Facility Management Software: The 2026 Buyer's Guide
Commercial facility management software is a crowded category with overlapping terminology and competing claims. CMMS vendors say they do dispatch. FSM vendors say they do asset management. AI dispatch vendors say they replace both. For an FM director trying to make a purchasing decision, the noise is significant.
This guide cuts through it. We define each category precisely, explain where they genuinely overlap and where they do not, and provide a framework for selecting the right stack for your operation.
Three Categories, Three Jobs
CMMS (Computerized Maintenance Management System)
A CMMS is fundamentally an asset management and preventive maintenance tool. Its core function is tracking what assets you have, what maintenance they require, when that maintenance is due, and what it cost.
CMMS strengths:
Preventive maintenance scheduling by asset
Work order management tied to specific assets
Parts inventory and procurement
Compliance documentation and audit trails
Life-cycle cost analysis per asset
CMMS weaknesses:
Not designed for reactive/emergency dispatch
Limited contractor network management
Poor real-time field technician coordination
Minimal client-facing capabilities
Best-in-class CMMS platforms: IBM Maximo, Maintenance Connection, Fiix, UpKeep.
FSM (Field Service Management)
FSM software focuses on the workforce side: scheduling technicians, tracking them in the field, managing work orders, and capturing job completion data. FSM is the dispatch and field coordination layer.
FSM strengths:
Technician scheduling and dispatch
Real-time GPS tracking
Mobile field app for technicians
Customer communication (notifications, portals)
Invoicing and payment capture
FSM weaknesses:
Asset management is secondary or absent
Limited preventive maintenance depth
Not built for complex multi-site operations
Manual dispatch still required in most platforms
Best-in-class FSM platforms: ServiceTitan, Salesforce Field Service, ServiceNow Field Service.
AI Dispatch (Emerging Category)
AI dispatch is the newest category. Instead of software you operate, it is a system that operates itself. Work orders come in from any channel, the AI processes and assigns them automatically, technicians receive their assignments, and clients get real-time updates — without a dispatcher making individual decisions.
AI dispatch strengths:
Zero-latency work order processing (under 90 seconds)
Automatic contractor matching by trade, certification, location
24/7 coverage without on-call dispatchers
Dynamic re-routing as conditions change
Scales without headcount
AI dispatch weaknesses:
Not a CMMS replacement (no asset management)
Requires clean technician/contractor data to function well
Better suited for reactive work than scheduled PM
Best-in-class AI dispatch: STEADYWRK.
Pricing Comparison
Platform
Category
Pricing Model
Typical Annual Cost (50 assets)
IBM Maximo
CMMS
Enterprise license
$80,000-$300,000+
Fiix
CMMS
Per user/month
$15,000-$40,000
ServiceTitan
FSM
Per tech/month
$60,000-$120,000
Salesforce Field Service
FSM
Per user/month
$75,000-$200,000
STEADYWRK
AI Dispatch
Per work order / managed
Variable, typically $20,000-$60,000
Multi-Site Management
Commercial FM operators managing multiple locations have requirements that expose the limits of single-site tools.
What multi-site FM requires:
Unified work order queue across all sites
Site-specific SLA tracking (hospital vs. office vs. retail)
Contractor routing across geographic zones
Consolidated reporting and cost allocation by site
Site-level access controls for on-site managers
FSM platforms handle multi-site better than CMMS platforms because dispatch is inherently geographic. The leading FSM platforms (ServiceTitan Enterprise, Salesforce Field Service) have explicit multi-site support but require significant configuration.
AI dispatch platforms like STEADYWRK are built for geographic distribution — the optimization engine considers all sites simultaneously when routing contractors, which produces better utilization than site-by-site scheduling.
SLA Tracking
SLA tracking is where most FM software falls short for commercial operations. A commercial FM operator might have:
Priority 1 (life safety): 4-hour response, 24/7
Priority 2 (business critical): 8-hour response, business hours
Priority 3 (routine): 3-day response
Priority 4 (cosmetic): next scheduled maintenance window
CMMS platforms track SLAs against PM schedules. FSM platforms track SLAs against work order creation time. AI dispatch enforces SLAs at the dispatch level — a P1 work order triggers immediate contractor assignment regardless of what else is in the queue.
For commercial FM, the most valuable SLA capability is automatic escalation: when a work order is approaching its SLA deadline without a technician en route, the system escalates automatically. Manual SLA tracking fails because it requires a dispatcher to monitor every open work order simultaneously.
Vendor Management
Commercial FM operators typically manage a network of 20-100+ specialty contractors. Vendor management capabilities vary significantly:
Capability
CMMS
FSM
AI Dispatch
Contractor profiles
Basic
Good
Native
Certification tracking
Limited
Limited
Automatic
Performance scoring
Manual
Manual
Automatic
Preferred vendor routing
No
Manual
Automatic
Insurance/COI tracking
Some
Some
Yes
Payment integration
Limited
Good
Native
Compliance Reporting
For commercial FM in regulated environments (healthcare, food service, government facilities), compliance documentation is non-negotiable. You need proof that maintenance was performed, by whom, with what qualifications, and within the required timeframe.
CMMS platforms have the strongest compliance reporting because they were built for this use case. Work orders are tied to specific assets, maintenance records are permanent, and audit reports are standard features.
FSM platforms have decent reporting but it is less structured for compliance use cases. AI dispatch platforms are improving here — STEADYWRK captures technician certifications, job completion data, and timestamps in a format suitable for FM compliance reporting.
Which Stack for Which Operation
Small commercial FM (1-5 sites, internal team): FSM platform like ServiceTitan or Jobber. Simple, affordable, sufficient.
Mid-market commercial FM (5-50 sites, mixed internal/contractor): CMMS for asset management + AI dispatch for reactive work. Fiix or UpKeep for PM, STEADYWRK for reactive dispatch.
Enterprise commercial FM (50+ sites, large contractor network): IBM Maximo or ServiceNow for CMMS, Salesforce Field Service or STEADYWRK for dispatch. Integration between the two systems is critical.
The mistake most operators make is assuming one platform does everything. In 2026, the best-in-class commercial FM stacks are purpose-built layers that integrate cleanly, not monolithic systems that do everything adequately.