Facilities managers see information technology providers posing a serious challenge to their position and responsibilities according to the results of i-FM's latest straw poll. Asked if they agreed or disagreed with the statement: FM is under threat from IT providers, over 45% of respondents said they thought it was.

Some commentators have suggested that on technology intensive projects, such as call centres, where communications and information technology constitutes a major proportion of the total spend, the IT providers will become natural team leaders. From this position they are well placed to bid for continuing operation and overall facilities management of the total project.

Conversation on the i-FM Discussion Forum includes the contrary view that FM is not under threat from IT providers because they are grounded in entirely different cultures. One contributor commented, "Whilst most IT providers tend to be process driven, inflexible and not always focused on delivering value to the customer, FM people tend to have a 'can-do' attitude to customer service. Perhaps this is to our disadvantage as we go to increasing lengths to do more with less."

Richard Byatt