OpenBlue Workplace Reviews

“fantastic for asset tracking”

Pros

Our company has gotten a lot of value from this. We rely on it to handle office move requests, plan preventative maintenance, keep track of assets and manage lease agreements. The platform is user friendly and works really well for all of those tasks.

Cons

Creating reports can still be a little challenging at times but the support resources provide helpful guidance and tips when putting a new report together.

“flexible workplace data management”

Pros

It has really changed how we handle workplace and real estate data management. The platform is flexible and the implementation process was simple enough that we could adapt it quickly. Our team also needed very little training before getting started which made adoption much easier.

Cons

The software is highly capable but some modules offer so many customization options that getting started can feel a little overwhelming at first. Once everything is configured though, it turns into a very valuable tool for everyday operations.

“solid system with good visuals”

Pros

Overall, the system works well and gives a good impression and the graphics are decent too.

Cons

One thing I don't like is the trouble we run into with the interface connected to our HR data system.

“Fantastic space planning tool”

Pros

An excellent tool that helps us plan our space in the best way possible. It's also very easy to use which made the whole experience even better.

Cons

Biggest challenge on our side was internal at the beginning, mainly getting everyone aligned and on board. Aside from that, the system itself has been excellent.

“productive insights”

Pros

Right from the start, this software has been very simple to use and widely accepted across the team. It helps the company cut costs and boost productivity by providing real insights. The space reservation and tracking features have also been very useful, helping our company get more accurate results.

Cons

At this point since I am still a new user, I have not come across anything I dislike about the software. It has supported me and my organization in every aspect so far and I would definitely recommend it to others.

“reliable features that are easy to customize”

Pros

The platform has been consistently reliable and one of the biggest advantages is how well its features can be customized to match our specific requirements.

Cons

Interface could be a bit more user friendly, at least from my perspective though some of my colleagues may feel differently.

“Frustrating to use”

Pros

I don't have any real positives to mention about this system. It does the bare minimum to function but everything moves so slowly that it's hard to feel good about using it. I probably wouldn't be this disappointed if the performance weren't such a constant issue.

Cons

Using it is frustrating because of how slow it is. Even something as basic as assigning work takes too long since every change seems to lag before it updates. Saving can take 15 to 20 seconds and sometimes even longer. The interface also feels very outdated. There are far too many unnecessary fields which makes the screen feel overcrowded and takes up the whole page. On top of that, it isn't customizable. Administrators can't customize reports and while exporting is possible, it exports the full page of data instead of letting you choose only what you need. The only real reason this product was picked was for the space planning component, along with the fact that it included maintenance and had already been used at a previous location. It ended up being chosen by someone who had never worked with a maintenance specific system and that same person had also been told the system could be customized by an administrator for things like required fields which turned out not to be the case.

“centralized database”

Pros

From the start the Space Management and Move Management features became the parts we rely on most and they're very easy to work with. The system was simple to understand and didn't take long to learn. Its overall structure is built around a few core facilities management concepts and from there you can expand into other areas like space, maintenance, real estate and more. That setup makes it possible to customize operations to your needs while still keeping all the data centralized which is probably the part I appreciate most.

Cons

The one area that has been challenging is linking the staff list from our HR software with this program. Aside from that, everything else has been fine.

“all in one tool”

Pros

Having everything in one dashboard and being able to configure it without much hassle is what I value most in this software. It also lets us answer space related questions quickly, like how much room a department has or which departments are located in a specific building. Compared with when we were using Aperture, getting data out of the system was much more difficult there.

Cons

Creating and customizing reports was somewhat challenging for planners, facilities leadership and data analysts so that work ended up being handled in MS SQL Server instead. We were also working on an initiative that required us to completely rethink how space was reported and analyzed and the product support team was not responsive enough when we asked for new reporting options and open office templates.

“amazing Excel integration”

Pros

Using Excel with this software feels very easy and installing the add ons is simple. The connection to Oracle Essbase is impressively fast which makes a big difference in daily use. I also appreciate that the product can be configured internally without needing costly custom development and those configurations continue to carry forward when upgrades are released.

Cons

There really is not much I dislike about the software. The only downside from my perspective is that the pricing feels a bit expensive for me as an individual user.

“Practical workspace management”

Pros

Extremely useful to have a digital workspace for design analysis and it makes setting up the workplace properly easy as well. It also helps a lot with managing the company and keeping everything well organized.

Cons

The feature set still feels a bit limited. Even though synchronization is available, it would be much better if it included its own built in chat feature.

“helpful tool for planning”

Pros

It really helps that the platform presents information visually especially for people who learn best that way without even realizing it. Once I understood that I'm a visual learner, tools like this became much more valuable and this interface has been a big advantage for planning space implementation, distribution and overall management more productively.

Cons

At the same time for someone who isn't very tech savvy, there is definitely a learning curve. I appreciate that the interface can do so much but figuring out how to move through it and use everything takes time. In our workplace, that has been a real challenge for employees who are less comfortable with technology and how quickly someone picks it up really depends on their prior experience and ability to understand the system's usability.

“Quick implementation”

Pros

The platform feels very user friendly which made rolling it out to a larger group of users much simpler. For most people, the 25 minute training video we recorded is all they need to get up to speed.

Cons

One real drawback is the reporting module's speed. It does what it's supposed to do and the functionality is strong but it's painfully slow.

“very user friendly”

Pros

Using it is fairly simple most of the time which makes day to day work way more manageable.

Cons

Report writing is still challenging and it'll probably take us some time before we really get the hang of it.

“broad range of customization option”

Pros

A few parts of this product work well especially the feature set, the customization options and the QR code functionality.

Cons

Its mobile app, however, is not very user friendly and could be improved.

“centralized work orders”

Pros

Across the university, FIMS lets us bring all facilities work orders into one place. It has definitely made receiving and processing work requests much more efficient.

Cons

Admin and user interfaces are not particularly modern looking but it's something you get used to pretty quickly. In the end, the functionality matters more.

“valuable insights”

Pros

Having a reliable space management tool has made a big difference for our organization. It's essential for us to track how much space we have, who owns it whether that's the university, foundations or leased entities which stewards are responsible for it such as a college, school or MBU and who is occupying it, including employees, students and visitors. The information we get gives us a real time view of both the quantity and location of our full facility inventory.

Cons

An ongoing frustration is the large number of Revit files we now receive as project deliverables especially as they continue to replace AutoCAD files. Uploading and publishing those Revit files in this is still very difficult and often doesn't work successfully. With more projects being created in a Revit based environment, I'd really like to see the software improve its ability to handle this better.

“strong reporting”

Pros

Tracking everything matters a lot for our organization and this software does a really good job with that. The search function and reporting capabilities are especially valuable for us. It also feels like the platform has room to keep growing and improving so it's encouraging to see additions like the technician app and the analytics solution as the company continues to develop the product.

Cons

Pricing has been a bit difficult for our organization to manage and it seems that any extra features or customizations come with additional costs on top of the annual subscription. We've also run into challenges trying to integrate our HR software for the employee list with the system.

“accurate maintenance tracking”

Pros

Using it day to day feels easy and the system is accurate when it comes to tracking and completing maintenance tasks.

Cons

The biggest downside is the overall price especially when you compare it with other similar systems on the market.

“Handles everything in a practical way”

Pros

The platform handles space definitions, usage, funding, drawings, photos and reports in a practical and accurate way. How well it connects with existing systems really depends on the main use case and while integration isn't particularly simple, it can still be done.

Cons

Support from the customer service team can be a bit unreliable at times, with some inconsistency in the help provided.