OpenBlue Workplace Reviews

“powerful floor plan access”

Pros

One of the biggest advantages this software has brought to our department and really to the university overall, is how fast we can pull up floor plans for more than 250 buildings, apply color coding based on different data points and export them when needed.

Cons

My ongoing frustration as the Administrator and the person who built our system from the ground up, has been the missing documentation for the data fields included out of the box. I've spent hours creating fields in different tables and linking them to fields in other tables, only to realize later that those fields already existed. Without clear documentation of the built in table fields and how the tables relate to one another, it often felt like I was working completely blind.

“Updates are well organized”

Pros

Keeping our floor plans organized has been really helpful and making updates is very simple whenever changes come up.

Cons

It does run a little slowly at times. The system can lag a bit and some pages take longer than expected to load.

“helpful support team”

Pros

Updating employee location changes is easy and the real time visibility is very useful. The customer support team is also very helpful and pleasant to work with.

Cons

There are times when the system runs slowly and the product can occasionally feel a bit glitchy.

“powerful export capabilitie”

Pros

Reporting is by far the biggest and most important feature worth mentioning here. Being able to filter data much like you would in Excel and then export only the exact information you need to Excel in just a few clicks is excellent. It also makes putting together ad hoc reports for a specific request or question really simple.

Cons

Like with many third party vendors and software providers, the sales team tends to promise everything and make it sound like every feature already exists and is fully possible. Then later you find out some of it is still only on the future roadmap and hasn't actually been released yet. There's also the customizable versus configurable issue. Many of the things we wanted could technically be done but they were scoped in a way that required extra money to implement.

“Easy to use platform”

Pros

Our team mainly relies on the Space Management and Move Management features and the platform has been very user friendly. Getting started didn't take much time and the layout feels simple and direct. Implementation also went pretty well, with barely any problems along the way.

Cons

One area that still frustrates me is report creation. A lot of people across the organization say it's very simple but I still find it fairly challenging even after taking the courses the support team recommended. Some features also require more steps than seem necessary although they become manageable once you're familiar with the process.

“easy to make interactive floor plans”

Pros

One feature that really matters here is the interactive floor plan view. You can click on a specific space and immediately see its attributes which is genuinely useful.

Cons

On the downside the admin and user documentation can be frustratingly unhelpful at times because it leaves out details that are important for successfully completing a task.

“clean interface”

Pros

Interface is clean so getting around the platform doesn't take much effort. Its native AutoDesk integration is also a big plus making it very convenient to connect facility floor plans in a smart and easy way.

Cons

Something I'd still like to see is broader integration that expands into site level plans so it's possible to view and visualize the bigger picture more effectively.

“Too slow”

Pros

It could be a decent fit for smaller companies.

Cons

At our company size, this software is frustratingly slow. We handle office moves every month and the amount of time it takes to load is honestly hard to believe. It also is not very user friendly. Every time I enter a new move, I have to start from scratch instead of the system remembering where I left off in my previous selections. Overall, it feels outdated, like software straight out of the 90s.

“high value tool for workplace planning”

Pros

Being web based is a big plus and the graphic views make the platform much easier to work with. Occupancy Zones are useful and the Scenario Planning feature adds a lot of value for workplace planning.

Cons

Scenario Planning Block & Stack really needs to sync and refresh with live production data while a scenario is active. When live space assignments change because of new hires or departures, those updates do not flow into the scenario which makes accurate planning around open and occupied seats difficult unless everything is tracked manually in another system. It would also help if only moves for actual employees had to be promoted, instead of forcing open position seat assignments to be included in the move planner as if those hires already exist. Another limitation is that people cannot currently be moved in or out of Occupancy Zones or the Locker Asset module through the Move Planner module. I understand posted moves for Occupancy Zones may be added this year and it would be very useful if locker assignments tied to zone assignments could also connect to Move Planner as an option. Also, the Portfolio Summary report should show vacant Occupancy Zone physical desk counts so clients can get a clear and accurate total of occupied and vacant physical desks, including both vacant room desks and desks assigned to an Occupancy Zone, without the zone ratio affecting the count.

“helpful floor plan visuals”

Pros

A feature I really enjoy is the visual querying on floor plans, like using hatching by department or space type or showing vacancies. It makes the information much easier to understand at a glance.

Cons

The reporting formats don't convert into a truly usable Excel format. Because of that, I usually end up building an Excel file from a view instead. It doesn't look as polished but it's much easier to filter.

“covers everything you need for ERP”

Pros

The software covers ERP in really well and includes options I wouldn't have even considered which makes it feel well prepared for future needs.

Cons

A downside is not really knowing all the functions and when trying to learn them, the instructional flow isn't very good.

“Great fit for multi site needs”

Pros

Pretty solid software overall and it helps us manage all the details we need across our many sites and square footage.

Cons

Some of the different modules feel a little slow and the interface can be a bit difficult to use.

“flexible customization options”

Pros

One thing that really works well is how much can be customized, along with the option to configure different types of data in various formats depending on the user login or access level.

Cons

I'd still like to see some GIS functionality added especially for visually locating building related data in relation to other assets, as well as GIS support for exterior utilities.

“strong functionality overall”

Pros

Compared with other tools in this category, its features felt more powerful and capable.

Cons

Cost seemed a little high and it would help to have more package options with just the basic features.

“responsive support”

Pros

Navigating the platform feels very easy and people tend to learn their way around the floor plans and different views without much trouble. The tech support team stays on top of any issues I run into and usually gets them resolved quickly and efficiently.

Cons

Some of the program's features don't really match the way our company handles its processes so that can end up requiring a custom built solution.