In facilities management, organization is critical. You know the drill; you work as an asset or office manager day in and day out, struggling to keep track of where your employees are stationed and keep important assets organized. As a result, you spend every day facing continued frustration while your employees suffer from a lack of leadership and resources. While this may sound harsh, many enterprises and higher education facilities don’t realize the importance of recordkeeping and data relating to their business and, ultimately, how much of an impact it will make when they update their current workflows. Today, our team of facilities software specialists discusses what a system of record is, how these records work with logistics technology such as Intra, and how facility managers can use these insights to their advantage for organizational growth.

What is a System of Record?

A system of record, or SOR, is an information storage system that “retains important data on a system or process within an organization. That system or record may exist on location or provide remote access to a business”, according to Indeed. Essentially, SORs bring various data points into one key system within the business, ensuring that the company’s data is kept safe while using the system to improve efficiency. Generally, SORs are used for three main reasons – automation, data organization, and regulatory compliance. From an operational standpoint, SORs are beneficial for automation, allowing systems to store data regarding asset health and maintenance and task schedules. As a result, employees can automatically receive notifications regarding task scheduling and completion.

Furthermore, data organization allows SORs to store all relevant data in secure, efficient systems to ensure that employees have access when they need it most. Finally, SORs can be used for regulatory compliance, and boy is this important. For industries such as the government sector, internal and government-wide SORs can be used to streamline data and ensure that privacy and security standards are met on the organizational level to avoid legal or financial repercussions.

What Types of System of Records Are There?

Now that we’ve become more familiar with the SOR basics, you’re probably asking why there are multiple types. Each common SOR recognized by most enterprises have unique requirements and provides varying benefits for the departments they were created for. According to IMF, 65% of the world’s GDP is predicted to be digitized by the end of this year, meaning that if your SOR isn’t up to date, time is running out. As a result, enterprises have adopted five major SORs to implement – customer, finance, HR, IT, and operational. For FMs, customer, IT, and operational SORs are the most common.

Customer SOR

Customer SORs are the most common and have allowed companies of all sizes to invest in software previously only used by tech giants. Consider customer relationship management (CRM) software such as Salesforce, Monday.com, or Oracle, all of which can be used by companies of any size. Customer SORs are responsible for holding transactional details about consumers and store contact information. For FMs using operations software such as Intra, this can be beneficial in various ways. For universities and enterprises, “customers” are the employees, staff, and students. Using workgroups such as our Mail & Parcel Workgroup, contact information, and forwarding preferences can be stored to expedite delivery and minimize storage issues or misplaced packages within your facility.

IT SOR

One of the essential SORs for facilities managers is the IT SOR. Facility managers using logistics software like Intra will become very familiar with an IT system of record, and let’s say you won’t be able to live without it. IT SORs are used for automations, task completion, security, and more and provide comprehensive resources for enterprises and universities looking to improve their current software. For example, IT SORs can be used for request management, security operations, standardizing mail and parcel delivery, and automating tasks. When it comes to Intra, this plays a crucial role in assisting workgroups like our Workplace Services or Campus Services Workgroups. Our IT SOR provides a central hub for request management, with all the information needed for office and maintenance managers to complete requests quickly while recording information on completion times and resources used. Furthermore, our Visitor Tracking Workflow provides resources for office managers to maintain a list of approved visitors, flag unwanted visitors, and monitor ID badges, using this information to create reports based on visitor duration, location, and past visiting history. 

Operational System of Record

When working with a system of record, having individualized SORs can help sort and manage data for task automation and customer relationship management. Operational SORs can be used on a larger scale and are highly beneficial for growing companies with a hybrid workforce. Operational SORs allow office and facility managers to track the current operating status of their entire facility, including current in-office employees, monitor their schedule and hot-desking choices, and maximize spaces for collaboration. In addition to hot-desking resources, Operational SORs allow you to use the data from employee tracking to minimize excess resources used, such as heating, air, and electricity from isolated areas of the building, furthering your sustainability efforts.

Why Are Systems of Record Beneficial for Your Business?

SORs are beneficial for your business in myriad ways, including internal growth and external relationship management. Regardless of what form of SOR you are using, SORs provide data that was not previously available, helping you to create the most efficient workplace possible. Furthermore, you can use these data points for business intelligence, gathering relevant data to develop reports used for long-term strategy. Outside of internal benefits, SORs are extremely important for compliance purposes. We previously spoke about regulatory compliance, but this cannot be discussed enough. Ultimately, non-compliance costs businesses more than twice what compliance would. SORs provide the data your business needs to keep track of relevant individuals and assets within your company, helping directors maintain a comprehensive overview of their facility’s wellness. 

Outside business intelligence and compliance, SORs provide cost reduction, scalability, and security. Instead of monitoring multiple systems and paying outside organizations to hold important data, your team centralizes information through a SOR. Additionally, SORs provide scalability and security by creating a central hub backed by secure methods to allow your team to focus on expansion.

See How SCLogic’s SOR Stands Above the Rest

The choices are tough when you are looking to invest in a new logistics or FM software. Often, companies place their efforts on front-end marketing, visual effects, buzz words, and more to gather your attention. But, when it comes down to the inner workings of these applications, their resources fall short. With Intra, we have spent decades perfecting our services for enterprise and higher education organizations, creating configurable workgroups to solve the most complex pain points. We’ve established a thorough, modern interface fueled by a data-backed strategy so that your team can focus on organization, efficiency, and growth. To learn more about our workgroups, email [email protected] or schedule a demo with one of our team members today.