Facilities management guide
What is integrated facilities management (IFM)?
In short
Integrated facilities management (IFM) means one provider manages several building services, such as cleaning, security, fire and security systems and maintenance, under one coordinated contract and management structure. The aim is less contractor management, joined-up delivery and better value than buying each service separately.
Written by the SPS Group team · Updated 29 October 2026
What IFM covers
IFM brings services that keep a building clean, safe, secure and working under one provider. What is included varies by contract, but it usually covers some or all of:
- Cleaning: daily, periodic, specialist and washroom services
- Security: officers, mobile patrols, keyholding, alarm response and lock-up
- Fire and security systems: fire alarms, CCTV, access control and intruder alarms
- Maintenance and compliance: planned maintenance, repairs and testing such as PAT testing
- Helpdesk and reporting: one place to log issues and one set of performance reports
How IFM compares with other ways of buying FM
Organisations usually buy facilities services in one of five ways. None is right for everyone.
| Model | How it works | Strengths | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|
| In-house | You employ the staff directly | Full control | Recruitment, training, cover and compliance all sit with you |
| Single service | A separate contractor for each service | Specialists for each service | Several contracts, renewal dates and contacts to manage |
| Bundled | Two or more services from one provider | Fewer suppliers, some coordination | Services may still be run in isolation |
| Integrated (IFM) | Several services managed as one contract | One relationship, joined-up delivery, simpler reporting | Check how much the provider delivers itself and who manages each service |
| Total FM | Almost every building service from one provider | Maximum simplicity | Work is often subcontracted, sometimes with a markup, and performance by service can be hard to see |
When integrated FM makes sense
- You manage several sites, such as a school trust, an estate of offices or a portfolio of retail units
- Your services overlap, such as cleaners and security working to the same open-up and lock-up times
- You spend too much time managing separate contractors and chasing faults between them
- Several contracts renew at different times and you want to align them
- You want one set of reports for your board, governors or estates committee
What to check before you choose an IFM provider
- How much of the work the provider delivers with its own staff, and what is subcontracted
- Whether each service has a manager who specialises in it
- Who your single point of contact and escalation will be
- Accreditations for each service, not just the company overall
- How alarms, faults and out-of-hours issues are handled
- Whether each service is priced openly, so you can see what you are paying for
How SPS Group does it
SPS Group delivers integrated facilities management through its own specialist businesses: ICS Cleaning, SPS Security, SPS Technical and TESS, ICS Maintenance and SPS Academy. About 95% of services are self-delivered. Each service keeps a dedicated specialist manager, and a senior management team oversees the whole site as the single point of contact.
How our integrated facilities management works
