--- title: "What Is Integrated Facilities Management (IFM)? | SPS Group" url: https://spsgroupservices.com/guides/what-is-integrated-facilities-management description: "Integrated facilities management explained: what IFM covers, how it differs from single-service, bundled and total FM contracts, and when it makes sense for your organisation." lang: en-GB --- Skip to content Clean · Protect · Detect · Maintain · Train · Integrate · Yorkshire and Lincolnshire since 1992 01482 226570 (+441482226570) 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 (https://spsgroupservices.com/integrated-facilities-management) ## Questions What does IFM stand for?▾ IFM stands for integrated facilities management: several building services managed by one provider under one coordinated contract. Is integrated facilities management cheaper?▾ It often is, because services can be designed together, duplication comes out and you spend less time managing contractors. Savings depend on the sites, the risks and the current contracts, so a site review is the best way to find out. What is the difference between integrated FM and total FM?▾ Integrated FM brings several services together under one coordinated contract. Total FM aims to cover almost every building service, hard and soft, and usually relies more on subcontractors to do it. Can I start with one service and move to integrated FM later?▾ Yes. Many organisations start with one service, such as cleaning or keyholding, and add others as contracts come up for renewal. Related - Integrated facilities management with SPS Group: https://spsgroupservices.com/integrated-facilities-management - Soft FM vs hard FM: https://spsgroupservices.com/guides/soft-fm-vs-hard-fm - 10 questions to ask a facilities management provider: https://spsgroupservices.com/guides/questions-to-ask-a-facilities-management-provider Facilities management across Yorkshire and Lincolnshire Facilities management in Hull and East Yorkshire: https://spsgroupservices.com/facilities-management/hull-east-yorkshire Facilities management in Grimsby and North East Lincolnshire: https://spsgroupservices.com/facilities-management/grimsby-north-east-lincolnshire Facilities management in Lincolnshire: https://spsgroupservices.com/facilities-management/lincolnshire Facilities management in South Yorkshire: https://spsgroupservices.com/facilities-management/south-yorkshire Facilities management in West Yorkshire: https://spsgroupservices.com/facilities-management/west-yorkshire Facilities management in York and North Yorkshire: https://spsgroupservices.com/facilities-management/york-north-yorkshire Talk to us about facilities management for your sites. We'll arrange a site review and show you where combining services makes sense. 01482 226570: +441482226570 Integrated FM: https://spsgroupservices.com/integrated-facilities-management Accredited and approved ## Independently accredited across every capability All accreditations and frameworks (https://spsgroupservices.com/accreditations) - Image: SIA Approved Contractor, held by SPS Security (https://media.base44.com/images/public/698915a4f050929687a915b6/3d7d7139b_image.png) - Image: BAFE SP203-1 fire detection and alarm systems, held by SPS Technical (https://media.base44.com/images/public/6989f2350e53aab8836435e3/406d9784c_bafe-logo.png) - Image: SSAIB certified security systems, held by SPS Technical (https://media.base44.com/images/public/698915a4f050929687a915b6/c9e7dc74b_image.png) - Image: ISO 9001 and ISO 14001, UKAS accredited certification, held by ICS Cleaning, SPS Security, SPS Technical (https://media.base44.com/images/public/698915a4f050929687a915b6/3f160a20c_image.png) - Image: Crescent Purchasing Consortium supplier, held by ICS Cleaning (https://qtrypzzcjebvfcihiynt.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/base44-prod/public/698d1493256c3e7612121fcc/c6b8bd093_CrescentLogo_Suppliers.png) - Image: CHAS accredited contractor, held by SPS Group (https://media.base44.com/images/public/698915a4f050929687a915b6/a31a34ebe_image.png) - Image: SafeContractor, held by SPS Group (https://media.base44.com/images/public/698915a4f050929687a915b6/8031d3964_image.png) - Image: BSIA member, held by SPS Group (https://media.base44.com/images/public/698915a4f050929687a915b6/93e58a076_image.png) - Image: Achilles Network Silver Plus, held by SPS Security (https://media.base44.com/images/public/698915a4f050929687a915b6/4a8991034_image.png) - Image: Achilles BuildingConfidence, held by SPS Security (https://media.base44.com/images/public/698915a4f050929687a915b6/6d454a108_image.png) - Image: Acclaim Accreditation (SSIP), held by SPS Security (https://media.base44.com/images/public/698915a4f050929687a915b6/79dcd06bd_image.png) ## Structured data ```json [ { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "Article", "headline": "What is integrated facilities management (IFM)?", "description": "Integrated facilities management explained: what IFM covers, how it differs from single-service, bundled and total FM contracts, and when it makes sense for your organisation.", "url": "https://spsgroupservices.com/guides/what-is-integrated-facilities-management", "mainEntityOfPage": "https://spsgroupservices.com/guides/what-is-integrated-facilities-management", "inLanguage": "en-GB", "datePublished": "2026-10-29", "dateModified": "2026-10-29", "author": { "@id": "https://spsgroupservices.com/#organization" }, "publisher": { "@id": "https://spsgroupservices.com/#organization" }, "about": [ "Facilities management", "Integrated facilities management" ] }, { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://spsgroupservices.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Guides", "item": "https://spsgroupservices.com/guides" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "What is integrated facilities management?", "item": "https://spsgroupservices.com/guides/what-is-integrated-facilities-management" } ] }, { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "FAQPage", "mainEntity": [ { "@type": "Question", "name": "What does IFM stand for?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "IFM stands for integrated facilities management: several building services managed by one provider under one coordinated contract." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "Is integrated facilities management cheaper?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "It often is, because services can be designed together, duplication comes out and you spend less time managing contractors. 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