Educational Institutions Nationwide Go Back to School with Brightly Software

Brightly Software Asset Essentials Helps Schools Manage State-of-the-Art Facilities; Honored by Both U.S. News and Newsweek for Asset Management Leadership

CARY, N.C. – October 29, 2024 – Brightly Software, a Siemens company and the global leader in intelligent facilities asset management solutions, today announced that its Asset Essentials software received recognition for excellence in serving the education industry by Newsweek and U.S. News and World Report. 

As the fall semester progresses, effective facility management becomes critical to ensuring a safe and healthy learning environment. Brightly’s recent American Infrastructure and Capital Planning Survey: Education data found that almost half (46%) of respondents believe the quality of facilities is an important factor when evaluating district quality, and 44% would consider alternative education options due to the condition of a school’s infrastructure. 

In partnership with Brightly, four institutions going back to school with confidence this year include: 

• Baltimore City Public Schools, Baltimore, Maryland – The 75,000-student district streamlines its operations using Asset Essentials to better track, manage, and report on facilities maintenance and capital projects. The tool automatically assigns preventive maintenance tasks that need to be done and keeps track of work order history. It also quickly identifies maintenance challenges to keep students safe, offers easy access to data to diagnose problems, and justify capital requests.
• Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, North Carolina – Operating on its current, sprawling campus since 1956, facilities leaders selected Asset Essentials to track and report the university’s more than 80 buildings on 340 acres. With Brightly Software’s solution, Wake Forest University generates detailed data and reports to inform collegiate leaders and answer questions about air quality and airflow to improve facility conditions for over 9,000 students. 
• Kirkwood Community College, Cedar Rapids, Iowa – A longtime user of Brightly Software’s solutions, Kirkwood Community College has been able to institute 10-year deferred maintenance schedules to prolong asset life. After securing a $60 million construction bond, the organization is now focused on refurbishing and updating assets like heat pumps across its seven locations, 650 acres, and 2 million square feet of buildings. Asset Essentials supports Kirkwood in tracking and managing current facilities maintenance projects, while preserving all the institutional facilities data for the future. 

“Creating a safe learning environment for students depends on maintaining healthy assets and infrastructure for educational facilities,” said Katie Gramajo, senior industry marketing manager, education at Brightly Software, and former director of facilities and operations in schools. “It’s critical for facilities managers to have real-time information about the condition of every asset. One thing that stands out in all our client success stories is the important role Asset Essentials plays in driving smart, data-driven decisions that optimally maximize resources to create strong infrastructure and a safe environment for all students to learn.”

Brightly has earned top grades from two trusted third parties this fall. U.S. News & World Report named Asset Essentials the Best Asset Management Software for Schools and Universities, noting Brightly’s strengths in multiple decades of catering to schools, a robust consulting team, and cost-saving focus. The list, which was selected following comparisons and reviews of expert consultation ratings, also recognizes Asset Essentials for its energy monitoring feature, event planning services, and ESG tracking.

Newsweek named Asset Essentials to its list of the Seven Best Asset Management Software of October 2024 as Best for Education, noting the solution, “makes managing assets loaned to students straightforward and efficient, allowing teachers or administrators to track items assigned out of the classroom.” The list, which was selected by expert contributors comparing common preferences and potential pain points, notes strengths such as an easy-to-use system for maintenance tracking and planning, a mapping system to organize assets for easy distribution and collection, and quality customer support. 

Learn more about Asset Essentials for Education. 

About Brightly Software 

Brightly Software, a Siemens company, enables organizations to successfully plan, maintain, and sustain the entire lifecycle of their assets, facilities and infrastructure. As the global leader in intelligent asset management solutions for more than 25 years, Brightly’s sophisticated cloud-based platform is expertly designed to improve capital planning through smarter, data-driven decision making, empower technicians to predict, prioritize and manage preventative maintenance activities, and support organizations to achieve sustainability, compliance and efficiency goals. Combined with award-winning training, legendary support and managed services, more than 12,000 clients worldwide depend on Brightly to optimize their teams, operations and strategic planning initiatives. For more information, visit brightlysoftware.com.