„Providers of integrated facility management will find interesting opportunities in Italy“

With Silvia Cacciavillani, Apleona has gained a highly experienced industrial and FM manager for one of its most important foreign markets. The 57-year-old Milanese speaks four languages: Italian, French, English and perfect German. This comes as no surprise, given that her career has included positions at Lufthansa, Siemens and Goldbeck. Most recently, she spent over seven years as CFO and COO at ISS Facility Services Italy.

What does a successful FM company need to offer its customers in the Italian market?

A flexible approach to integrated facility management that continuously takes the customer's strategy into account and adapts to their business model. In addition, continuity and quality in service delivery so that the customer can concentrate on their core business.

How do you assess market growth in Italy over the next few years?

Since 2022, we have seen a significant acceleration in the average annual growth rate.

Is future growth based on the outsourcing of FM services?

Facility management is not yet fully developed in Italy. In fact, the Italian FM market is still characterised by a large number of small providers. As a result, the level of outsourcing of real estate services is much lower than in other European countries with comparable gross domestic product (GDP) and population size. The finance and industrial sectors are the most advanced in this respect. I see further continuous growth and increasing consolidation in these two sectors in the future. Opportunities for large, international and integrated service providers such as Apleona will arise in the fastest-growing sectors of transport and logistics, healthcare, the public sector in general and the education sector in particular, as well as in the telecommunications and high-tech industries.

What are the general trends and drivers in the Italian FM market?

The industry will continue to focus on service integration and high-quality consulting services, with a strong emphasis on corporate productivity and sustainability. M&A activity (company acquisitions and sales) will continue to be more strategic than in the past, taking into account high industry expertise, new technologies and a digitalised approach to FM management.

In your opinion, what trends are key to success in the Italian market?

In my opinion, hard services (technical services) will be in greater demand than soft services in the future. This will create interesting opportunities for integrated providers, especially if they focus on the fastest-growing services and sectors. Innovation and new technologies including AI will lead to completely new business models and customer-service provider relationships. This requires maximum flexibility in terms of service portfolio and organisation. As a result, strong cooperation and partnerships will become increasingly important for service providers.