Software with a Service: Why the FMS Is Evolving

Tom Pammenter shares how 15 years supplying freelancers in UK broadcast led him to build a platform that solves the problem most FMS vendors ignore.

The FMS Gap Nobody Talks About

The freelance management system market has grown significantly over the past decade. But according to Tom Pammenter, most platforms are solving the wrong problem — or at least only solving the easy parts. They handle onboarding. They handle payments. But the chaotic middle — the actual booking, availability tracking, and day-to-day coordination of freelancers — gets left to spreadsheets and email chains.

Tom saw this firsthand in UK broadcast, an industry that has been freelance-first for decades. Production companies need specific people for specific days with specific skills. Everything is time-sensitive, seasonal, and availability-driven. Yet the platforms serving them were designed for enterprise procurement workflows that have nothing to do with how production actually operates.

"Most solutions handle the start and the end — onboarding and payments. But there's always some poor bugger in the middle with spreadsheets and email chains." — Tom Pammenter

Software with a Service: The SWAS Model

Perhaps the most memorable moment of the episode was Tom's articulation of what he calls "Software with a Service" — SWAS. The concept challenges the pure SaaS model that has dominated workforce tech. Buyers don't just want a login. They want expertise wrapped around their platform — people who understand their industry, know the compliance quirks, and can advise on decisions that software alone can't make.

In the UK, freelancers in specific broadcast roles are treated differently by HMRC. There are exemptions lists, classification nuances, and compliance rules that change regularly. An off-the-shelf platform won't know any of this. But a partner with 15 years in the industry will.

"I don't just want to be referred to a pop-up AI agent. I want people behind it that care and know what they're doing. It's not just the login." — Tom Pammenter

FMS Evolution: From Finding People to Managing Chaos

Jack Spencer, who spent a decade building recruitment technology, provided critical context on how the FMS category evolved. It started with a simple problem: help me find the right people. But clients quickly pushed for more. Once you deliver a freelancer, you've created a compliance problem. Now handle onboarding, contracts, right-to-work checks, payments. Before long, a beautiful little idea became a heavyweight workflow.

The defining moment for every FMS company is the choice: become a holistic end-to-end platform, or stay focused on what you do best and partner with others. Jack's observation? The companies willing to play nicely with partners are the ones prospering — not the ones chasing global domination.

"I've seen tech stacks of big production houses in Soho. Take the logo off and it could be for a bank. Nothing signals the type of workforce they're managing." — Jack Spencer

Why Broadcast Is the Blueprint

What makes Tom's perspective so valuable is that broadcast has already solved the problem most industries are just now discovering. Freelancing in production isn't new or disruptive — it's the status quo. High-skilled people delivering core capability work, not just flexing up and down. The entire industry runs on availability, suitability, and speed.

Tom took over an account at a major UK broadcaster that had a six-person internal bookings team managing freelancer requests through email. People were being contacted for availability when they were already in the building working for a different department. Hive 25 replaced that team of six with one person and a booking engine built for how production actually works.

"A lot of people in creative industries wanted to be involved but ended up in a golden cul-de-sac — well paid but executing someone else's vision." — Tom Pammenter

The Bottom Line

The FMS market is at an inflection point. Pure software is becoming commodity — anyone can vibe code a front end over a weekend. What differentiates the winners is domain expertise, genuine partnership, and the willingness to solve unglamorous problems that nobody else wants to touch. Tom Pammenter's "Software with a Service" model isn't just a clever term. It's a blueprint for how workforce technology companies should be building in 2026 and beyond.

About Tom Pammenter

Tom Pammenter is the Founder of Hive 25 and Frame, with 15+ years supplying freelancers in the UK production and broadcast industry. He built Hive 25 to solve the booking and availability challenges that legacy platforms ignore.

About Jack Spencer

Jack Spencer spent a decade at the intersection of recruitment technology and flexible workforce strategy, including scaling Juno from startup to multinational. He now advises organizations on unlocking the future workforce.

Listen to the full episode: Human Cloud Podcast on Spotify

This article was adapted from the Human Cloud Podcast. Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.