New Technologies Changing the Way Property Managers Do Business
Businesses throughout the U.S. have become increasingly dependent on the mobile world. As commercial property landlords work to attract and retain tenants within this context, tech-savvy millennials are among the new school of decision-makers when it comes to site selection, and they are looking for the latest high-tech solutions. This includes mobile services that extend from online bill paying and work order management, to simply text messaging with a property rep with any questions or building issues.
As a result, the ability to deliver superior customer service is now a prerequisite for competing in this space – regardless of property type. Additionally, practitioners must streamline tasks with a more creative, transparent and instantaneous approach to communicating with tenants and property owners, retrieving and analyzing historical data, and sourcing and closing deals.
Today’s CRE technologies are not only changing the way property managers do business, but the very activities they perform on a daily basis. The routine collection and input of data has been replaced by a more substantive, analytical function. Rather than spending hours gathering information, property managers are now more prepared to meet and exceed customer demands with the wealth of analytics stored on their computers and available through all forms of mobile devices. This entails the instantaneous access of information ranging from stand-alone property, accounting, vacancy and project management information to reporting, budgeting, valuation and contract management details from nearly any remote location.
Cutting-edge Cloud Services
The most cutting-edge property management/accounting systems offer industry-specific solutions for multifamily and CRE owners and managers. They seamlessly support multi-cloud integrations with other best-in-class software products, while also serving as a “single point of truth” for capturing and processing real estate enterprise and financial data.
This is achieved through open APIs (application program interfaces) and a well-assembled commercial real estate tech stack that eliminates barriers and enables the effortless interaction and sharing of cloud-based applications and services. Robust lease abstracting, utility and tenant service billing, payment processing, and tenant screening are just a few of the features designed to make day-to-day management tasks automatic and convenient within the office or from the field.
Increased Analytics for Enhanced Productivity
What does the mobile revolution mean beyond worksite agility and streamlined processes? Consider this statement:
“Ninety percent of the data in the world was generated in the last two years alone,” according to Technative. This incredible pace will only continue to accelerate with the growth of IoT. The problem is no longer the generation of such detailed, complex information, but the humanization of details into qualitative and quantitative information that is both easily accessed and managed.
Subsequently, the growing use of data analytics ranks as one of the property management industry’s leading trends. Knowledge is nice, but the ability to quickly decipher all the details to make cogent, thoughtful decisions that benefit customers and users alike is even better.
This includes transforming data sets into story-telling narratives that can be readily accessed, reviewed and retold from anywhere in the world with one or two mouse clicks on a single remote device. It also means capably disseminating this protected data to authorized individuals though the use of mobile applications that enhance worker productivity and deliver personalized customer experiences.
Mobility also represents the next stage of evolution for real estate professionals looking to stay on the good side of clients, owners and tenants. Immediacy is no longer an option or luxury. People want answers and they want them now. There is no place to hide in a world where everyone is accessible 24/7 via text, email or cellphone.
That is the value of mobility: the ability to turn smart devices into mobile data centers that make doing business in the field as efficient, transparent and transitory as any activity performed in the office.