Following up on our last Advisory, this week we will discuss the technologies that are driving the business trends emerging within the Property Management sector of the Commercial Real Estate industry. Many of the technologies impacting Property Management business operations are the same as found in other sectors. Although the technologies might be the same, the way each aspect of the industry uses these new tools can vary significantly.

Inexpensive / Powerful Computers
One of the most significant new computer technologies announced in the last 24 months and perfected over the last 12 are tablet computers. These compact and powerful portable computers will change the entire computing paradigm for the mobile professional. These tablets PC's, when combined with wireless, will allow leasing agents, onsite managers, maintenance personnel and security staff to access any information or transaction systems at all times.

Broadband Communications
Broadband, simply put, will be the foundation for all of the communication systems that will be required to operate a Property Management operation in the future. Property Management organizations will have to take increased responsibility to ensure a comprehensive broadband infrastructure for their tenants, who will come to rely on broadband for their own internal communications needs and will require broadband to facilitate sophisticated building automation strategies.

Wireless Technologies
Wireless technologies will be at the center of this new computing paradigm. At the most fundamental level, they will change the way people work. Instead of requiring people to work from a desk, wireless technology allows them to operate in a more mobile capacity. Bluetooth may still be utilized for short-range applications such as entry access; the 802.11 standard can provide the wireless infrastructure to run everything from video surveillance to tenant hotspots and in-building wireless (cell phone) will be utilized to deliver absolute coverage throughout the entire facility.

A Standard Wide Area Network (The Internet)
For the first time in the history of computing all information systems professionals are writing to one standard platform, the Internet. This means that building automation companies will be designing systems that can ultimately communicate with Property Management systems. Some day, parking gate transactions will be funneled electronically to the accounting systems of both the tenant and the landlord.

Internet Appliances (Building Automation)
Building automation could potentially impact Property Management more than any of the other technologies. Imagine every device in a building, needing to be manually maintained, monitored or controlled in some fashion. Internet appliances are now being used to control lighting, HVAC, security, utilities, landscaping, and access. When one considers all of the manual operations that take place in a building and the expenses associated with these manual processes, it is not hard to imagine the impact that the concept of Internet Appliances could have on the Property and Facility Management business.


Internet Based Integrated Systems (IBIIS)
At the end of the day, Internet Based Integrated Information Systems (IBIIS), are at the heart of the paperless transformation of the Property Management sector. These systems will be the heartbeat of the industry. There is much work to do as many of the current information systems are disparate or closed and do not openly communicate with other systems. The other issue is that many business processes found within Property Management are still manual and rely on paper based manual systems. Over the next five years, these IBIIS systems will begin to transform Property Management to an efficient, digital and paperless industry.

Out of all the various aspects of the Commercial Real Estate industry, Property and Facility Management could be the most impacted by automation. The reason for this is threefold, 1) the business systems for so long have been very paper intensive and manual, 2) the industry has been so resistant for such a long period of time that the reversal could be dramatic and 3) with a growing concern over operational efficiency and profitability, automation is clearly the tool which can deliver these demanding business objectives. The changes will be great, the challenges tough but at the end of the day, Property Management will be reinvented and the industry will be better prepared for the 21st century.