Why Technology Is Crucial For CRE -- And Why Investors Now Expect it - Forbes

Most tech solution stories start with the need to not only figure out but also how to navigate around a specific pain point.

For commercial real estate, an industry that has historically been slow in adopting technology as compared to other industries, instead of simply playing catch up and solving those pain points, it is imperative to stay ahead of the curve. Not only are today's employees increasingly requiring it but tenants are also expecting it. And more than likely, the competition, too, is aiming to be at the top of their tech game.

For the many commercial real estate companies looking to utilize technology, there's a lot of uncertainty when it comes to figuring out which solution might be right for them. Some companies are looking to improve data management or contract management, while others might want a better decision-analysis software or one that can provide improved efficiency. No matter which type of technology is the right starting place for your company, one thing is certain: At a time when large brokerage firms are heavily investing in the space, incorporating something and using it is key — and staying at the forefront of CRE technology is essential.

Not only that, but investors in the commercial real estate space are also expecting it. The "2019 Commercial Real Estate Outlook" report by Deloitte says that investors have certain expectations about technology usage from their CRE investee companies. Over 80% of the survey's respondents said that commercial real estate companies "should prioritize the use of predictive analytics and business intelligence."

Those results aren't at all surprising to me, since improved efficiency will become a great advantage during future downturns. We often hear about robotic process automating and other diverse technologies that move across many functions and processes, but if you are at a standstill trying to figure out where to begin incorporating technology, start at the foundation and think about what information you have as a company that you can better use to your advantage.

The foundation of any great analytics and automated solution is data. Companies need to pay attention to how they capture and manage their data, whether it is property data, internal company data or the data hidden in their documents.

The first step should be to collect, standardize and manage data in a more efficient and accurate way. The important qualifier to note is to be sure that the data collected is clean, because without clean data analytics, any technology software is useless.

Once all that is accomplished, that clean data can be used to your advantage to improve many other aspects of the business and make more informed decisions. Better investment decisions result in better ROI and better management decisions resulting in higher efficiency company-wide, improved tenant experience and lower operating costs.

Let's look at Real Capital Analytics, for example. Founder and president Bob White has said that technology has played a huge role in shortening the time it takes to both market and sell a property, and that technology has allowed investors to transact across ever-increasing distances. By taking advantage of these advancements, commercial real estate brokers can become even smarter and more efficient.

It is important to note that being at the forefront of technology does not mean all jobs will be replaced, as some might think. Above all, commercial real estate is still a personal business where relationships matter. What technology can do, however, is give a competitive advantage to those relationships.

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