4 Technology Tools Every Corporate Real Estate Leader Needs
As a corporate real estate (CRE) leader, you’re tasked with finding as many ways as possible to “do more with less.” And since real estate is one of your biggest expenses, you should take advantage of every tool at your disposal to identify opportunities to reduce spend.
Here are four types of essential corporate real estate technology tools that can help you make the smartest decisions about your company’s portfolio.
Top 4 Corporate Real Estate Technology Tools
1. Space Management Software
While the full scope of CRE management includes multiple components, the most basic elements are the buildings. Without a comprehensive understanding of how these spaces are being used, you may not take the most cost-effective route. Space management software gives you insight into crucial metrics, including:
- Locations, sizes and types of properties being leased
- Price per square foot per person
- Total capacity vs. actual occupancy
- Square footage by building and by floor
- Total square footage
- Utilization at portfolio, building and floor level
With this information, you can determine how efficiently space is being utilized and if it makes sense to consolidate or expand. You can take advantage of real-time and historical data to forecast future space demands and ensure your company budgets appropriately.
2. Mobile Facility Maintenance Software
As a CRE leader, you’re often on-the-go, visiting new properties every few days. If you’re on site and see a major issue (such as a malfunctioning HVAC system), you want to be able to address it right away. You also need to know the status on any pending work orders because each day a property is in need of maintenance or isn’t being fully utilized, it’s costing your company money.
That’s why mobile facility maintenance software is an essential piece of corporate real estate technology. It allows you to assist the facilities team with maintenance when you’re on the road and keep buildings running at maximum efficiency. It also enables you to see if certain properties are particularly expensive to maintain, which is helpful when it comes time to determine whether or not to renew a lease.
3. Lease Management Software
Effectively managing leases is critical for companies of every size. Missing payment deadlines can mean huge fines, and failing to renew contracts on time can spell disaster for the organization. Similarly, renewing contracts on underutilized property wastes thousands of dollars per month.
Lease management software puts everything you need for proper lease management into a single platform. All relevant documents such as contracts, photos and blueprints are in one central place. You also have on-demand access to crucial lease details, such as …
- Lease agreement type
- Lease start and end date
- Name of tenant(s)/lessee(s)
- Name of landlord/lessor
- Renewal options
- Renewal notification requirements
- Termination notification date
- Monthly payments
You can also schedule automatic notifications to alert your team about important upcoming dates, such as lease expirations. In addition, lease management software gives you insight into costs per department as well as lease obligations by month and by year.
4. Reporting and Analytics Software
Regardless of the size or composition of your company’s portfolio, the key to successful CRE is transparency. Without accurate, on-demand visibility into the details of every property, you’ll end up either wasting money on property you don’t need or having too many employees working in a crowded office.
Reporting and analytics software gives you this visibility. Powerful, customizable dashboards provide insight into cost of ownership and property value, allowing you to set benchmarks to guide future property and lease management decisions. These dashboards can also be translated into actionable reports you can share with executives in other departments.
What are some of your favorite corporate real estate technologies? Let us know on Twitter or Facebook.
