The ability to monitor financial, energy and environmental performance of real property portfolio assets is critical for organizations—so why is technology often left out of the discussion?
For many organizations, enterprise technology is something rarely discussed. Capital has to be deployed. Budgets have to be managed. Business objectives need to be met. In the pursuit of meeting these goals, however, a critical piece often gets overlooked—the process by which they are defined, prioritized and tracked. As such, as daily pressures mount, improving existing strategic and operational processes fall to the wayside.
“I will have to get back to you”
Imagine this typical scenario: you are in the middle of a meeting when someone asks a financial question about a property you do not have the answer for. The printed papers in front of you do not help, nor does the chart shown on the screen. Answering the question would require in-depth analysis of several data points from various areas of the business. “I will have to get back you” becomes a common phrase.
Now imagine another discussion is being held offsite at a property. A similar question is asked. Instead of papers or static spreadsheets, you pull out a tablet and, within a few quick swipes, the answer is found. As a further step, a report is automated, stored and emailed to various stakeholders a moment later.
The benefits of dynamic, scalable data
The interplay between a single asset and its larger portfolio is highly important but most data systems do not support this relationship in a dynamic way. Static spreadsheets and silo databases do not easily allow for complex portfolio analysis or summarization of data for multiple buildings. Changing a data point at the asset level in a static database for instance, would require substantial backtracking to ensure consistency of information through to the portfolio level. A key aspect of 4tell’s portfolio solutions is the ability to scale data analysis and scenario assessment, allowing executives to identify pain points for individual properties and their immediate impact at various levels across the portfolio and business.
Accessibility and mobility through real time data
As the speed to which we work gets faster, emerging technologies are allowing organizations to mobilize their workforce. Field staff can access and enter data in real-time, while owners, executives and operators can see those changes near instantaneously. Cloud technology, along with big data, have been key drivers of this emerging trend.
There are new data solutions emerging to help move an organization away from static portfolio analysis, but many underestimate the merits. There are numerous benefits of investment in software however, be it time-savings or having the ability to understand financial performance at a higher level of detail. Forward-thinking organizations, accordingly, are realizing the benefits of adopting technologies that activate their data, leading to more effective solutions for optimizing portfolio performance.
Top photo credit: Denis Vrublevski/Shutterstock
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