A property data strategy can be defined as the way in which an organization collects and uses information related to its buildings, systems and components to drive better business decisions. In today’s digital age, is your data really giving you what you need as an organization to succeed and differentiate itself?
Any real estate organization today needs to have a strong data platform. With the rise of big data and associated analytics platforms, a top priority should be looking at information and how it drives better business decisions.
Most firms, however, don’t always leverage their property data in the most effective ways. Two obstacles are the complexity of large organizations and multiple department needs. So, what are the must-haves to ensure your firm’s property data strategy is a competitive advantage? We list four below.
1. Understand That Data is a Business Need, Not a Technological Process
The key for any effective property data strategy is aligning data around the needs of the organization and core business processes. While addressing IT requirements may seem more cost-effective, it’s only a short term fix. A gap will emerge between truly impactful data and data that serves minimal uses.
Critical to this step, however, is investing (both capital and resources) in a flexible data platform. One that can evolve with the company and its organizational priorities over time is crucial. Rarely are “legacy” systems spoken of positively.
2. Think About Data Sourcing, Consistency and Automation
How information flows from buildings and staff to spreadsheets and management programs is critical for an effective property data strategy. A key opportunity exists in this regard, as the sourcing of data is just as important as the use of the information itself.
What’s the overall framework for the data collection process? Who’s in charge of data integrity, labeling and standardization? Are there any cross-department redundancies (or needs)? Are there any opportunities or resources such as software to build data collection into everyday tasks to streamline processes? Too many organizations have data that’s underused because of its quality or the way it’s structured. Remember: bad data in = bad data out.
3. Beyond Core Processes, Look at Future Data Opportunities
Although data should address real-time needs, it’s also useful to anticipate information an organization may need in the future. This process starts with having a flexible data platform that can ultimately be used in multiple ways. For instance, if an organization is collecting financial information for portfolio-level analysis, to what detail is the information being collected? The region? The building? The unit? The tenant? Often, a bottom-up, “asset-centric” approach to property data provides the most flexibility for future analysis needs.
4. Taking Advantage of Analytics
In addition to having a sound data collection and standardization strategy, it’s also important to think about what you do with the data afterwards. Great data should be paired with a great analytics platform. End-users should be able to understand and leverage data easily; raw data that requires time to analyze drains overall productivity. This process is often achieved by integrating software like 4tell™’s Real Estate Portfolio Solutions that drives powerful analytics and meaningful business decision-making.
Photos: Everett Historical / Shutterstock.com, Pressmaster / Shutterstock.com, Scorpp / Shutterstock.com
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