Fiber optic systems, wireless communications, management and planning software, rent benchmarking, web based property listing, and more—its all here in our special expanded 2001 Technology Roundup!
The Human Touch
Communicating with over 3,300 employees spread over 130 shopping malls is a tough job that can often leave workers feeling out of touch. Sensing that, General Growth Properties has taken the steps to bring everybody into the fold with Ultimate Software's web-based human resources program UltiPro Web. Now, employees at each mall can access their personnel information through their mall's UltiPro Web kiosk.
"One of the benefits of using UltiPro is that it will allow us to get information to our employee's fingertips. It empowers them to make changes to their benefits and sign up for training programs," said Judy Herbst, vice president, human resources.
Payroll, leave, and retirement plans are all accessible to GGP employees via the new kiosks. And, instead of contacting the HR department for forms, employees can make changes to their personal information as well through the kiosk.
"Employees are able to see their last paycheck, check their deductions, and leave balances," said Cathie Hollowell, HRIS manager. "If they transferred or got a promotion they can check to see if their new title or increase had gone through before they get their paycheck."
Payroll and other personal data is password protected. Each employee is given a default password which they change once their data has gone online, explained Hollowell.
"It has smoothed out many of our processes and made us more efficient," said Herbst.
"It has definitely cut down on file transactions," agreed Hollowell, adding, "[This system] is critical when employees have different hours."
A Treasure Trove of Data
CoStar ConnectTM, created by CoStar Group, Inc., will allow commercial real estate firms to license its technology to market property listings on their corporate web sites.
"There' s nothing more embarrassing then having the information on your own web site outdated," said Mark Klionsky, senior vice president and product manager of CoStar Connect. "CoStar Connect is the only product that can address that. Besides providing web hosting, and sophisticated software, users of CoStar ConnectTM have access to CoStar data and its entire library of digital imagery for use on their own web site.
"The most valuable thing that we do that no one else can do is give owners a single source for updating the listings on their web site," said Klionsky. The firm is currently tracking 800,000 properties nationwide and has nearly a million digital images that is continually updated.
"This product is driven by customer demand," said Klionsky. "They know we have the data, they know we have the imagery and they were frustrated using the products in the market before the introduction of CoStar Connect."
Rather than going into a search room, users on the site are brought into the property the owner wishes to feature. Then the user can find the building information, view graphics, access a space calculator and search other properties. "It's all in terms a non-real estate professional would easily understand," added Klionsky.
Unplugged Purchasing
Busy property managers no longer have to stay near their computers to bid on or purchase building supplies now that AvidXchange has gone wireless. By using Nextel, Sprint, or Verizon Wireless networks, products and services can by purchased from the field.
"We're the only ones that have incorporated both the bid management tool and functionality tool with the e-procurement functions that enable property managers to use wireless technologies," said Michael Praeger, co-founder and CEO of the Charlotte, NC, firm.
AvidXchange is a business service provider of web based software tools designed to streamline the purchasing and bid management functions for commercial real estate property operators. Its main functions are to put the bidding and the purchasing processes online.
"By moving those two functions online our customers typically see a 10 to 20 percent increase in net operating income," said Praeger. "They're able to achieve those efficiencies two ways: first, by getting better pricing through a more competitive bidding process, and second, is the efficiency of taking the process offline and moving it online." On top of that, the wireless technologies add value by allowing purchases in the field access to the process.
"The buyer is able to receive bid notification through phone or personal digital system such as the Palm (a PDA device) and respond through phone or the PDA device."
Technology Drives Rents
With rents jumping more than 26 percent in the first half of 2000, San Francisco, CA, made the top 10 most expensive markets in the world for office tenants on The Semi-annual Global Market Rents survey released by CB Richard Ellis Global Research & Consulting.
"This is the first time a U.S. city has gotten into the top 10 in the last 10 years," said Bill Rothe, senior executive managing director. Every six months, CB Richard Ellis surveys 100+ cities around the world. Technology was clearly the factor driving San Francisco's leap. New York City followed in 12th place and Silicon Valley fell in 13th place. Tokyo, Japan was again the number one city.
Magnificent Seven?
Archstone Communities, AvalonBay Communities, Camden Property Trust, Equity Residential Properties Trust, Gables Residential, Post Properties, and United Dominion Realty are the seven apartment REITs and leading investors in VIVA, an Internet leasing exchange that enables renters to market themselves to apartment operators.
"We believe that this is another avenue to receive potential residents," said Jack Callison, Archstone Communities. "Using VIVA, we can pick and choose the markets where we believe it is useful to use this type of technology." VIVA is currently serving 15 major metropolitan markets in Arizona, Nevada, Texas, Florida and Georgia, with plans to expand nationally in 2001.
Approximately 20 percent of apartment customers currently use the Internet as a starting point for their apartment search. That number is expected to double by 2003, according to R. Scot Sellers, chairman and CEO of Archstone.
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Just Rewards
Not one to take a backseat in technological advancement, apartment REIT, Post Properties, Inc., Atlanta, GA, was awarded the "New Faces Of The New Economy Award" for its innovative use of technology by ON24, a personalized broadband network for financial news and corporate information. "We were very honored to receive this award," said Janice Maddox, corporate communications. The REIT received the award for accessibility over the Internet, smart marketing and overall innovation in technology.
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And, VIVA is poised to take advantage. It is the only web service that enables renters to "put themselves on the market" and request precisely what they want, said Scott Ingraham, chairman and CEO, VIVA.
"It enables renters to receive real time rental offers from properties and then to engage in a 'keyboard to keyboard' digital dialogue. Rental offers have more specific and fresher information than listings (such as the exact rent, security deposit, special, move-in date, that a vacant unit is available, etc.), and is a 'pay for performance' financial model, that enables properties to register their properties in the Viva marketplace for free and then pay success fees only when lease transactions are consummated. Also, Viva's success fees are very attractive to the owner community since they are 75 percent less (on average) than offline brokers and apartment locators charge," he explained.
While renters are not pre-qualified from a credit approval standpoint—a feature that will be offered soon—they are pre-qualified as to type of rental, i.e., location, rent range, floor play, property type, or pets.
"They also indicate their preferred property feature and unit features," said Ingraham. "When the renters make a digital appointment they are very familiar with exactly what to expect when they arrive at the property for a viewing."
Dividend Calculator
Duke-Weeks Realty Corporation is sponsoring Dividend DiscountModel.com, a stock valuation tool that calculates the present value of the dividend a company is expected to pay to its stockholders. The DDM allows investors to determine an absolute or "intrinsic" value of a company that is not influenced by current stock market conditions.
"The DDM will help investors determine the intrinsic value of quality dividend growth for companies like Duke-Weeks that have both exemplary track records of earnings and dividend growth, and excellent prospects for continued strong performance in the figure."
On the site, investors can estimate the value of any stock using the data available. They can also calculate the expected rate of return based on current stock prices and find "top dividend performers" that have been selected based on historic and expected dividend performance and "Free stocks" that are expected to pay for themselves in dividends over the next 10 years.
A Place to Call Your Own
When a tenant moves out, real estate owners are finding new tenants by listing their available space online with RealCentric, Los Gatos, CA. By clicking onto www.realcentric. com business owners looking for space can not only secure offices, but they can contact professional service providers such as attorneys, accountants, and architects, and they can outfit their new offices by submitting requests to furniture, telecomm, computer vendors and more via the site.
"RealCentric collapses the time involved between seeking space and occupying it," said Jim Stuart, president. "Our primary customer is the business tenant and solving their needs is tantamount. In doing so, we create value for the landlord and owner."
RealCentric also offers would-be tenants tools such as Expert Advice and City Profiles in which they can become more knowledgeable about the leasing process and the city where they would like to lease space. And, offline, RealCentric offers industry specialists, business solution managers and a toll-free call center to help tenants make decisions with knowledge. "We are an ideal combination of offline customer service and online efficiencies with the ability to connect an otherwise disconnected process."
"RealCentric's project— based web environment means that tenants can search through [our data] and organize their results," said Stuart. The site also has a built-in Request-For-Proposal engine that allows tenants to submit multiple requests to landlords, brokers, and office supply vendors who can then respond quickly online allowing a business owner or a broker to make side-by-side comparisons and expedite the leasing process.
Once they start collecting data, tenants can store that information on the site in private project folders, making office suite shopping more organized. Additionally, they can also expect assistance from business solution mangers who track that business every step of the way to make sure they're getting the needed results.
"Real estate owners benefit by leasing space more effectively. It's a way for businesses to lease and occupy space in as short an amount of time as possible," said Stuart, adding, "The business is up running faster and they're paying rent sooner."
Prentiss Properties Trust, Dallas, TX, is one REIT that is listing on RealCentric. With properties in 12 markets, this REIT is anticipating positive results. "RealCentric gives us the opportunity to expose our products to potential tenants who may want to do some resesarch before hiring a broker or may feel comfortable without using a broker," said Michael Schack, vice president of Prentiss Properties. "We're excited about being with RealCentric and believe that it will lead to future leasing with our properties."
Fast Fixes
Backed by 16 years of experience selling maintenance, repair and other products to the multifamily housing industry, Buyers Access's leap onto the Internet was a natural move. Launched in March 2000, the site was quick to reach $2.5 million in online sales, buying products from more than 50 of the nation's leading suppliers. Recently, exercise equipment, lighting, window covering companies, office products, and swimming pool suppliers have joined up with paint, floor covering and maintenance providers. "Our program has 700,000 member units," said David O'Leary, president of the Denver, CO, firm. "We provide the information and they make the decisions." With more than 75,000 products to choose from, shopping via the BuyersAccess web site makes procurement an easy task. "The Internet is a tool to enhance our business and to deliver product information 24/7 to our customers," said O'Leary. "It facilitates the process, provides better information for customers to track, and now customers receive invoices and make payments electronically." Although BuyersAccess is limited to apartment units owned by Apartment Investment and Management Company, the program will be rolled out to the industry early this year, says O'Leary. "We have a program that works," he notes. "We're very focused."
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Easy Does It
Eziaz, a nationwide provider of high-speed Internet access and enhanced data services, and formerly known as SiteLine, Inc. formed a national strategic alliance with CB Richard Ellis, Chicago, IL, allowing it to deliver Internet services to owner tenants in more than 1,200 commercial office buidlings managed by it. "CB Richard Ellis is committed to providing advanced Internet communication services to all of our commercial office buidlings," says Jana Turner, president of managed services for CB Richard Ellis. "We decided Eziaz meets this need by delivering value-added applications, which in turn position our tenants for growth."
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Planning Ahead
Creating efficiencies is what Workspeed, Inc., a web-based building management platform, will do for its real estate partners such as Mack-Cali Realty Corp., Cranford, NJ.
"The platform that was outlined to me at a very early stage seemed very logical in terms of using a technological solution to create order within operating real estate, particualry commercial real estate," explained Mitchell Hersh, CEO. "It was very compelling to us. We can use it as a tool to communicate with our tenants and make the quality of life that much better and more efficient within the real estate so that it effectively creates an additional level of partnering between us as the landlord and the tenant as the customer."
Initially, Workspeed will be utilized to manage the properties. Users will be able to authorize, dispatch, and track maintenance requests, schedule shared building resources, request additional landlord or vendor services and provide all users with access to a common data source for property information. Owners and managers will be able to sort and analyze property-operating information for an individual building or across a portfolio of properties. The platform will be utilized to create billings and collect accounts receivables as development continues.
Workspeed is being beta tested in several facilities in San Francisco and New York City. "I personally have viewed several demonstrations and it seems to be very technologically proficient. Workspeed is very user friendly, with very simple applications and instructions," said Hersh. "It's another example of utilizing technology today to create greater efficiencies and a stronger partnership between landlord and tenant. This is merely the first step in the journey."
