Technology Solutions
Tech on Deck
Find out what innovations will lead off the new year.
By Jeff Whitworth |
New technologies offer enormous opportunities to increase
productivity and improve client service. Yet, like most emerging systems,
success hinges on how the advancement is applied within an industry. The
following five technologies have the potential to change the way commercial
real estate professionals do business. Some are big-picture applications and
others affect day-to-day brokerage activities. While mass acceptance and
adoption of these advances depends on many factors, these technologies clearly
point the way to commercial real estate's future.
1. Connected Real Estate
While not a new idea, connected real estate is the future
and it's moving closer to reality every day. Large companies such as Cisco
Systems now are pushing the idea of wiring buildings for complete data
capabilities and offering tenants information technology services. It makes
sense: Providing a large, shared Internet connection can reduce tenants' costs,
offering services such as voice over Internet protocol means immediate phone
service for new tenants, and supporting the wired infrastructure reduces
tenants' individual IT needs. As technology services transition from building
amenity to necessity, connected-building leasing agents have a sharp
competitive edge, provided the follow-through infrastructure support meets
tenants' needs. Landlords also gain built-in access to potential new revenue
streams as wired buildings have the technology in place to expand their IT
services to include e-mail hosting, server co-location, and network
administration.
Pro: Great competitive leasing edge and potential revenue
producer
Con: Requires high initial investment and strong
follow-up support
Bottom line: Those willing to take an early risk will
profit the most in the end.
2. Google Maps
Recently Google made two great leaps by integrating data
from Google Earth with Google Maps to produce satellite imagery maps and
releasing the Google Maps Application Program Interface
(www.google.com/apis/maps). Web developers can use the API to create
feature-rich Web sites that incorporate Google maps. For example, brokers can
enter the address of an office building and retrieve all the competing lease
space in the area. By using Google Earth Pro, offered through the STDBOnline
Power Tools section (www.STDBOnline.com), users also can create overlays that
display other detailed property information such as crime statistics and
household demographics. Such integration of maps and data illustrates the real
strength of Google Maps. For more examples of how Google Maps are being used,
visit www.googlemapsmania.blogspot.com.
Pro: Maps, satellite imagery, and information creates an
easy-to-understand visual
Con: Satellite imagery is spotty and Web development is
required
Bottom line: Look for more commercial real estate
professionals to incorporate Google Maps into marketing materials and
presentations.
3. Really Simple Syndication
The news industry did it, but will it work for commercial
real estate? News Web sites use really simple syndication, or RSS, to
distribute news articles in a standard format (visit www.cnn.com/services/rss
for an example), but RSS has the potential to distribute more than just news.
If the commercial real estate industry adopted RSS or a similar standard as its
format, users could update listing information in one place - the RSS feed -
and the change would be reflected in all listing engines that pull data from
that one feed. For example, your company could host an RSS feed featuring 1031
exchange needs and a commercial information exchange such as CCIMNet could pick
up such feeds and display them. Yahoo, Google, and Windows Live now allow you
to add RSS feeds directly to your home page so that you can see news from the
sites that interest you. Imagine adding an RSS feed from real estate sites so
that all the listings from particular market sectors or companies are displayed
in one location.
Pro:More listing exposure and better information
management
Con: A major listing engine needs to take the first step
in implementing RSS for commercial real estate
Bottom line: To be effective, a standard listing format
for commercial real estate would require the majority of the industry to
participate.
4. Fiber to the Premises
Fiber to the Premises, or FTTP, entails replacing current
copper wire infrastructure with fiber-optic lines, which results in much larger
bandwidth and much faster Internet speed. This opens the door to providing such
services as video feeds for online conferencing or visual walk-throughs of
building spaces on a regular basis. Verizon already has introduced a major
initiative to implement FTTP so that it can begin offering television along
with phone and Internet services. Local municipalities also are getting into
the act: Lafayette, La., residents voted to unplug current providers and
develop their own FTTP infrastructure.
Pro: Faster Internet and more bandwidth means increased
Web applications
Con: Higher expectations from businesses for increased
speed
Bottom line: FTTP already is becoming a reality.
5. WiMax
WiMax, or wireless broadband, is capable of blanketing
complete cities with wireless Internet access. While still relatively young,
WiMax already is seeing widespread adoption. Companies such as Clearwire
already have deployed WiMax in several U.S. cities. One of WiMax's advantages
is its comparatively low cost in areas without a broadband infrastructure: The
cost of adding WiMax to an existing cellular tower is much cheaper than laying
Internet lines in rural areas. WiMax increases opportunities for people to work
from remote locations by offering seamless wireless connections from desktop to
laptop to cell phone. One of WiMax's biggest advantages may be wireless VOIP,
which could reduce the cost of telephone service for business as well as
residential use. Once this technology is integrated with cell phones, even more
possibilities will emerge.
Pro: New hope for rural broadband and increased wireless
technologies
Con: New
technology standard still needs fine-tuning
Bottom line: WiMax will change the landscape of
day-to-day business.