Integration is the first step in turning data from dust collector to actionable asset. A Life of the Asset® commercial real estate software solution like Pereview can help you escape from data jail – and put your data to work for your firm.
Increasing challenges abound for growing real estate investment firms. As the number and value of assets under management increases, the data produced from those assets also increases, sometimes exponentially. Excel becomes the de facto standard for managing financial models, rent rolls, accounts receivable and accounts payable. The complexity of managing the data soars.
Over time, various toolsets combine to help simplify the operational needs. A cash flow projection tool replaces, or at least complements, the Excel financial models. Other niche tools for accounting, acquisitions of new investments, loan servicing, property management and rent rolls add to the growing footprint of third-party solutions that manage different aspects of the business.
The result of implementing different specialized toolsets is that it becomes even more difficult to get a complete view of an investment.
Creating a Data Jailhouse
Consider an investment that has been operating for a few years. When originally acquired, underwriters used Excel to create the financial models. Over time, a cash flow projection tool complements (or replaces) Excel for financial modeling. A separate third-party tool tracks rent rolls, a different software package manages financial transactions and accounting, and Excel manually captures loan transactions and balances. Assembling the data for a quarterly report requires interfacing with four or five different sources of data to compile all the necessary information. Even more complications arise when dealing with files on a network, as not all portfolios will organize their files similarly. Knowing the type of technology and software used to store the data is not sufficient; it may also be necessary to hunt for the correct files somewhere on network drives.
Third-party software solutions that target specific business functions improve data accuracy, quality and overall efficiency of a specific aspect of the business. However, each software package segregates its data from the other packages. These packages do not share data among them. The data becomes isolated and alone, leading to data incarceration. The data jailhouse is born.
Data governance occurs only in isolation in this environment; there is no mechanism to ensure data is consistent across all toolsets. This is a challenge for integrating data – to obtain meaningful information regarding an investment.
For example, investment names may differ across packages for the same investment. Investment structures may also differ; one package may view an investment as a portfolio of assets, while another may view the investment as a single asset. Definitions of terms used across the business may vary depending on the business function and software used to manage that function. Data scattered across multiple software packages creates significant challenges when composing a complete view of investment or fund performance.
How to Escape from Data Jail
Implementing multiple software solutions improves efficiency and record keeping. However, data at rest and siloed has little value; it must be converted into something actionable. Fully leveraging data to transform it into information means integrating data scattered throughout the organization into a centralized location. This one clean repository produces consistent reporting and avoids producing multiple versions of the truth. Data is conformed across all areas of the business, to provide a complete view of an asset, from acquisition through disposition.
Having one source of the data for reporting boosts efficiencies and eliminates the need to hunt for data throughout a network of different drives, folders and files. Responding to internal and investor requests for reports requires less time and effort. Finally, clean and integrated data allows the use of advanced analytic and artificial intelligence solutions yielding answers to previously unknown questions.
This is where the most successful real estate investment teams differentiate themselves from their competition. The ability to analyze the performance of an investment, rather than just capture information about it, demonstrates the maturity of the organization. Pereview Software exists to fill this critical need.
Integrating with multiple disparate sources, Pereview transforms the isolated data into a consolidated, robust repository of information. Create standard formatted reports for financial reporting and reporting to investors in minutes rather than days. Take advantage of advanced analytics tools by utilizing the fully integrated and consolidated database – which provides insights far exceeding anything previously available through simple Excel reporting.
Jailed data isn’t valuable; valuable data is informative, it’s actionable. When filtered through robust reporting and analytics tools, it becomes a competitive advantage. So, what are you waiting for? It’s time to do more with your data and escape from data jail into an integrated, secure, actionable, Life of the Asset™ solution.
