Lease administration in the corporate real estate world is frequently a fast-paced position, spanning the country if not the entire globe. Keeping up with existing sites and with your company's changing needs require more than just a great work ethic, a frequent flyer account and detailed files. You also need to have access to the right data anywhere at any time. Here are the five tools that can make your job easier and make you more productive:
Dropbox
Dropbox lets you put gigabytes of data online and access it anywhere. Data stored on your Dropbox is the same whether you access it from your desktop computer, your laptop, your computer at home, your tablet, your smartphone or any other device with a web browser. Whether you need to get to PDF copies of leases, CAM reconciliation spreadsheets, or other lease administration data, you'll have it wherever you are, and you won't have to worry about syncing any changes that you make to it.
Google Earth
While Google integrates satellite images into its mapping website, the Google Earth application lets you view their entire database of imagery in an interactive format. When you're trying to identify sites for your business as a part of determining which leases to retain and which to replace with new sites, the ability to visualize an area without going there can be helpful. The paid version of Google Earth -- Google Earth Pro -- adds the ability to map multiple points, letting you visualize your network of locations.
Video Conferencing
Sometimes, lease administration requires you to look landlords, managers and brokers in the eye and have a face-to-face conversation. Whether you have a video conferencing suite or you use technologies like FaceTime, Skype or Google Hangouts, video conferencing gives you useful body language and facial expression clues to understand what the other person on the line is saying.
iPad
Saying that the iPad is a crucial piece of technology has become a bit hackneyed. After all, it lets you do just about everything you need in a small piece of equipment, weighing roughly half of a small notebook. However, an iPad is uniquely valuable in lease administration. Your position takes you to many different workplaces and requires you to work on your feet, frequently far from a desk. The iPad's form factor lets you use it without setting it down -- you can hold it in your left hand and manipulate it with your right hand. This gives you access to lease and property information when you're on-site, rather than needing to go to an office or cafe to get data when you're done on your visit.
Lease Administration Software
The above tools can work together to give you access to most of your lease administration systems, but they aren't proactive. By putting your lease data into a management system, it can work with your other tools to help you stay ahead of critical dates. The best packages integrate market data so that you can be sure that you're always getting competitive pricing.
While these five technologies are useful, there's a sixth technology that can also greatly simplify your lease administration tasks. It's a massively parallel computer that's loaded with environmental sensors that help it rapidly take in building, lease and market data. Human beings, whether they're researching market data to populate your lease administration software or they're standing by your side in lease negotiations can help you make better decisions, gain additional market insights and negotiate better business deals. The combination of technology and expert people is the key to maximizing your corporate real estate portfolio.
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