Recently heard on BBC radio that India discovered some prehistoric tools, predating the usual timeline for Homo Sapiens, our human species. Apparently it was a big thing because tools are considered technology and the thought that other homo species were mastering technology before the Sapiens gave archaeologists a jolt.

This is because the widely accepted theory for the eventual dominance of the Homo Sapiens genus is that they were the first to master the use of complex technology. This brought home to me the importance of staying abreast of technological advancements.

As a species, nation, people, community, business, the person or group that leads in technology eventually achieves dominance. And when we consider that experts believe we had an inflection point, in the expansion of technology in 2008 with the advent of Facebook, Amazon, Google, Apple it leads us to ask ourselves in the Real Estate Industry…Are we keeping up with Technology? If not, we may find ourselves like the Neanderthals, extinct.

So when I came across an article suggesting that technology is redefining the way Property Management is done, I immediately read it and now share the key points with you.

Technology can be used to revolutionize Property Management through the following nifty tools:

• Going paperless thereby saving on stationery but more important being able to store, retrieve and access information quicker. By the use of computer networks documents can be shared without the need to print, stored on servers or in the cloud (external databases) and be retrieved by the click of a mouse, making your business faster and more efficient.
• Ease of document handling eg leases can now be signed digitally—meaning a property manager or tenant can save tremendous time on logistics rather than trying to meet in person to sign a physical lease or application.
• Keeping track of maintenance. With simple database technology one can build a database of every expenditure on a property from the changing of lightbulbs to the replacement of a water pump. And this information can be easily retrieved and analysed helping persons make quick and informed decisions.
• Keeping track of timelines. Basic project management software can be used to sequence purchases and delivery of materials, bringing on craftsmen, avoiding bottlenecks and changing the sequence of tasks.
• Ease and accuracy of accounting e.g. keeping track of tenant ledger. Trapping , retrieving and analysing tenant costs and rental payments, enabling better tenant decision making.
• Use of the smartphone. The average modern smartphone has more processing power than the computers used to land the man on the moon. We underutilize and ‘wrong utilize’ our smartphone processing power. Smartphones can be used to i) reduce the size of offices and accompanying rent since we can spend more time on the road using the smartphone as an office ii) Use the smartphone to store and retrieve information from the cloud iii) Industry specific software applications that can help in budgeting, expenses and marketing. In fact, recent research showed that most professionals don’t make full use of their smartphone capability.

Based on the foregoing we should each endeavour to make more use of technology to stay one step ahead of the competition. After all we are Homo Sapiens.