Realcomm Navigating the “Now” Normal Part II: Data and Analytics – Dealpath Webinar Presentation
In the latest Realcomm webinar, a panel of commercial real estate tech executives and CRE software leaders discussed the rapid evolution of data and analytics within the space, including the implications for competitive firms. Spurred largely by the pandemic and rapidly shifting consumer and business trends, real estate investment management firms have looked to their data as a source of competitive insights. Compared to even last year, firms have drastically increased their usage of deal data for predictive insights about current trends and upcoming investment decisions.
The State of Commercial Real Estate Data: Ample Opportunity for Full Connectivity
Prior to the commercial real estate industry’s ongoing data renaissance, in which firms took an active role in aggregating and leveraging their once-underutilized proprietary data, that data was often perceived as inaccurate, irrelevant to operations, or delayed. While all of these flaws can hamper data-driven analysis, delayed data can be particularly troublesome, resulting in insights that speak to previous periods, instead of current trends. Hazel closed her portion of the webinar by underscoring that modern industry software provides opportunities to utilize real-time data in a way that’s practical and automated.
Building Data Efficiencies By Adopting Industry-Standard Platforms
Building data efficiencies doesn’t necessarily mean more complex Excel spreadsheets; in fact, it often means adopting technology to automate this process entirely. In his presentation, Gary Kao, Dealpath’s VP of Business Development and Operations, discussed how IT leaders can utilize the right technology to enable their teams to use data throughout their investment processes. Through digitizing their investment processes within deal management software, insights based on that data are more readily accessible.
While the right platform presents these opportunities, more robust technology often holds additional possibilities for maximizing that data’s value. Iterating on the way the data is leveraged, through steps such as approval workflows, providing for data completeness, and other optimizations can help your firm gain further value. Integrating other data sources directly within the platform puts the right information at your fingertips, without requiring additional steps like manual imports. Ultimately, relying on a platform that receives routine updates based on industry feedback creates the best opportunity to leverage a consistently evolving tool.
In the panel portion of the webinar, Gary emphasizes the importance of identifying goals before executing on data initiatives. Often, firms build data warehouses or lakes, then choose to frame their goals around capabilities. Instead, firms should seek to leverage the right solution based on their goals. As adoption increases, they should guide their next steps based on how workflows involve referencing data.
Gary closed his presentation by referencing Dealpath’s Blackstone testimonial, in which key real estate executives speak to the power of tracking data from acquisitions through dispositions to guide decision making.
Identifying and Achieving Data Efficiencies For Your Firm
Watch the full presentation to learn how your firm can adopt a deal management solution that drives data-related efficiencies across investment workflows.
