I’ve been in this industry for over a decade now (yes, saying that does make me feel a bit old). In 2007, the hardest part of solving real estate problems was getting all of the data necessary to make a well-founded decision. In 2018, the hardest part of solving real estate problems is getting all of the data necessary to make a well-founded decision.
Ironically, there is more data available for making decisions than ever before but it is still extremely difficult to aggregate and validate. The problem is that the technology that is collecting this data is largely the same as existed 10 years ago. CRE technology has evolved not at all but the extreme demand for data has led to a significant growth in data that is available.
Here’s the thing, CRE technology has no definition. It’s either too big or too little. The Goldilocks Principle is in full effect in this space. Do you design a system for a specific use case that meets the needs of 10% of organizations or do you design a system that meets the broad needs of organizations but is rarely perfectly applicable?
The single biggest issue with CRE is the lack of global standard processes. What information should be kept as part of Lease Administration? What is the connection between CRE and corporate finance? How are CRE costs allocated back to the business? How are transaction/projects managed and controlled?
Until there are standards, it will be hard for any evolution of technology to happen in this area.