THE NUMBERS GAME
Data and analytics are potential tools to help improve business amid the COVID-19 pandemic . But it ’ s not just about information — it ’ s about knowing how to use it .
While various portions of the national economy continue to open and close , depending on the prevalence of coronavirus in a particular location , many in commercial real estate have used the downtime to examine business
practices in an effort to prepare for success once things get “ back to normal ,” if that ’ s even a possibility .
One area that offers promise to CRE professionals is data . Additional knowledge , the thinking goes , allows one to work smarter , not harder . While many businesses are pushed to the brink amid a national recession , such efficiencies could mean the difference between hitting the ground running or closing up shop .
Recently , we spoke with Rich Sarkis , chief executive and founder of Reonomy , a leading property intelligence platform for commercial real estate professionals . He detailed how instability in the wake of COVID-19 can be an opportunity for companies to evaluate business practices by leveraging data to save money and time .
CIRE : CONSIDERING THE GLOBAL IMPACT OF COVID-19 , CCIM INSTITUTE CHIEF ECONOMIST K . C . CONWAY , MAI , CRE , CCIM , HAS SAID THAT THE TIMELINES FOR MANY EXISTING FORCES IN COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE MAY BE COMPRESSED , SUCH AS ONLINE GROCERY SALES , FOR INSTANCE . HOW CAN CRE USE BIG DATA TO ADAPT TO QUICKENING CHANGES ?
RICH SARKIS : It ’ s a very topical question — and one that countless folks in the CRE community are wrestling with . A pandemic , obviously , is very different than most recessionary forces that we ’ ve seen in our lifetimes . There is a precedent for this , but you have to go back a century or so . What tends to happen in most recessions , regardless of the cause , is that they shine a bright light on affected businesses . In the case of COVID-19 , pretty much every business is impacted , including brokerage firms , insurance companies , retail , and hospitality . Executives at these firms are reevaluating their business models . In some cases , they ’ re examining how they ’ re doing things — if inefficiency has crept in over the years . When you ’ re in a decade-long recovery , you can let your guard down . When you shine a light on a business , data and technology tend to emerge as solutions to help cure some of these ills , to help make inefficient processes more streamlined . In some cases , this is directly tied to costs , but in other cases , you can mitigate risk and grow the top line . I would say that we are not seeing a renewed interest in data and CRE tech , but we ’ re seeing a need for executives to do their due diligence and see what ’ s available to help improve performance .
CIRE : YOU MENTIONED HOW A RECESSION CAN ILLUMINATE BUSINESS PRACTICES . IS NOW THE PERFECT TIME TO EXAM- INE HOW DATA AND ANALYTICS CAN IMPROVE PERFORMANCE ?
SARKIS : For sure . It ’ s not like pre-COVID folks weren ’ t looking at data . Many businesses in the space have hired CIOs and CTOs , sometimes from industries outside of CRE , like gaming for example . It ’ s certainly been a part of the market . I would say this has been an impetus that has accelerated some decision-making processes , but it has also raised the bar in terms of adoption , because right now , in a lot of cases , it ’ s do or die , right ? Big decisions are being made and any solution has to have a very clearly demonstrated ROI , right ? You can ’ t just say ,
6
COMMERCIAL INVESTMENT REAL ESTATE MAGAZINE FALL 2020