Commercial Investment Real Estate May/June 2017 | Page 22

TECHNOLOGY
SOLUTIONS
Brainy Apps
Are apps becoming the digital brains of commercial real estate
professionals’ offi ces?
ike rabbits in the spring, new apps are proliferating for
every available nook on mobile devices. But which apps
will move your business forward? According to CCIM
experts, the answer depends on individual commercial
real estate businesses, as well as costs and personal preferences.
No one app fi ts every circumstance, person, or problem.
Before downloading a new app, evaluate whether it will
improve productivity, enhance client service, or solve specifi c
commercial real estate concerns. If it does, download the app. If
not, fi nd a different app that will.
“The Evernote app has changed my business or at least my per-
sonal organization,” says Jonathan Epstein, CCIM, manager and
owner at Berger-Epstein Associates in Allentown, Pa. “Evernote
syncs across all my devices: my Mac at home, my PC at work,
and my mobile devices. I use it to store and edit my marketing
materials, so when a prospect wants some information, I know
there’s one place with the most current information.
“Evernote lets you share notes, travel itineraries, and favor-
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May | June 2017
ite recipes, as well as storing copies of your passport, real estate
license, and medical paperwork.
“One of the best things about Evernote is its Optical Character
Recognition, so it can read text inside a photo. I can search for
pretty specifi c terms, and it will even search inside the photo.
One blogger refers to Evernote as his ‘digital brain.’ I agree.”
Below are some recommended apps and products used by
CCIMs.
Evernote app has been good for downloading marketing
materials for presentations from an iPad or streaming from a
smartphone, according to Brian Bell, CCIM, broker at Campana
Resources LLC in Fort Worth, Texas.
Justin Lamontagne, CCIM, has switched from Evernote to
the Workfl owy app. It is a tool for taking notes and making lists
across all platforms. “I replaced Evernote with Workfl owy due
to its ease of use,” says Lamontagne, partner and broker at NAI
The Dunham Group in Portland, Maine.
GroupMe serves as a resource for group text streams. This app
COMMERCIAL INVESTMENT REAL ESTATE
by Sara S. Patterson and Samuel S. Moon