As any Real Estate expert knows, the market is competitive and always going—deals roll in 24×7, closing processes need to happen quickly, and agents and agencies alike need to work fast and without interruption. Technology, however, gets in the way constantly. The reality is that many Real Estate firms can’t operate without interruption because they are not investing in Managed Services and their technology and workflow suffers because of it.
But why is Managed Services something that Real Estate firm owners should invest in? zbrella Tech explores the top 5 reasons why Real Estate firms should invest in IT Managed Services.
Break-Fix Mentality Costs You Big!
Every business owner knows that in-house IT techs are expensive (annual salary, sick days, vacation, benefits, etc.). And because of this, owners are quick to misjudge the importance of technology and view it as an unneeded expense. During the economic collapse, many Real Estate firms said “Good-bye!” to their in-house technicians, and as a result, they left their firms open and vulnerable. Today, many firms still operate on a break-fix mentality, in other words, they don’t worry about the tech until something breaks.
This type of method is never good, and costs you more in the long run because it leads to bigger IT infrastructure problems, and techs at an hourly rate are a huge cost. What’s more, problems continue to escalate and hold back your business, stopping your Agents, Building Managers, and other office staff from bringing in revenue. When you opt to invest in Managed Services, full onsite/remote support is at your disposal for all your users. Because it’s a recurring expense (and cheaper than in-house support), it becomes a predictable cost that can be budgeted in.
Document Management & Storage Options
Every Real Estate firm needs storage and management for all of their important contracts, files, pictures, and other vital data. Often times, Real Estate firms will try and manage these platforms themselves. This method may work fine on a small level, but when the business begins to grow, there is no organization, standards, security protocols, or access controls. Data is in literal shambles and is unprotected—even if your document storage management platform says it’s protected, it’s not!
Managed Service providers can be an excellent resource in not only helping select the right Storage Management option, but they can assist in managing and securing the document storage system on a daily basis, and help scale it up and down as needed. A good tech team will deal with all the vendors, so the only things you should be doing is submitting a request and have them go out and do the work.
24×7 Online Presence
Any Real Estate firm knows that it is absolutely vital to have a 24×7 uninterrupted online presence, because if buyers can’t find you, they’ll go somewhere else. In today’s market, in both Real Estate and every other market in the Western economy, competing online is a must, and if your in-house IT employee cannot meet those requirements, you will lose not only potential clients, but reputability.
You need to meet requirements for 24×7 MLS listings and outsourced IT firms can guarantee that service for you. Good IT companies offer 24×7 proactive monitoring of your entire network and infrastructure—that not only means the machines in your office, but data in the cloud, and your online presence. By investing in an IT company that does it all, you can ensure that your firm is protected in every way.
Software Regulations
Real Estate firms need to meet software requirements and regulations that are often times required by local boards of realtors. Unfortunately, too often do we see firms who don’t have anyone assigned to handle the task of keeping up such regulations. Who is in charge of researching new regulations? Who is in charge of setting up the project so that it does not interrupt work hours? Who is in charge of implementation? Testing? Training of users? Support of new system?
Regardless of what any technicians tell you, implementing new software is a complex thing. It requires expert planning, execution, and support after it goes live. Often times, a single in-house IT person cannot handle the large project on their own in addition to everyday technical issues that your users have. Firms who don’t have an in-house IT employee are in even deeper and they lack all technical finesse to implement such systems. Good Real Estate Managed Service teams can handle the workload expertly to ensure little downtime, trained users, and a smooth transition that doesn’t interrupt workflow—for much cheaper, and with much more skill than an in-house tech.
Real Estate Reality: High Employee Turnover
At Real Estate firms, high employee turnover is a reality. Sometimes firms need to scale down, and sometimes they need to add on a larger number of employees to cope with certain projects. Things, people, and processes are always changing within firms. What this translates to in terms of technical support is high costs.
When firms invest in Real Estate Managed Services, these outsourced technicians provide the flexibility firms need at predictable costs they can calculate into their budget. IT firms who offer IT-based support per user allow owners to predict the exact cost based on the exact number of people they plan to add or remove, which is invaluable information that every business needs.
zbrella Technology Consulting provides Managed Services to Real Estate firms in the Tri-State area. Our Enterprise-grade Engineers are experts in Real Estate, and know and understand the industry and technologies that go along with it. We provide 24×7 support and provide your firm with a dedicated IT team to support your business 365 days a year. Learn more here or call us at 800-750-4296.
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