I stumbled upon this when preparing materials for 2011 ICSC RECon, so this is now over 10 years old!

1. Information Management Solutions
UNDERSTANDING HOW TO USE THE INTERNET TO GREATEST EFFECT
Canadian Property Management Magazine, January 2000
by David A. Lewand
"Though at heart most business problems are information problems, almost no one is using
information well....The most meaningful way to differentiate your company from your competition
is to do an outstanding job with information." Bill Gates, Business @ The Speed Of Thought.
Today's Internet environment allows both CEOs and mailroom clerks the opportunity to become
information gurus. The commercial real estate industry contains at least as much competitive
advantage information as any other - although the high-tech transition within this industry has
witnessed some rocky roads.
WHY SO ROCKY?
1) Real estate professionals have benefited from face-to-face communication, and have thus
avoided what they feel to be impersonal communication via computer.
2) They have been historically inclined not to swap market information.
3) Capital investment in information technology has been a low priority in many commercial real
estate companies
Meanwhile, what have their clients demanded?
1) Multiple channels of communication.
2) Full access to information such as deal processes and lease specifics.
3) Strengthened R&D in information technology.
ADAPTING TO CLIENT NEEDS
As the commercial real estate industry begins to answer its clients' requests for advanced
information management, measurable returns on investment have given way to heightened high-
tech spending. Clients are driving the technological advances of modern commercial real estate.
Successful property managers can recognize client needs and build information freeways around
them. Information that was traditionally stored within databases on stand-alone (non-network)
computers is now being drawn from multiple servers and databases of shared knowledge.
Just as it has often become necessary for two separate individuals to view confidential property
data for two separate reasons within a corporate intranet, it has, in many cases, become crucial
that 20 individuals from 20 separate companies share this same information on a corporate
extranet. Taking this example a step further, property managers may want to market property
data to an unlimited number of individuals via a corporate or property-specific Internet website.
Before we go any further, let us stop to explain the differences:
INTRANET
This is an in-house website that serves only the employees of the enterprise. Although intranet
pages may link to the Internet, an intranet is not a site for general public access. Intranets often
use a "push technology" which automatically harnesses valuable information from the Internet
that is specific to the needs and interests of particular individuals within an organization, and
distributes the information to these individuals on a regular basis. For example, brokers who
represent a Toronto apartment complex are regularly shown market reports that relate to their
products and market area.
Brokers can request these reports via e-mail or a dedicated section of a corporate
intranet/extranet and potentially view them on the road via a wireless Internet connection.
EXTRANET
An extranet is a website for existing customers rather than the general public. It can provide
access to paid research, current inventories and internal databases - virtually any information that
is not published for everyone. An extranet uses the public Internet as its transmission system but

2. requires passwords to gain access. In addition, an extensive extranet system allows clients
access to information related to their interests, including polls, lists, transaction data, calendars,
discussion and live chat.
INTERNET
A large network made up of a number of smaller networks. The Internet is made up of more than
100,000 interconnected networks in over 100 countries.
Peter Pike maintains one of the most respected commercial real estate Internet websites in the
industry. His views on the future of the industry are stated on his web site at www.pikenet.com,
and some of these are shown below.
These are the five trends Pike feels will be continually evident in commercial real estate property
management.
1.The active use of e-mail.
2.Using the Internet for research and to gain public information about competitors.
3.Web-enabled reporting- where real estate companies place internal reports, management
reports, REIT information, due diligence information and physical plans on extranets.
4.Online tenant relations using the Internet as the primary communication tool. Pike predicts that
tenant/landlord sites will contain maintenance requests, areas to make payments and even
newsletters were new tenants are introduced and other property issues are discussed.
5.E-transactions - Electronic commerce. Pike foresees that companies will begin to buy more
supplies online and bid for projects online as well.
The three most important criteria for tenants are becoming location, bandwidth, location. Today's
tenants want to know that they can have high-speed connections, and are demanding
telecommunications amenities that enable them to gain access to more information faster than
their competitors. Where as four or five years ago this trend was only seen among fortune 500
companies, now small and mid-sized tenants have started to voice the same demands. To meet
the needs of both small and large users, owners and property managers are in the unenviable
position of choosing how to equip their facilities to fulfill a range of telecom requirements.
Fortunately, companies such as Winstar for Buildings, Allied Riser, Teligent Inc., Siteline and
OnSite Access are willing and able to address the needs of small and mid-sized tenants through
creative solutions.
A future-proof fiber-optic backbone also provides tenants with online access in a matter of days
instead of months. That's another significant competitive advantage for the landlord.
MARKETING YOUR PROPERTY WITHIN AN INTERNET LISTING SERVICE
Many real estate firms across North America use listing services like LoopNet (www.loopnet.com)
and CoStar (www.costargroup.com). Listing properties on these sites provides visibility and also
acts as a backend database of properties within a full listing of the company's properties rather
than highlighted buildings or deals. That is an important function for large companies, since it
simplifies the compilation of information on portfolios gained though acquisitions, mergers and
joint ventures. It also helps smaller companies become competitive by providing them with equal
visibility and database usage.
If LoopNet is a marketing vehicle, then CoStar is an information system, prominent for its current
position as the clearinghouse of commercial real estate communication. The site is responsible
for 90 percent of all online inventory. CoStar has a research team whose goal is to document all
the commercial properties in the country and then make the information available to 20,000
subscribers online. Information includes photographs, tenant statistics, neighborhood descriptions
and market information. Placing a listing is free, but subscribers must pay an annual fee to gain
access to information on 300,000 buildings and 350,000 tenants.
DEVELOPING YOUR OWN WEB PRESENCE: WEB SOFTWARE
Today's property manager has access to a variety of website development tools. Downloadable
web development software can be found on Internet sites such as www.download.com, where
you can download the latest version of Netscape Communicator, one of the most commonly used

3. development tools. More sophisticated systems can be purchased on the web or over the counter
at your local computer store. Some of the more popular lines include Microsoft FrontPage, Adobe
GoLive and Macromedia Dreamweaver. These programs give the novice web page developer the
advantage of What You See Is What You Get (WYSIWYG) technology, which requires less
knowledge of HTML. It is still advisable to get grounding in HTML if you hope to tackle more
complicated functions on your page.
Log analysis software is an essential accessory for anyone interested in having an effective
presence on the web. This software allows you to study all visitors to your site. Where are they
coming from? What page do they visit last? Such analysis will help in the further development of
your site.
David A. Lewand, Senior Project Manager, is also the Webmaster of Newstar Solution's website.
He has been using the most modern forms of interactive media to promote the Newstar suite of
real estate management products. He has enacted, in conjunction with the Newstar website,
permission e-mail marketing as a successful strategy in developing positive relationships with
future Newstar clients.