Over the course of several decades, strata management – a fiercely competitive industry – has experienced increased workloads, reduced management fees, demographic fluctuations and stricter legislative observance. Despite all these changes, the advances in technology have been negligible and, as a result, the time and resources of strata managers are often being consumed by administrative tasks to the detriment of their asset management responsibilities.
Head of Strata at Urbanise.com Limited, David Bugden, confirmed the need for a technological shift, contending, “the industry as a whole hasn’t really innovated from a technological perspective but it’s quickly growing and is ripe for innovation”. As strata management moves forward, the time has come to embrace the technological advancements required for this growing industry. Leading strata management companies are now making huge technological shifts to better serve their customers and adapt to this fast evolving industry.
Innovative Solutions To Everyday Challenges
Customers are in need of a modernised service delivery system. New cloud-management software platforms, like the Urbanise Platform, are set to revolutionise the way properties are managed, offering customers the ability to solve problems through easy to use online self-service portals. In the past, resolving problems such as leaky taps or electrical complications demanded time-consuming phone calls and long administrative processes. The daily challenges that occur throughout properties, have the potential to be solved in a fluid and streamlined manner with automated software-overseeing most of the process electronically.
Innovative, fully functional, internet-based order systems track such issues, managing them from their onset all the way up to the final payment of the invoice. This allows property managers a multi-dimensional view of all on-going tasks while ensuring high quality service delivery. This also affords strata managers, customers and suppliers enhanced visibility on a shared cloud platform.
New technological advancements will inevitably result in saving large quantities of time and consequently costs. Greg Nash, CEO of The Prudential Investment Company of Australia PTY Limited Group (PICA Group) commented, “The PICA Group is expected to experience a forty percent increase in productivity as a result of implementing the Urbanise Platform.” Managers that are supervising their customers’ most substantial individual assets and stakeholders’ investments will have more time to carefully help them make considerate and valuable financial decisions, allowing them to focus on personal customer service delivery and solutions.
The Internet of Things
An additional technological innovation that is set to become hugely useful to the strata management industry is the ‘Internet of Things’. Essentially, this involves devices establishing a two-way conversation through the Internet, facilitating the instant interchange and collection of information. The average strata manager, who typically manages around one hundred or so buildings, will often be largely office bound and, therefore, experience a lack of opportunities to visit properties.
This is where these low-cost and easy to install devices prove their worth. The ability to instantly notify customers will prove to be an invaluable investment. These devices detect alterations in humidity, vibration and temperature as well as featuring flood sensors and on/off sensors. The gathering and sending of information from the field to the cloud-based server encapsulates the essence of proactive asset management and hugely enhances the fluid administration of a building.
The Future Is Bright
This is an exciting time for strata management, an industry set for technological innovation. The PICA Group is paving the way, having a signed a deal with Urbanise setting a record for the largest technological investment in the strata management industry within Australia. This deal will implement Urbanise’s Residential Property Cloud, aiding the management of PICA Group’s entire property conglomeration – some 220,000 units across 11,000 buildings in Australia. This deal has set the foundation for true generational change and is a progressive step towards making innovative cloud-based transformations that will ultimately deliver faster and more efficient customer-oriented services.
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