dmcar

Description

Computing in the Clouds Higher Productivity: Sharing Documents on the Internet Storing and sharing real estate documents on the Internet translates into higher productivity and better customer service. By Marilyn Evans July 2009 No more faxing disclosure statements to clients. No more frantic calls to the spouse because your marketing presentation is on your flash drive—which you left on the dining room table. No more sending multiple e-mails to your team to share updates on the transaction. Sound too good to be true? Not in the world of virtual computing, where everything from business forms to voice mail messages are available anytime via remote servers accessible through a Web browser. Often called "cloud computing" because information lives somewhere "in the clouds," virtual computing holds potential for significant impact on business organizations over the next three years, according to analysts at Internet consulting firm Gartner Incorporated, which identified cloud computing as one of the top 10 strategic technology trends of 2009. The concept is quickly catching on in the commercial real estate realm because it gives practitioners remote access to important documents and makes data accessible for clients and prospects. "Virtual computing saves me time and helps me keep deals moving forward," says Christian Cardamone, a commercial broker and general contractor with RE/MAX Coast Properties in Wilmington, N.C. Choose Your Cloud A centerpiece of Cardamone's virtual work flow is Google Docs, a free, Web-based business suite that includes a word processing application, spreadsheets, presentation templates, and forms you can use to create seller net sheets and lease proposals. (The Google Apps Premium Edition, which costs $50 per user per year, provides a variety of enhanced features.) Cardamone uses Google Docs as a home for his marketing brochures, profit and loss statements, and rent rolls, among other things. Once a prospective buyer completes Cardamone's confidentiality agreement—also housed on Google Docs—and sends it back by e-fax, he responds with a link to all the information the buyer needs about the historic office and retail properties that are the broker's specialty. "I can be out at a listing and never miss a beat with clients," he says. All this virtual openness does raise issues of security—and indeed, Google Docs did have a privacy breach in spring of this year—but Cardamone says he trusts the system and has had only positive experiences. He always lets owners and sellers know that he plans to upload property-related documents to the online platform, and so far he hasn't met any resistance. "What's great about the Google tool set is that it gives you remote access to your data, even if you don't have the corporate infrastructure of a company intranet to have a remote desktop," says Chip La-Fleur, who spent years as an IT pro before moving to commercial real estate sales at Prudential Callander Commercial in Grand Rapids, Mich. Of course, there are other providers besides Google that allow you to store and share documents.

Products & services

Similar companies nearby