OCF Realty, a full-service real estate agency in Philadelphia, faced significant challenges in managing their growing portfolio of properties. The company was using Propertyware for property management but found it cumbersome and time-consuming, particularly in handling administrative tasks and marketing efforts. The need to streamline operations and reduce the administrative burden became critical as the company nearly doubled the number of properties under management. Additionally, the existing system made it difficult to efficiently track and communicate with prospects and tenants, impacting their ability to maintain and improve occupancy rates.

When Connie was ready to move from manually managing their properties using Excel spreadsheets she started searching for web-based property management software. Her requirements were straightforward – she wanted the flexibility to work while she was out of the office, a system that was easy to use and dedicated support to get started properly. They initially used Buildium property management software for about a year, but it was a tough year. They didn’t have anyone they could call – almost all communication was done through email. It was very frustrating. Because she wasn’t comfortable with Buildium’s accounting infrastructure she was also keeping dual books. It was double the amount of work. Connie thought that the different web-based property management software solutions looked similar when they first selected Buildium. But when you actually work with them day-to-day, they are very different. They had to learn that the hard way, but in the end they switched to AppFolio because it is much more user-friendly and most importantly she trusts the accounting.

Dodson Property Management aimed to grow their portfolio by 100% in 2011. They were previously using Rent Manager online but only utilized the bare minimum of its features, leading to some tasks being done manually. The company needed a more efficient and user-friendly solution to support their ambitious growth plans. Duke Dodson, the CEO, discovered AppFolio at a conference in Atlanta and was impressed by its capabilities and ease of use, which led to the decision to switch to AppFolio.

When Renters Warehouse started in 2007, the company was using a homegrown spreadsheet system to manage its base of about 30 customers. The manual nature of the system caused time-consuming setbacks and limited the company’s ability to scale quickly. Renters Warehouse knew it had to look for a solution to expedite the process of receiving rent and get a better handle on the accounting infrastructure for its growing list of owners and tenants. The company’s manual system was not only costing time, but money as well. They used to have $20,000 to $30,000 a year in bad checks. They knew that if they wanted to meet their goals of expanding and starting to work with franchise owners, they needed to upgrade from spreadsheets. They began seeking a system that was sophisticated enough to provide the functionality they needed, but also simple enough to support many users.

Jackson Group Property Management, led by Ray Scarabosio, was facing challenges with their existing property management software, Promas. The company needed a web-based solution to access information and work from anywhere, aiming to improve efficiency and reduce the time spent on mundane tasks. They initially considered Propertyware but found its interface less professional and user-friendly compared to AppFolio. The need for a more integrated solution that didn't require expensive add-ons was also a significant factor in their decision-making process.

As the business grew, Rick learned that he had to work smarter and stay in touch with technology to keep his business growing at a fast clip. The company was using PROMAS but Rick felt it was important to look for a product that could grow with them and not just satisfy their immediate business requirements. The remote employees had to tap into the company server through a remote access login that was installed on specific computers, which was very time-consuming and cumbersome for the users.

Using a traditional property management software solution since establishing their business 3 years ago, they couldn’t handle the complex and time consuming task of accounting in the system as they grew. “We were trying to run a business and just couldn’t do all the accounting efficiently. We needed something simple and made for property managers if we wanted to make our lives easier and grow our business. I thought, there must be a better way. I looked around at other solutions and found AppFolio. My first thought was ‘wow, these guys are really making the product for us, not just bookkeepers, but for me,’” said Jodi.

Gordon Property Management faced significant challenges with their existing property management software, Promas. The software was not adequately addressing the specific needs of multifamily property management. A critical turning point came when the owner had to manually create an Excel spreadsheet of all transactions for the past 12 months for a refinancing process. This labor-intensive task highlighted the inefficiency of their current system. Additionally, the company struggled to take on new properties due to time and resource constraints. The inability to efficiently manage new business opportunities was a significant barrier to growth. The company needed a more robust and specialized software solution to streamline operations, improve efficiency, and enable growth.

Previously using Yardi, Hanes Property Management’s rent week was extremely chaotic for all six of their property locations. Rent was collected manually and every property was handled in its own “cylinder.” There was no transparency across properties which created hours of extra work and major issues with organization. Management had to focus time constantly putting out fires and dealing with late rent checks. Paper rent checks had to be manually collected and entered into the system and then communicated back to the corporate office. On average there were 7-12 notices for late rent payment per month.

Mission Property Group spent an inordinate amount of time managing the various routine tasks of their business. They had outgrown their technology solution and were in need of something better that would not only save them time, but allow them to concentrate on more important aspects such as expanding their property portfolio. One of the biggest challenges they faced was having to handle maintenance calls themselves all hours of the day. It was very difficult to ensure residents that their issues would be handled in a timely manner. They grew tired of slow emergency response times, high call volumes during peak office hours, and especially, the phone ringing in the middle of the night.

Hamilton County faced increasing pressure to improve energy efficiency due to rising fuel costs and volatile supplies. The county needed accurate metrics on energy use to control costs while maintaining tenant comfort in its 15 major buildings. The Facilities Department aimed to meet and exceed the U.S. EPA Energy Star standards, requiring extensive tracking and benchmarking of energy consumption across multiple buildings. Additionally, the county sought to replace its existing Energy Watchdog software with a more comprehensive solution to manage energy data collection and analysis.

Hamilton County, Ohio faced a range of challenges, from making strained budgets go farther to responding to health and safety emergencies. The County Facilities department, responsible for approximately 275 buildings, needed to convince the Board of County Commissioners to invest in a comprehensive real estate, infrastructure, and facilities management system. The goal was to support their mission by forecasting space needs, identifying vacancies, and establishing building design standards. Additionally, the county needed to improve emergency preparedness, health and safety, and environmental sustainability capabilities.

The Calgary Board of Education (CBE) faced significant challenges in managing their extensive facilities, which include 225 schools and serve over 107,000 students. The primary issues were the inefficiency of their paper-driven work order process, which could take up to three and a half weeks to complete, and the need to consolidate numerous rogue databases and applications into a single, efficient system. Additionally, the CBE needed to improve space utilization reporting, hazardous materials inventory, and overall facility management to support their educators in delivering quality education.

Curtin University faced the challenge of maintaining its extensive and beautifully landscaped grounds, which include 341 buildings and 290,500 square meters of space. The university needed a more efficient way to manage its landscape assets, including trees, shrubs, and lawns, as well as to streamline the maintenance of its security systems infrastructure. Additionally, Curtin sought to improve project administration for major capital and refurbishment projects, and to optimize space management across its campuses. The university aimed to eliminate manual processes, introduce a project administration tool, and implement GIS capabilities for improved campus mapping and geospatial business intelligence.

The Province of Alberta mandated that the Calgary Health Region (CHR) and other provincial healthcare providers increase the use of computer technology to better manage their facilities portfolios. This directive led to a dramatic expansion of the Calgary Health Region, covering a 15,000 square mile service area with over one million urban and rural dwellers. The challenge was to consolidate data from various autonomous hospitals, each with different planning departments and inconsistent data management practices. Facilities drawings were scattered and inconsistent, with many details committed to vellum, hard copy, spreadsheets, or memory. The lack of a central repository for facilities data and the absence of dedicated computer systems at some sites further complicated the situation.

In January 2001, the new City of Hamilton was formed by amalgamating seven neighboring municipalities. This created a diversified portfolio of approximately 3,000 properties, 700 buildings, 125,000 acres of land, and over 8.5 million square feet of space, with a combined real estate value exceeding $1.5 billion (Canadian) dollars. The City faced the challenge of reorganizing and merging each municipality’s physical and human resources, which were often plagued by inconsistent and conflicting information. Additionally, they needed to maintain staff morale in the face of enormous change. The City required an Integrated Workplace Management System (IWMS) to manage space, maintenance, operations, furniture, equipment, and real estate effectively.

Scripps Networks faced significant challenges with their manual conference room scheduling system. The system, managed by a single receptionist using a spreadsheet, was labor-intensive and prone to errors such as double-booking and missed equipment requests. This inefficiency was particularly problematic given the high frequency of meetings across their multiple locations in Knoxville, New York, and Los Angeles. The manual system was not only time-consuming but also failed to provide easy access to scheduling information for meeting participants, leading to less productive meetings overall.

A primary drag on efficiency in the Sarasota schools was its reliance on paper-based systems. The paper-based drawings, work orders, and other resources hampered quick data access and operational efficiency in servicing its numerous buildings and grounds. Additionally, the outdated work management system led to a reactive maintenance program, wasting worker productivity due to commuting and lack of remote work order systems. With state reporting requirements necessitating an accurate facilities and equipment database, it became clear that more online information and concurrent tools for modeling and analysis were essential for efficient management.

The Melbourne Cricket Club (MCC) faced significant challenges in managing its extensive facilities and assets, including the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) stadium. The existing system, which relied on USI’s Event Business Management System and a mix of spreadsheets and paper-based systems, was inadequate for the life-cycle management of various asset groups such as building structures, services, land, and equipment. The MCC needed a more efficient and integrated asset management system to handle its complex operations and improve oversight.

NOAA faced significant challenges in managing its sprawling real estate assets across three regional centers. The agency's facilities management was hampered by inconsistent space and asset standards, outdated CAD plans, and multiple legacy CMMS platforms. This fragmentation led to inefficient reporting capabilities, making it difficult for management to analyze inventory, plan for the future, and report on occupancy/vacancy for planning purposes. The lack of a unified system prevented timely and consistent workflow, data flow, and reporting capabilities, which were crucial for effective asset management.

St. Joseph’s Health Care, London, faced significant challenges due to a major 10-year provincial health services restructuring initiative, projected funding shortfalls, and decreasing capital resources. Over 50% of their long-term care portfolio had emerging issues such as an imbalance in private to semi-private room ratios, physical barriers to wheelchair accessibility, lack of meeting spaces, structural stability of window solar shades, and the condition of sanitary piping. The Marian Villa building at St. Joseph’s Mount Hope Centre for Long Term Care was particularly designated for reevaluation. The goal was to determine the immediate and long-term costs associated with maintaining the status quo versus major renovation, and to demonstrate the value of electronic capture and presentation of information using the ARCHIBUS Condition Assessment application.

A dynamic organization, Carrefour faced a challenge when it decided to renovate its headquarters building and reconfigure space and people, a task that had been done manually using spreadsheets. The result was that the Carrefour facilities management department understandably suffered from low productivity, as well as an inability to estimate the true value of telecom and other assets. A team of consultants from PROCOS Group was given responsibility for the master planning, space planning and move coordination. The goal for PROCOS: introduce system and process standardization to automate and manage Carrefour’s operations.

Chesapeake Energy Corporation faced significant challenges in managing its rapidly growing number of facilities and employees. With over 6,500 workers and an addition of 75 employees per month, the company managed 3 million square feet of space, including a 100-acre main campus and 140 field offices across 13 states. Another million square feet was leased out through a management firm. The fast growth led to difficulties in managing facilities and personnel, as records were largely paper-based and archived in file cabinets. Other facilities information was captured in Excel spreadsheets or contained in aerial drawings with Post-It Notes identifying key properties. The inefficiency of these manual processes prompted a senior vice president to mandate the adoption of a modern IT solution.

As part of a recent company-wide push to improve profitability through a £1 billion ($1.6 billion USD) cost reduction initiative, Vodafone re-evaluated how cost-efficiently it was using its office space. The company’s collection of 44 office and exchange buildings for its Vodafone UK division has been a proving ground over the last few years attesting to the value of real estate, infrastructure, and facilities management software from ARCHIBUS. Replacing Excel spreadsheets, the company’s original implementation of ARCHIBUS Space Management and Move Management applications has enabled Vodafone to automate many of its real estate- and facilities-related functions resulting in better-informed strategic decisions on a daily basis. So when Vodafone wanted to evolve its system for improved data access and visualization via dashboard technology, as well as introduce more self-service options over the Web, ARCHIBUS delivered again.

Cincinnati Public Schools (CPS) embarked on a major initiative to upgrade its educational facilities, aiming to turn them into modern 21st-century learning environments. This involved tearing down outmoded and underutilized schools, constructing new buildings, and renovating older, architecturally significant buildings. The district's $985 million Facilities Master Plan aimed to achieve both educational and operational goals for students and taxpayers. However, to sustain this investment over time, CPS needed to ensure compliance with the Ohio School Facilities Commission's detailed requirements. This included submitting a maintenance plan to receive funding for ongoing maintenance and transitioning from centralized, manual work-order processing to a distributed, self-service Web-based system.

The University of Massachusetts Medical School (UMMS) and UMass Memorial Health Care faced the challenge of consolidating administrative operations such as space and lease management across their thirteen campuses. The existing manual processes for space surveys and campus mapping were time-consuming and error-prone. The organizations needed a centralized technology platform to manage nearly 8 million square feet of space, 146 owned and leased buildings, and almost 300 acres of land. The goal was to streamline data collection, improve data accuracy, and enhance overall operational efficiency.

Alegent Health faced escalating standards for secure handling of patient information and more stringent guidelines for equipment and facilities auditing. These requirements were mandated by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and the Joint Council on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO). The existing systems were insufficient to meet these new demands, prompting Alegent to embark on a new IT initiative. The challenge was to extend the capabilities of their existing ARCHIBUS applications to closely track key IT and healthcare assets for compliance. This required a shift from a departmental to an enterprise-level approach, involving the corporate IT department in planning and rolling out new functionalities.

Over a decade ago, Colorado’s Denver Public Schools (DPS) began its effort to centralize and automate space management. The school district moved all of its space data from more than 140 sites into its ARCHIBUS Space Management application. The challenge was to provide planners, contractors, and government agencies with accurate space usage data such as room size, room type, room use, and other details. Additionally, the district needed to enhance its management practices to develop, maintain, and extend the knowledge and power of ARCHIBUS to the rest of the district. This required a system that could support detailed reporting and decision-making for various stakeholders.

The Facilities Management (FM) Department of Johnson County, Kansas, was tasked with developing a Strategic Facilities Master Plan to manage the county's facilities effectively. The plan aimed to monitor facility usage, support business practices, and respond to unanticipated changes. The county needed a system to track space needs, project future requirements, and consolidate operations to save costs. The challenge was to create a living document that could adapt to changing conditions and provide a coherent picture of past, present, and future facility needs.

Before implementing FIRMS, HUD faced significant challenges in managing its extensive space alterations, leased office space, and inventory of equipment. The information was scattered across paper-based and simple electronic spreadsheets, which had to be manually assimilated into a single database of record. This manual process was time-consuming and prone to errors, making it difficult to meet the stringent reporting requirements set by the General Services Administration (GSA). Additionally, HUD's high churn rate of about 60% necessitated a more streamlined approach to managing moves, adds, and changes within its facilities.