In order to improve processes, streamline workflows and to gain better control of all aspects of property management, the property management industry within the past decade has leveraged technology. Basically built around property management software, this has been achieved mainly through the introduction and evolution of technology.
The mixes of DOS-based accounting and rent-roll systems are the first systems in the industry that often proved to be inflexible and difficult to learn and use. These systems were limited as well in their ability to import and export data and were laden with compatibility issues. Reporting demands which has become stricter from investors have made broad compatibility and ease of access to data a necessity.
The next thing in the evolutionary chain of property management software was the transition to the Windows-based software. This allowed for simpler deployment, greater ease of use, as well as increased functionality. For the developers to customize their applications for end users to a degree impractical on the DOS platform, the Windows platform provides that.
These Windows-based applications grew to include diverse components or modules covering all aspects of property management: financial management, accounting, marketing, lease management, payment and collections, maintenance management, financial modeling, and communications.
With the latest software developed on the Application Service Provider (ASP) platform, the advent of the Internet and its explosive growth as a pervasive communications and e-commerce medium has lead to the migration of property management software to the Web. This would essentially mean that applications are hosted on the service provider’s, or developers, servers and accessed over the Internet through the users’ web browsers.
Application Services Providers and Web-based applications together offer a number of advantages as compared to traditional platforms. The software is significantly easier to manage and maintain as well as easier to learn and use. Web-based applications and Application Service Providers (ASPs) together make a web-based solution as a service for rental property owners and managers as well as they reduce the financial impact of technology.
It were applications that were ported from older platforms to the web which are many of the first web-based property management systems to appear on the market. Lastly, the software companies had been developing property management software for the web built from the ground up. These systems are accessed through a browser (Software as a Service) and run solely on the web.
Small to medium-sized owners and managers were locked out of the benefits of high-end property management software due to cost and complexity prior to the emergence of Software as a Service. Software as a Service levels the playing field for property managers as well as owners which is giving them a competitive edge that is allowing greater control when it comes to their properties, access to real-time data, ability to respond more quickly to market changes, and, perhaps most importantly, gives them the most complete and current status of their property which are available.
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