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collected and used by the BMS systems, but not typically stored in
a warehouse. We would like to greatly expand the number of data
points we’re permanently storing. We currently use two or three
platforms to store BMS data across the divisions. We’re looking at
standardizing that which will allow us to apply predictive analytics
to the building data. That should yield some very interesting oper-
ating data from a smart building point of view.

Lastly, we plan to implement a leasing CRM platform. We do
a very high percentage of our leasing through in-house leasing
agents. We’d like to automate the tools they use to manage
the leasing process. There are exciting new capabilities around
automating the leasing process and at the same time collecting
meaningful leasing statistics.

Top Trends for the Next Three Years
Security will continue to have a big impact on operations. The
requirements that increased security are going to have will place
some additional constraints on access. That will include remote
access, general access to data, and the encryption of more data.
To protect the network so it’s completely impenetrable requires
restrictions on access to the internet that are unrealistic. There will
always be the tug of war between what we the IT folks want to do to
protect the network versus the requirement for operational ease that
the network and applications are there to provide. The trick is to right
size the protection and really guard against the probable events.

I, like many, am also looking forward to seeing the tectonic shift
in payment systems in the US that is hopefully upon us. Frankly
it is hard to believe that America’s electronic payment platforms
have remained as outdated as they are for as long as they have
in the face of what has been in place in Europe. But that is about
to change. The industry has set an October 2015 deadline where
banks will shift credit card liability to the merchant if fraud occurs
and they do not possess new chip and pin readers. It looks like
probably half the merchants today already have the upgraded
equipment. It will take another 18 months or so for us to stop using
the stripe and start using the chip (hopefully). Then there’s Apple
Pay, which I believe is ultimately going to have an enormous impact
on payment as well. Apple uses Near Field Communications (NFC)
to communicate with the reader. Google has been using NFC for
years, but with low adoption. Any new reader a merchant buys
today to comply with this new regulation will probably support
both chip and pin and NFC. It’s going to be exciting to see how this
all plays out over the next few years. Some day we will look back at
these payment troubles like we do at days without email, fax, and
Fed Ex.

About Vornado
Vornado Realty Trust (NYSE: VNO) is a fully-integrated Real Estate Investment
Trust (REIT). Vornado has a concentration of premier assets and a focused strategy
of growing its dominant positions in New York City and Washington, DC office and
Manhattan street retail.

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