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Today’s Real Estate Technology Leaders: Harnessing the Power of Technology and Innovation to Bring About Change
utilization through its user-friendly interface and customization through a range of mediums without interruption. This means
options. We also implemented a CRM system for our marketing product searching on the web or an app and price checking at
department, automating the sales process from lead generation home or in the store, and finally visiting the store to purchase
through agreement execution, including populating our financial and bring items home, or with increasing frequently, have them
system with all of the billings. The new tool has significantly delivered the very same day.
enhanced visibility into their budgets and leasing pipeline.
On the retailer side a new wave of technologies are being pi-
PREIT also enhanced our financial and forecasting systems loted including virtual mir-
which has proved to be a tremendous time saver. Monthly rors, a highly interactive
reforecasts that in years past took weeks to complete are now experience. The shopper
accomplished in a matter of days. It allows our asset manage- can see what the product
ment department to review information from multiple sources looks like on them and
that capture necessary data, such as our deal flow and lease quickly try out different
information systems and make future assumptions or changes. options such as size or
The changes flow straight through to our modeling software and color without leaving the
are pushed to our business intelligence and reporting tool for room. At the same time,
further review. The system connects departments and enhances the display will show other
communication throughout the organization. products they tried, similar
in format to an online
2014 was a year of technological change and enhancement shopping platform. There
and the biggest challenge was resource utilization. With a is also a new form of wayfinding where robots greet shoppers
large number of exciting projects taking place, the team was and have the ability to help them quickly navigate their way to
handling numerous time-sensitive tasks at once. Coordinating desired products.
schedules and aligning their focus on these initiatives was
a challenge for both the IT department and the sponsoring In the business-to-business realm virtual reality, drones, and ro-
department, but the long term benefits greatly outweigh the bots are penetrating our industry with increasing relevance. We’re
short term inconvenience. already using virtual tours of buildings in the leasing process and
are now experimenting with 3D versions of the virtual mall to
Plans for 2015 highlight development projects. Drones are being employed to
At the start of 2015, we took a step back to review our create maps and to inspect roofs and other previously hard-to-
advancements and make plans simplify or improve them. We’ve access building areas. Once regulations are established, drone
automated so many processes that we have to ask ourselves if usage will increase. Robots are another game-changing tool for
we haven’t over-engineered some. And if we have, dial them the operation of our business. In the future we’ll use them for
back to include a more personal touch. routine testing, and like other consumer technologies, such as
3D printing, they will be more prevalent as their costs decrease.
Overall PREIT plans to continue focusing on bettering the user Lastly I can say without doubt that we’ll continue to see the
experience for both shoppers and internal users. We’ll maintain Internet of Things explode, with more and more devices begin-
efforts to better understand shoppers by utilizing new technolo- ning to interact over the Internet.
gies like iBeacons, and will continue to have a strong omni-chan-
nel presence by engaging shoppers with relevant and desired To put it plainly, for IT professionals, it’s all really exciting stuff.
content through their preferred device. Internally we will contin- We’re not just talking about back office systems anymore. While
ue to roll out collaborative tools and refine the user experiences we continue to build onto our enterprise systems and enhance
within our current framework. them, increased mobility and consumer sophistication has
brought on the consumerization of IT. The opportunity to expand
Top Trends for the Next Three Years on current technologies and advance our reach through new
It’s an interesting time to be in tech where game-changing mediums is endless and IT professionals have a front-row seat to
technologies are rolling out faster than the normal 18 month all the action.
cycle. Several technologies are gaining traction in the real estate
industry and changing how our tenants and shoppers interact About PREIT
and engage with us and with each other with mobility and PREIT is a real estate investment trust specializing in the ownership and manage-
wearables serving as the catalyst. ment of differentiated retail shopping malls designed to fit the dynamic communities
they serve. Founded in 1960 as Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust, the
Personal devices like mobile phones, tablets, and the new Company owns and operates 29 million square feet of space in properties in 12 states
iWatch are so prevalent in our shoppers’ culture that omni-chan- in the eastern half of the United States with concentration in the Mid-Atlantic
nel shopping is quickly becoming more a requirement than an region and Greater Philadelphia. PREIT is headquartered in Philadelphia,
amenity. Our shopper is always connected. They want to shop Pennsylvania, and is publicly traded on the NYSE under the symbol PEI.
from anywhere and to be able to take their shopping experience
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