SOFTWARE REVIEW
money on new hardware, Aspasia’s own headquarters can show them the way. “We practice what we preach,” he says. “We don’t have any servers, we don’t spend anything on IT, because everything’s in the cloud.” Philip Evans concurs. He says he’d love
to go into an office and see a pile of cheap web netbooks, “If they fall in the toilet or someone spills coffee on it, it doesn’t matter”, because there’s no data held on them, and they’re incredibly cheap to replace. But, he warns, to get the full benefits, agents need to ensure they’re buying a true web version of their software, not a specialised software which is locked to a specific device like a blackberry or an iPad. “Moving to an online business environment is a real opportunity to rework systems and processes.” However, this only works for agents who
have access to reliable, high speed internet service. Mark Goddard warns that “if you’re out in rural Wales, let’s say, you are totally reliant on your telecoms infrastructure.” There will also be some cost to migrating
data from one software to another. However, this is much cheaper than it used to be, and much easier and less expensive than putting paper systems onto a database. Some users who are upgrading may even find it can be done automatically; and in the case of GMG Property Software’s different systems, the software has been specifically designed so that there are no migration issues at all, as the systems can work off the same database. For instance, Stewart Anderson says
Leaders is currently using Aspasia’s programmers to migrate the data for a six-
mark goddard
An online business environment will only work if you have access to a high speed reliable internet service.’
branch network it acquired recently. Such a migration could take between half a day and a week, depending on the size of the database that needs to be transferred, every job is different; but at a £600 programmer daily rate, it’s not going to cost more than a few thousand. The main investment agents need to
niCk HuBBard
Our clients’ differing needs have led us to develop an extraordinarily flexible system.’
22 JUNE 2011 PROPERTYdrum
make in new software is in training. Stewart Anderson says, “People worry that the new system will create mayhem and negotiators won’t be able to cope.” The only way round that is to spend time and money on staff training before the new system goes live. For agents who are switching to cloud
computing, though, there is another set of costs. Stewart Anderson explains; “To benefit from the true cloud aspects you need to be using Google Apps, so you have to take on a domain and register that to Google Apps for the whole cloud thing to work.” That isn’t terribly difficult or expensive in
itself (Google Apps for business costs USD 50 a year), but it can cause problems for single divisions of larger corporates. Knight Frank Lettings, for instance, might have to set up a new domain such as ‘KFLettings’
for the cloud, since they won’t be able to port the parent company’s ‘
knightfrank.co. uk’ over to Google Apps. Then the company’s documents also need to be uploaded to Google Apps, that again can take a bit of time and effort (though it’s also a good opportunity to cleanse the data and archive older data).
FutureprooFing If the software companies are right, there are big changes happening in the way businesses operate, and that will, sooner or later, impact on estate agencies. Virtual agency hasn’t really happened
yet, and although a large number of branches have been trimmed, no one has yet torn the High Street agency up by the roots. But, Mark Goddard says, look at other verticals from bookshops to clothes retail, and you can see that estate agents will have to change. So even with no intention of moving
right now, agents can still futureproof the business by getting the right software, and enabling fully location-independent working. “We call it a branch, but if it’s a bedroom that doesn’t matter to us.” Buying into the right software will be crucial to futureproofing. On the other hand, agents with that software can use home agents to expand at minimal cost, or gain cost and speed advantages by communicating with conveyancers and EPC companies through a single workflow system instead of numerous emails. The opportunity is there, for those who
are prepared to reassess their basic business processes at the same time as their software requirements. However, Mark Goddard says, “Most agents still look at software as a cost, those who look at it as an opportunity are the exception rather than the rule.” It’s those few exceptions who may well get the most out of their investment, but the basic functionality is there already.
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www.propertydrum.com/articles/innovation
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