As of recently, most commercial spaces like a standalone office building or a tech park have been transitioning to a software to manage their property, for which data would be saved on a cloud. This opposes the pre-existing system of having all the data of your company being saved on your device’s hardware, and manually managing the property using spreadsheets or other tools of the like. It is important that commercial property managers or office operators know why this transition is important, and why cloud-based software is favourable for them.

Ease of storage

On a traditional software, an operator keeps the data saved on their device and retrieves information as and when required. The data that is stored on mere computer files needs to be sorted further - classifying which file contains which exact type of data. 

Say the operator needs to make a statement relating to the financials of the property. The data that he needs to incorporate is stored in various files under the subhead of ‘Accounting and Reporting’. 

A cloud-based software, however, does the classification for you. Rather than manually entering the data into the system, the PMS automatically sorts data it receives into the related area, be it contractual, financial, operational or anything else.

Reliability and Safety

Adding on to the previous example, reports have to be manually created and maintained. Any time data is retrieved, there is no guarantee that the data is 

a) valid, in the case of old or redundant data that has properly not been stored or disposed of, or

b) safe, considering the fact that the mechanism of traditionally storing data is subject to both software and hardware risks like viruses or damage.

A cloud based PMS, however, backs up the data stored in it on regular intervals. This makes it possible for the operator to have access to information relating to previous periods, that the data is accurate, and that it is safe from cyber attacks. Therefore, cloud based PMS softwares are so much more reliable than traditional tools.

Ease of updating 

Cloud-based PMS solutions get updated with data in real time. This makes it faster to take business decisions as the operator gets access to fresh and not outdated data. This is a major plus when compared to traditional maintenance softwares as the data has to be updated manually and timely, thereby causing a lag in taking decisions and even slowing down operations. 

Cost-efficient

Cloud PMS softwares come sold at a subscription fee that can be renewed monthly or yearly by the operator. While it does initially seem more expensive as a recurring cost, cloud-based solutions have the ability to automatically update themselves to provide the latest version to the operator. Maintenance is also self-scheduled by the software. These benefits allow for lesser dependence on an IT team or third party vendors to maintain the PMS as opposed to a traditional PMS.  

Available on the go

Generally, in a traditional software, the data will be stored on the device of the operator only. This makes it hard to access by other people who need to use the system, and hard to use whenever they want to.

A cloud PMS can be accessed from multiple platforms by anyone authorised to access it, provided they have an internet connection.

Integrations

Traditional modes of managing a commercial space are usually limited in features. The commercial operator can lose out on integrating with other solutions, such as accounting softwares, security systems for each office, and payment gateways.

A cloud PMS solves this issue by integrating with a variety of other solutions present in the market - making the system more customised as per the operator’s needs.

Communication 

A cloud PMS also makes it easier for the operator to communicate with all the tenants and clients registered in the system. For instance, if maintenance is to be scheduled on the property, the operator may raise a notice on the common app linked to the PMS on which tenants shall be notified. Additionally, it is also easier to send reminders (say, for rent collection or contract renewal) or issue invoices for transactions made with vendors. This isn’t quite easily done on a traditional system.

So is a cloud based system really beating a traditional system on all fronts?

Clearly, there are some added advantages of shifting to a cloud based system from a traditional one, especially living in a new ‘tech age’. However, the operator must carefully consider and evaluate whether their commercial space is able to handle one. (link article about How to Choose the Right Commercial Property Management Software for Your Needs?)