Open Box is making the transfer of operating budget data from TIER REIT Inc.’s budgeting system into its valuation platform automatic using a software robot. Previously this critical business process was handled manually, involving a great deal of data preparation which was time-consuming, onerous and definitely not the best use of TIER REIT’s highly-skilled professionals’ time.
RaaS allows companies to use software robots to take over tedious, repetitive, manual work
Open Box delivers automation services to Real Estate organizations over the cloud, on a Robots-as-a-Service (RaaS) basis. RaaS allows companies to use software robots to take over tedious, repetitive, manual work, freeing up humans to do more intellectual, creative, strategic work.
When Dean Hook, SVP of IT and Property Management of TIER REIT, learned about the Open Box Real Estate Automation Engine (also known as Rob Sparke), he realized it could solve a significant integration challenge for the company. Because it was not possible to integrate their budgeting system with their valuation platform, many hours were spent manually preparing and moving data from one system to another. This task is a critical one for the company, a Real Estate Investment Trust, as it forms the basis for the ongoing valuation of the properties in the portfolio. TIER REIT has interests in 20 operating office properties with 7.4 million rentable square feet, as well as non-operating property and development properties in eight markets across the US.
By harnessing the power of RaaS, TIER REIT solved the problems caused by being unable to integrate its systems. Now, a job that took a highly-skilled employee up to a week every month to do, has been whittled down to a day or two a month. Because robots are better suited than humans to repetitive, boring work, data transfers are also more efficient and accurate. By following a set of pre-defined business rules at all stages of the workflow, data preparation, uploads, selections, merges and validations are completely correct. Any exceptions in the data are immediate flagged for a human to intervene.
The team communicates with Rob Sparke via email, if, for instance, they want a data transfer to take place outside of the set schedule. And when Rob is done with the job, he sends an email back to the team to let them know.
The introduction of RaaS has revolutionized how TIER looks at processes traditionally thought to be “human centric”
"The introduction of Rob Sparke and RaaS has revolutionized how TIER looks at processes traditionally thought to be “human centric”. TIER now has a tool to transition mundane, repetitive activities that distract talented people and refocus those talents on analytics and value add process improvements. These activities are more rewarding to both the individual and the enterprise,” said Dean R. Hook.
“This a great example of a workflow, which although business critical, is not best suited to being done by a human being. It is repetitive and tedious, and machines are much better at these types of jobs as they don’t get bored, tired or make mistakes. Not to mention that it frees up highly-skilled human beings to do more strategic, creative work that keeps them happy and contributes to the business,” said Dustin Strydom, director of Automation Services at Open Box.
About TIER REIT, Inc.
TIER REIT, Inc. is a publicly traded (NYSE:TIER), self-managed, Dallas-based real estate investment trust focused on owning quality, well-managed commercial office properties in dynamic markets throughout the U.S. TIER REIT’s vision is to be the premier owner and operator of best-in-class office properties in TIER1 submarkets, which are primarily higher density and amenity-rich locations within select, high-growth metropolitan areas that offer a walkable experience to various amenities. Our mission is to provide unparalleled, TIER ONE Property Services to our tenants and outsized total return through stock price appreciation and dividend growth to our stockholders.
For additional information regarding TIER REIT, please visit www.tierreit.com or call 972.483.2400.
About Open Box
Open Box is a global software development consultancy focused on the Real Estate industry. For the past 16 years, we have been working with some of the leading names in the global Commercial Real Estate industry. As a result, we have been involved in defining industry best practice for not only the use of technology, but also business processes.
The Open Box Real Estate Automation Engine leverages best-of-breed Robotic Process Automation (RPA) technology on a Robots-as-a-Service (RaaS) basis, along with our wealth of knowledge and experience in understanding, mapping and improving Real Estate business processes. It combines these elements with our expertise in the development, support and integration of Real Estate software solutions.
