Boston Properties saves time, money with REsolve technology software. (Insiders Outlook).

Boston Properties, one of the largest, publicly owned Office REITs with 40.7 million SF of Class A office, office/technical, industrial space and 3 hotels under management, continues to grow larger and larger. For years, the company has sifted through mountains of information and multiple databases to retrieve the data needed to complete quarterly forecasting and budgeting reports.

The tedious process included gathering information from several different sources, such as DYNA, JD Edwards, and custom software applications, and then pulling all the information together manually into Microsoft Excel spreadsheets. Data was cut from each separate application and pasted into a single spreadsheet, requiring redundant data entry and increasing the chance of human input errors. This spreadsheet, along with backup documents, was then printed, copied, collated, and compiled into 3 1/2 inch binder notebooks that were mailed to senior management at Boston Properties' five offices in Boston, Washington DC, Manhattan, San Francisco, and Princeton, NJ. Only senior management received the notebooks, as the production cost were high for multiple copies, logistics were a challenge, and information was outdated by the time the notebooks were received at all satellite offices. The process required 160 hours of employees' time, with only 5 percent of staff ever seeing the final reports.

Amy Gindel, vice president of budgeting and planning at Boston Properties, decided it was time for a change. She contracted with REsolve Technology, a Boston-based technology and financial consulting firm that provides web-based portfolio and asset management software solutions for the commercial real estate industry. REsolve specializes in providing software solutions to mid-sized and large commercial real estate firms, REITs, investors, developers, lenders, asset management organizations, and pension fund advisors.

REsolve Technology's software tool -- REquest -- allowed Boston Properties to collect, organize, disseminate, and report asset and portfolio data over the web instantly, eliminating the tedious process of compiling and distributing information from multiple sources in hard-copy format. REquest enabled everyone -- not just senior managers -- who needed to see cash flow reports, leasing summaries, and quarterly budgets with the ability to log onto the website with a password and review budgetary data.

Gindel estimates that the software has saved many hours of employee time, and much money in the printing and distribution processes. "REquest has enabled us to. focus on our core competencies instead of spending our time copying, collating, binding and mailing budget packages. I've estimated that implementing REquest has produced savings of approximately 60 workdays per year. In addition, we can now obtain the information we need instantaneously, instead of having to depend on others or they on us; we've eliminated that dependency."

Gindel and the entire Boston Properties' staff are amazed at the amount of information available and the speed with which it can be accessed. They are also happy about the fact that they no longer need to know DYNA or other proprietary software applications in order to retrieve the data. Gone are the days of paper-based budgeting. Now the company enjoys a web-based budgeting reporting tool that reaches the entire professional staff. Gindel expects to see a complete return on investment (ROI) within one year of REquest's implementation.