IBS introduces new real estate management software.

Integrated Business Systems (IBS) Of Fairfield, NJ has announced the introduction of DYNA for Windows interface for users of its real estate computer management systems. The firm provides turnkey property management automation for owners, developers and professional managers involved in both residential and commercial real estate.

The IBS system serves multi-user environments ranging from a few to hundreds of operators. Its software contains more than 1,700 programs that address virtually all property management, accounting and construction management tasks.

Based in Clearwater, FL, the DYNA division of Argus Financial Software is a leading worldwide provider of Windows-based software for real estate investment analysis. DYNA is used for lease-by-lease, valuation and operations forecasting analysis; budgeting; portfolio roll-ups; automated portfolio sensitivity analysis; ad hoc portfolio querying/"slicing & dicing"; partnership and debt structuring; investment return analysis; appraisal/valuation; development and construction planning; and Book/ GAAP/Tax Forecasting.

According to Robert Entin, president and founder of IBS, creating the DYNA interface has been a most challenging and rewarding achievement. The project began when Mack-Cali Realty Corporation, a well-known REIT and long-time IBS user; approached Entin with the desire to use DYNA projection modeling for its portfolio. IBS had a fair investment in projection interface software and used that as a springboard for this project.

"As a public company, we needed to be able to efficiently project for our organization from a fiscal standpoint," said Nick Mitarotonda, the firm's director of information systems. "After careful consideration, we decided that DYNA was best suited to help us accomplish the type of long-term projections we require. Mack-Cali has been very satisfied with IBS' technology and service, and we knew that we had an excellent working relationship to accomplish a project of this scope. In addition, we have a great deal of confidence in the integrity of the data provided via the IBS system."

"IBS has always recognized that the diverse needs of any business are best satisfied by a number of software products, and DYNA is fast becoming the industry standard for sophisticated modeling," Entin said. "Yet in order to maximize its benefits, there must be a strong, reliable connection to a company's core accounting data."

Creating a Successful Interface

According to Entin, the foundation for interfacing IBS system data with third-party products like DYNA was set in place when the firm introduced its Windows Data Base in 1998. "The product provides users with the ability to deliver property management, escalation and other financial and non-financial data in an industry-standard open database," he explained. "In addition to allowing for unlimited amounts of querying and report-writing in Windows, it also provides a gateway to full enterprise computing."

IBS carefully studied DYNA's interface specifications and learned DYNACode, a language which allows information to be translated to virtually every data field in DYNA. "The challenge with modeling interfaces lies in drawing the map between the accounting system and the way the projection software handles recoveries and escalation billings," Entin said. "Once a good link has been established to export tenant information, the issue of repeatability arises. Because projecting each lease requires significant assumptions, a great number of hours have traditionally been spent tweaking' various parameters and laying in tenant assumptions within programs like DYNA. Unfortunately, once the work has been done, any professional would be hesitant to re-import new data and start the process again."

Thus, IBS worked to incorporate all of the assumptions relating to tenants, vacancies, inflation rates, renewal profiles, etc., through the Windows Data Base, directly into the interface, in order to create a reusable interface and greatly reduce the amount of time spent massaging the data. "While this level of integration presented dramatic challenges, the consultants at DYNA were extremely helpful," Entin said. "In addition, the professionals at Mack-Cali are very in-tune with their portfolio needs and have a clear picture of their objectives. As a team, we created a successful working interface. Today, Mack-Call's data translates to DYNA with little need for further manipulation."

"Of the projects like this I have seen, the IBS interface falls into the top tier," noted Jeff Wells, executive vice president of Argus Financial Software, which owns DYNA. "IBS was able to identity its clients' needs and challenges, and come up with a solution. In the software business, it is easy to imagine what will work, but often difficult to make it happen. IBS not only accomplished its mission, but did so in about half the time it has taken other firms."

Translating to Other Industry Segments

IBS has also completed the DYNA interface with enhancements and modifications for another long-time client, Acadia Realty Trust of Port Washington, NY. The firm's 11 million-square-foot retail and residential portfolio includes 57 properties. According to Entin, the basic interface is the same as the one created for Mack-Cali, with a layer of custom development to address issues specific to retail.

"We wanted to interface our IBS system with financial projection software that would help us make good investment decisions relative to managing our portfolio, and provide accurate and timely information for the investment community," explained Jon Grisham, vice president/director of financial reporting for Acadia.

The firm hired Tree Software and Consulting, Inc. of Marlton, NJ, which is an independent consulting firm providing portfolio services to institutional real estate companies. Tree offers expertise in DYNA and a variety of other real estate software packages. "Acadia brought us on because they wanted assistance with the mapping logic necessary to automate the projection capabilities of DYNA based on the imported actuals from IBS," noted Michael Tuman of Tree Softwafe Consulting. "IBS has been responsive and to-the-point; and the entire undertaking has been a terrific collaboration.