VirtualPremise hosts all software and data on its secure servers. So here you have major corporations outsourcing their real estate technology and critical lease transaction data to a third party. All access to this "workflow" is via a web browser -- no need to buy, install, and maintain separate software. That's not a business model that corporate real estate directors would have imagined ten years ago.

By centralizing data, VirtualPremise provides easy access to both its internal corporate users and its outside service providers. For example, ACS manages a portfolio of almost 500 leases and integrates its two service providers, Cushman & Wakefield and Staubach, into the online process. Of course, you can imagine that electronic reporting under such a system is superior to paper-based reports in the past.

But the downside is the need to enter all activities into the online system. That's not the easiest thing to do. As one real estate director affectionately told me recently, "Managing corporate real estate is like being chased by a pack of wild dogs. The natural inclination is to kick the dog nearest you. But with an online system you've got to touch all the dogs, even the ones that aren't threatening." That's a hassle. But the huge benefit is the ability to make better strategic decisions based upon comprehensive decisions.

--Peter Pike