The V&A Waterfront leverages PropTech to enhance customer experience
Property technology – or PropTech – is not new to South Africa, with the majority of real estate companies by now having adopted technology or software in some guise since it was first introduced in the 1990s.
The post-pandemic landscape has not been without challenges for the real estate sector with high interest rates, loadshedding, escalating municipal costs and failing public infrastructure being the most prevalent issues it has had to deal with. PropTech has emerged as a critical tool for property developers and landlords as they look to enhance operational efficiency and profitability.
A surge in demand for advanced AI-powered property management systems across Europe, the Middle East and Africa has resulted in rapid growth for MRI Software, a leading global provider of cutting-edge real estate technology solutions. The business, which has 394 clients in South Africa currently, has forged partnerships with a diverse range of developers, landlords and service providers.
The V&A Waterfront was an early adopter of MRI Software’s suite of solutions. Renowned for its forward-thinking approach and innovation, the mixed-use property asset embarked on a digital transformation journey in 2021 by implementing MRI Software’s Property Management X (PMX) solution for its residential portfolio. PMX, MRI Software’s integrated ecosystem, provides businesses with real-time insights by consolidating all information in a single, digital platform.
In 2023, the V&A Waterfront expanded the use of PMX across its entire portfolio, encompassing commercial, retail, hospitality, marine and industrial assets.
The V&A Waterfront’s previous system was close to 20 years old, making it challenging to upgrade, limited in terms of its abilities and difficult to consolidate data. The system also lacked the flexibility to support the needs of a growing business.
The V&A Waterfront team recognised that what it needed was a modern operating system that offered more robust financial reporting and catered to the specific needs of real estate businesses. In addition, it needed a system that specialised in real estate and provided accessible information to all stakeholders for more informed business decisions and that was scalable and flexible.
“One of the challenges of the V&A Waterfront’s previous system was that it was fixed and required customisation,” says Mark Bird, director of Global Professional Services (EMEA) for MRI Software. Unlike traditional systems that require extensive customisation, MRI Software provides a flexible toolkit that allows clients to configure the solution according to their specific needs. This toolkit allowed the V&A Waterfront’s technical team to tweak and configure it according to their preferences.
What followed was an 18-month process to set up a new system for the V&A Waterfront. Mid-implementation, Agora Insights, MRI Software’s Business Intelligence tool was also integrated. Agora Insights leverages artificial intelligence to analyse data from PMX and other sources, providing valuable insights through interactive dashboards and visualisations.
“With PMX and Agora Insights, the V&A Waterfront now has access to accurate, real-time data,” says Bird. “Not only are they now empowered to make data-driven decisions, improve operational efficiency and enhance the customer experience but MRI Software’s cloud-based solutions enhance security and reduce the burden of IT maintenance.”
“Adopting PropTech is a journey and one that does not end when the business goes live,” says Amanda Dilima, Strategic Projects Manager for the V&A Waterfront. She adds that it has required a shift in mindset as the business rethinks how it operates digitally and strategises on the integration across all its ecosystems.
“Our new operating system reduces human error by minimising repetitive tasks and frees up capacity to allocate to where it matters the most: driving digitisation from a customer experience point of view and to continuously enhance the customer experience for our tenants,” says Dilima.
The key benefits of PMX, she says, have been the ability to access all information from a single source, a reduction in human error and the freeing up of resources.