Once a database is fully functioning it is crucial that the data is used to provide information that will add value to the business. Data for data’s sake is no longer a viable demand. What a business needs is on going analysis of the data to provide key parameters for the business to judge the effectiveness of the property portfolio to the business needs.

Determining key performance measures will allow a business to judge whether it is getting value for money from its property portfolio and understand the true costs. This can range from simple measures of costs per square foot/metre, the space occupied per person, the cost per person, to ratios of property costs to turnover or to PBIT.

Undertaking such analysis can be time consuming and deflect the corporate real estate manager from the day to day delivery, whereas outsourcing this allows the analysis to happen without interruption to the service delivery and offers the prospect of benchmarking against other corporates. Having got the analysis, its application needs to be measured to ensure that the right comparisons are used. One would expect different occupancy rates for a modern building compared to offices in a period building.