Kasun Illankoon spoke to Amjad Abbas, CEO of Maisonette Holding, on their PropTech software and how it provides real solutions for their clients
PropTech is a key transformational element impacting literally all aspects of the real estate industry from design and planning to construction, operations and even marketing. The impact is also cross-sectional taking in commercial, governmental, hospitality and residential real estate as the industry leverages digitisation, 3D printing and artificial intelligence to deliver intelligent buildings and smart cities which are arising worldwide including the Middle East.
Maisonette Holding is a PropTech company that is striving to provide smart solutions for property management companies and developers in the region. It provides a fully-integrated system with a full cycle for operations, finance, and facility management, which enables effective coordination and communication among departments; and it automates all property operations processes, and cross-departmental operations within a real estate company.
The company focuses on providing software and technology solutions for the real estate industry in the MENA region, especially in the UAE, GCC and Egypt.
The software also boasts a built-in customer relationship management (CRM) system, a document management system and smart marketing tools, making it an all-in-one solution for real estate organizations of any size.
Amjad Abbas, CEO of Maisonette Holding, brings over 22 years in experience of senior experience in IT, planning and implementation. Experience in building state-of-the art smart cities, real estate ICT infrastructure and systems, IT systems, Data Centres, network & security operation centres (NOC & SOC), financial systems (SAP & ORACLE ERP), CRM, GIS map systems, and other business applications.
Amjad, reveals to us that there are several benefits that come out of using Maisonette real estate software: “The software connects all departments together and streamlines and automates operations of different departments together – including finance, property leasing, property sales, project costing, and facilities management with built-in CRM and marketing tools. Hence, all real estate processes and functions within a company, such as finance, property management, and commercial departments, are integrated and connected, so there is no need to insert data twice, which is often the case with many real estate organizations. ”
Maisonette’s software is user-friendly, specialized and tailor-made especially for the real estate market. It is specialized, cost-effective and quick to implement. Other software can be implemented for companies in different sectors, so it takes a long time to implement and customize the service for each company, whereas Maisonette takes a much shorter time. Because the software is built for real estate businesses, it is easy to use. Maisonette also saves time and provides accurate reports and dashboards for the client’s top management.
The software also provides accurate data as data-entry is done only once; there is less risk of human error. Additionally, Maisonette enhances the productivity of employees as most of the work is automated – reminders, streamlined tasks, number of projects and due dates, client information, and more data, are all accessible.
Maisonette has a promising roadmap to adopt the latest progressive technologies which give the clients a competitive advantage to maximize their sales. Managers can take control of business operations, get better visibility on the health and performance of the organization.
Maisonette also has a mobile app for both tenants and the technicians. This app can be used directly by the tenants to raise maintenance complaints right from their mobile. This saves a lot of time and investment on setting up dedicated call centers. Tenants can log, track and give feedback on their requests real time with a click of a button. The process of raising a request is very simple and user-friendly. For technicians, Maisonette has not only made it easy for the tenants to raise maintenance requests but also made it easy for the facility management team to receive, assign, schedule and resolve these requests. The Technician App makes it easier to schedule tasks, track the accurate ticket work status, time taken to resolve etc. Communication between the tenant and FM team has never been so transparent.
Currently, Maisonette is serving around 85,000 units and more than 40 clients (all medium to large real estate companies) in the region and there are plans already in place in expanding across Morocco and Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait, and is already used with large firms in the GCC and Egypt.
Amjad Abbas further added: “The real estate market in Dubai and UAE is a very big market that had attracted thousands of investors in the last 20 years. We believe that the market is evolving and going through a natural cycle, and it will continue to attract customers and investors. Moreover, we see an increasing number of Real Estate companies who are looking for Technology solutions like Maisonette Software to automate their operations, optimize cost, and maximize sales and leasing. Because of the Internet of Things (IoT), Big Data, and predictive analytics, properties will be smarter. This will empower tenants to receive a better quality of life.”
“For example, when it comes to maintenance, tenants would have to call landlords and wait. Now, communication is faster and easier through mobile and PropTech. Interaction between the landlord, tenant and buyer is becoming more seamless because of technology. Maintenance is becoming more preventive and proactive because of technology. The software and devices give reminders and alerts before there is an actual failure. Facilities management will become smarter and more preventive; eventually, this will make buildings live longer. Ultimately, PropTech is improving the quality of life, and Maisonette is adapting with the new trends in real estate.”