Case Studies
5Q has a proven track record of using technology and cyber security to enhance, protect, and grow commercial real estate businesses.
See the evidence below:
5Q transitioned managed services for all 80+ properties, migrated all onsite servers, replaced the HQ network, and rolled out a full cyber security program along other initiatives.
Case Study: Outsourcing IT for a Multi-Family 3rd Party Operator
Background
This company has been in business for over 20 years. Over the past few years, their growth has been exponential. The company was using a very small, local IT firm and out-stripped their capability. The company is 100% 3rd party management and currently has over 130 properties and approximately 750 employees with communities across a multitude of states.
The Problem
The company had little to no technology standardization at the property level causing lengthy downtime and difficulty in scaling operations. No “onsite” onboarding caused rough transitions of new properties onto the management platform. The smorgasbord of Microsoft licensing throughout the company made it extremely difficult to roll out collaboration, cyber security, HR, and training solutions. There were onsite servers, an antiquated phone system, and poor Wi-Fi at HQ. Also, there were little to no cyber security controls in place.
The Results
5Q began with fractional IT leadership and conducted a two-month technology assessment and roadmap effort. On the first day of the third month, 5Q transitioned managed services for all 80+ properties as well as all HQ and WFH employees. Over the 17 months since the transition, 5Q standardized the new construction, DD/assessment, onboarding, and upgrade processes related to technology for all community sites and took a lead role in coordinating all teams for those processes in a new HubSpot solution. Additionally, most “legacy” community sites have been assessed and are in some stage of upgrade or remediation. 5Q also migrated all onsite servers to our private cloud solution including backups and DR, replaced the HQ network, standardized all Microsoft licenses, rolled out a full cyber security program including MFA and end-user training, and completed a migration to Microsoft SharePoint and a Teams based phone solution.
Case Study: Outsourcing IT for a Multi-Family
Owner/Operator
Background
The client company had grown from a few properties managed by 3rd parties to over 50 properties internally managed over a five-year period. While highly successful, the client was looking at a future shift in strategy based on industry economics.
The Problem
The IT department had less than ten people serving over 500 employees and 50+ properties, but very little results were being produced. Technology at the property sites was in disarray, 24 internal projects were started and not completed, and there was little financial transparency. Fixed costs were continuing to build while the company was looking for future flexibility. Overall satisfaction and results were at a low.
The Results
5Q was asked to take over leadership of IT and develop a plan that included flexibility, transparency, and results. Over 18 months, 5Q developed a plan with business leaders, stabilized and upgraded all Corporate Technology, instituted a disciplined support process for core technology and Yardi in a variable cost model, remediated all 50+ sites to newly created technology standards, developed an annual budget, and reduced infrastructure & support spend by 43%. Multiple employees transitioned to 5Q, and the onsite staff now represents 1 FTE for HQ support, and 1 FTE for CIO and IT Director-level leadership.
5Q stabilized and upgraded all Corporate Technology, and developed an annual budget, and reduced infrastructure & support spend by 43%.
5Q conducted cyber and IT operational assessments and remediations to jointly develop IT standards on nearly 200 buildings.
Case Study: Providing Property Level Support for a
Multi-Vertical Owner/Operator
Background
The client company has over 230 properties and 3,500 employees across three primary verticals. The company has grown 20+% each year for several years. The CTO was brought in from outside the industry. While he focused on Corporate IT, he needed a trusted partner to be his extension at the property level.
The Problem
The verticals were onboarding and offboarding as many as 20 properties at a time. Employee turnover is high at the property level so ensuring they have proper equipment was nearly impossible. Property technologies were completely non-standard, making support incredibly difficult. The entire enterprise was
undergoing a SOC-II certification, so basic cyber security mandates were coming from the auditors for every property.
The Results
5Q partnered with Corporate IT to take on all aspects of property technology standardization and support. 5Q conducted cyber and IT operational assessments and remediations to jointly develop IT standards on nearly 200 buildings in a 12-month period. Upon completion of these remediations, 5Q will support all properties (approx. 100) within two of their verticals. 5Q also implemented standard due diligence assessments and onboardings for new acquisitions and employees as well as offboarding for dispositions. 5Q has taken lead on two incident responses so far and going forward will cover as part of managed services.
Case Study: Outsourcing IT Infrastructure for Large Office Owner/Operator
Background
A privately held commercial real estate investment, development and management company in business for over 30 years owns more than 10 million square feet of high-quality office space across the United States.
The Problem
Client was very unhappy with their current Managed Services Provider (MSP) and the state of their IT infrastructure. Servers were failing in their datacenter with no response for days from the provider. Help desk tickets were not being serviced well and projects were past their deadlines as well as over budget.
The Results
CIO hired 5Q to transform the datacenter, help desk, and network across all offices and the entire building portfolio. Within 36 months, 5Q had revamped the help desk, migrated the data center to the 5Q virtual private cloud, performed operational and cyber assessments, remediated every building in the portfolio, completed a corporate office move, and assessed/onboarded several new acquisitions as well as construction projects. 5Q is in the process of rolling out the 5Q Centry solution company-wide to upgrade the client’s cyber security defenses.