CASE STUDY

Professionals Lifestyle Realty: Console Cloud case study

There and back again: A Console Cloud case study
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After almost 20 years on Console Gateway, Professionals Lifestyle Realty, based in Marsden, made the jump to the cloud via another provider. Just months later, they migrated again—this time to Console Cloud.

We caught up with Principal Samida Sargeant and Business Development Manager Stephen Asker to find out why.

The jump to the cloud

The reason for the team’s initial move to the cloud was simple. With Property Management becoming an increasingly important—and regular—revenue stream for the agency, Samida wanted to ensure the office had the right technology in place to support the business’s growth.

And while Console Gateway provided much of the functionality the team required, being tied to their desks, office and server meant they lacked the flexibility to scale up.

This was a particularly crucial issue for Samida.

She wanted to grow the agency’s rent roll, but the amount of time her team spent on admin kept shifting that goal out of reach. Only cloud technology could offer the sort of efficiency gains required. So, it was with some excitement that the office decided to move from Console Gateway to another provider’s cloud-based platform.

‍No silver linings

Unfortunately, despite their initial optimism and excitement, the team’s transition was anything but smooth. They ran into problems almost immediately, particularly around performing end of month. Even worse, when they sought help, they found their new provider’s support service completely lacking.

“The service just wasn’t there. We couldn’t call. We had to email them and wait for a response. If you’re in the middle of EOM and you have a problem, there’s no time to wait. You need to be able to pick up the phone and get the support you need.”

This lack of support was a deal-breaker for the team. And understandably so. In the SaaS (Software as a Service) sector, service is a key part of the equation—it’s in the acronym, after all.

The team quickly moved back to Console Gateway, even though that meant sacrificing their office’s cloud capabilities. It did, however, give them time to regroup and consider their options.

On cloud nine

Half a year later, and Professionals Lifestyle Realty are once more part of the Console family—this time as Console Cloud customers. And they couldn’t be happier. Even their migration was stress-free, thanks to Console’s superior support. Once the team were online, that level of service stayed just as strong.

More time, more savings

But it isn’t just our service that’s keeping the team at Professionals Lifestyle Realty happy. Day-to-day, they’re making real savings—both in time and money—thanks to Console Cloud’s productivity-enhancing design.

“Since moving to Console Cloud, we’re saving hours and hours a week. I can concentrate on all the other aspects of being a BDM, like building business relationships, not just data entry.”

These savings are being felt across the entire business, from principal to property manager. The Lease Renewals workflow, for instance, has dramatically cut the time it takes to find out who’s staying in a property and who’s leaving.

A holistic view

In a few clicks—and mere days instead of weeks—the team can get a complete picture of tenant and owner intentions and act accordingly. And that’s just one of Console Cloud’s many features and integrations.

“It’s brilliant. It makes our lives so much easier. The dashboard and timelines are so simple. Any property manager can understand them. Everything is right there in front of you.”

This level of oversight is one of the team’s favourite features and something that has had a major positive impact. In fact, Stephen happily reports that he was able to check up on how things were going while on holiday in Fiji.

“The support level is first-class. And it’s ongoing support, unlike with other providers who drop you as soon as you migrate. We can still reach out to Console via the phone, email or live chat at any time.”