Authored by Ash Mitchell, Director of Corporate Operations and Neal Swanson, Director of Brokerage & Marketing at NAI Elliott
In commercial real estate, we’re no strangers to legacy systems. Whether it’s the dusty server in the back room of a management office or the dozen usernames needed to get a deal across the finish line, technology tends to accumulate—often with the best intentions, but rarely with a plan. Much like square footage that’s been leased to five tenants and built out fifteen different ways, your company’s tech stack can become a puzzle of overlapping platforms, forgotten logins, and expensive subscriptions that seemed essential at the time.
It’s not just a nuisance—it’s a real operational risk.
In an industry built on transactions, timing, and relationships, the tools we use to manage our portfolios, leases, marketing, and reporting must support—not complicate—how we work. At NAI Elliott, we utilize MRI for our managed properties and Avid Exchange for invoice processing, yet like many CRE firms, we often find ourselves stuck between two eras of technology: the monolithic enterprise systems of the past and the fragmented SaaS tools of the present.
That’s where a little digital spring cleaning comes in.
We’ve dubbed this process “Kill, Keep, Combine”—a straightforward but powerful framework for reclaiming control over your company’s technology. Whether you’re a brokerage, property manager, landlord, or investor, it’s time to take stock of what’s helping, what’s hurting, and what’s hanging on simply because nobody’s dared to unplug it.
The Problem with Patchwork Tech
Let’s rewind a bit. Back in the late ’90s and early 2000s, CRE firms were sold on all-in-one enterprise systems. These platforms promised to do everything—manage deals, track leases, automate accounting, handle property management—all in one place. And they did. Kind of. Slowly. Expensively. Inflexibly. Many of these legacy systems are still in use today, held together by consultants, internal workarounds, and sheer force of habit.
Then came the SaaS revolution. In the 2010s, cloud-based tools gave us freedom, speed, and modularity. You could pick best-in-class solutions for each function: Costar.com for listings, Placer.ai for foot traffic data, DocuSign for digital signatures, Yardi or MRI for property management, Asana for project tracking. Each tool excelled in its niche.
But as the CRE ecosystem adopted these tools ad hoc—team by team, need by need—a new problem emerged: too much tech, not enough integration. The typical CRE company now uses dozens of tools. Some talk to each other, many don’t. Some are essential, others are barely used. And still others are used by only one person—usually the person about to retire.
The result? Tech sprawl. Operational drag. Confused staff. Wasted money.
CRE's Proptech Moment
The rise of proptech has brought extraordinary capabilities to our industry—but it’s also raised the stakes for how we manage and align our tools.
Take Placer.ai, for example. What began as a foot traffic analytics platform is now a critical decision-making tool for tenant reps, landlords, and investors alike. It can tell you how a shopping center performs not just by sales, but by real-time visits and customer dwell time. That’s gold in lease negotiations—but only if your leasing team knows how to access and interpret the data, and your investment committee trusts the numbers.
Or consider Crexi, which has transformed how brokers and buyers interact with listings. What once took weeks of email chains and scanned brochures now happens in a single online dashboard—comps, marketing packages, buyer interest, and even transaction management. But if your team is also using LoopNet, a homegrown CRM, and a file drive from 2008, the efficiency gains start to evaporate.
For property management, consider AvidXchange, an indispensable payables tool that utilizes OCR and AI to review and code invoices, thereby speeding up the review process. At NAI Elliott, we process as many as 3000 invoices per month, which would not be possible without such technology.
These tools are powerful—but they don’t work in isolation. Without alignment and intentional planning, you’re left with fragmented systems and data silos that do more harm than good.
Kill, Keep, Combine: How to Triage Your Tech
Follow the Money
Start with your invoices. Pull every recurring software charge from the last 12 months. That $3.99/month line item labeled “XBA892”? It might be an auto-renewed domain tied to your leasing site. Or it might be useless. Either way, find out. Expect some detective work. Tech vendors often bill under obscure names (why does “Honey Badger Geeks LLC” sound familiar?), and services may be attached to former employees, unused subdomains, or outdated workflows.
Talk to Your People
Once you have a list, go to your teams. Who uses what? What’s indispensable? What’s just...there? You’re not looking to slash and burn. This isn’t about cost-cutting for the sake of it. It’s about right-sizing your infrastructure so people have what they need—and aren’t bogged down by what they don’t. And don’t forget the shadow systems. You’ll be amazed how many Excel sheets, Dropbox folders, and backdoor solutions your teams have created just to get the job done when the “official” system didn’t cut it.
Kill What No Longer Serves You
Old tech is like old leases—there comes a time when you stop renewing. If a tool is outdated, underused, or replaced by something better, let it go. Just make sure to:
Verify no essential workflows are tied to it
Migrate any necessary data
Clearly communicate the change
Keep What Works
Your core systems—accounting, portfolio management, document storage—deserve thoughtful attention. These should be:
Documented
Cross-trained
Secure
Supported by external partners (like a Managed Service Provider)
Regularly reviewed for updates or alternatives
Combine Where It Makes Sense
If you’re using multiple platforms that overlap in function—say, one for scheduling, one for project tracking, and one for internal messaging—it’s time to consolidate. Seek tools that integrate well with each other. Prioritize platforms with open APIs, single sign-on capabilities, and intuitive interfaces.
For example, if your brokerage uses both Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 because “some people prefer one over the other,” it might be time to make a choice. You’re not just duplicating licenses—you’re creating friction.
The CRE Tech Map: Your Strategic Blueprint
Once you’ve sorted your stack, build a tech map:
What is each system used for?
Who owns and uses it?
What does it cost?
How does it integrate with other tools?
What’s the plan for its future?
Then—bring your team into the room. These aren’t IT-only conversations. The best insights come from the people using the systems every day. Aligning your tech with your business plan means looping in leasing, management, marketing, compliance, and accounting.
With AI, automation, and real-time analytics increasingly part of the CRE playbook, this alignment is no longer optional—it’s strategic.
Final Thoughts: It's Never “The Right Time”
In CRE, we’re always in the middle of something: a big closing, a quarterly report, budget season. Waiting for a “slow period” to clean up your tech is like waiting for a vacancy to fix the roof. The work won’t do itself. You make time—or you make do.
But when you do, you set your firm up for speed, security, and smarter decisions. You make room for innovation. You reduce risk. You support your people.
So take a deep breath. Grab the receipts. Schedule the meetings.
Kill. Keep. Combine.
Let your tech stack finally serve your business—not the other way around.
