California is reported to have the highest concentration of small businesses in the country, with 4.2 million SMBs being registered as of 2022. With so much commercial activity in the state, real estate is becoming a more desirable industry every day.
But it’s also becoming increasingly complex, from zoning laws to protecting tenant data. It’s easy for commercial real estate (CRE) professionals to get lost in all the requirements. With a provider that offers managed IT services for real estate companies, however, CRE firms can ensure compliance and enjoy smoother technology. Let’s explore how.
Compliance & CRE: The Connection and Why It Matters
Compliance probably isn’t the first thing that comes to your mind when you think of real estate, but the industry is full of requirements and regulations designed to protect both consumers and CRE professionals.
Guidelines safeguard sensitive tenant information, such as names, addresses, and financial details, from breaches and unauthorized access, and industry standards physically protect tenants. When CRE firms are compliant, they show they care about their clients, boost their reputation, and avoid messy legal penalties.
Here’s a quick overview of some of the key compliance areas in CRE:
- Cybersecurity frameworks, such as NIST compliance
- Building safety, environmental, zoning, and accessibility standards
How Your IT Provider Can Help
You can take one more thing off your plate when you entrust the IT side of CRE compliance requirements to a reliable tech firm offering managed real estate IT services.
Data Protection and Privacy
Cybersecurity frameworks like NIST compliance outline clear expectations for keeping client information safe and how companies use personal data. A firm specializing in managed IT services for real estate is familiar with these regulations and can help you determine which ones apply to your business and how you can stay compliant.
IT providers’ data management services can also help you organize, protect, and keep track of sensitive information, including implementing encryption protocols and backup sites and procedures.
Cybersecurity
One of the most important aspects of compliance is keeping your digital systems secure so that you can safeguard customer data, continue to offer services and products, and protect your other assets. Here are a few of the managed IT services for real estate that you should consider:
- Vulnerability Assessments: Identify gaps or weak points in your cybersecurity and discover which threats you’re most vulnerable to so you can plan accordingly and make appropriate adjustments.
- Incident Response Plans (IRPs): Prepare for cyber attacks or outages by assigning tasks to team members, developing threat containment and eradication strategies, planning communications, and implementing recovery procedures.
- Network Monitoring: Track comings and goings, monitor suspicious activities, detect potential vulnerabilities, and keep your network running smoothly with continuous monitoring.
Documentation and Reporting
To verify compliance, companies are often required to perform audits or submit self-assessments. Keeping track of this niche information can be a bit of a headache when your skillset is in commercial real estate instead of IT.
However, with an experienced tech team, performing regular compliance audits and generating the necessary reports becomes simple and stress-free. Many managed IT services for real estate even include compliance tools that can automatically track, gather, and analyze data to make reporting even easier.
Simplify Commercial Real Estate Compliance with Praxis
Real estate is a bustling industry, and it’s a complicated one too. You shouldn’t have to worry about IT compliance on top of everything else—let Praxis give you a hand. Our techs are experts in compliance regulations and standards, and we have years of experience helping CRE businesses thrive through their technology.
Need managed IT services for your real estate business? Just schedule a call with Praxis. We’ve got you covered.
