Equity Office Speeds Tenant Services via the Web

Office Too Hot? Too Cold? ... If you're a tenant in Equity Office's 125-million square foot portfolio, you'll be able to request a service call via the web by the end of 2002. That's the goal of Scott Morey, Chief Information Officer of Equity Office. Wow, that's a huge challenge. So how should you launch a successful technology initiative? And how do you avoid making mistakes? These are the questions that I asked Morey on a recent visit to Chicago.

According to Morey, successfully implementing technology initiatives is based 70% on process and 30% on technology. It's the people, not the programs, that make the critical difference. (Sound familiar?) Morey sees relations between customers, suppliers and his company logically progressing through a three-step process -- tactical, operational and strategic. It's not until a firm's internal procedures work smoothly that you can truly collaborate externally.

For tenant work orders, Equity Office primarily uses Angus AnyWhere™. For tenant communications, Equity Office has rolled out Equityoffice.com supported by their marketing, IT and training departments to ensure consistency and quality. For an online collaborative environment (transaction management), Equity Office is determining what works and what doesn't work. "We are testing theories to determine where 'real' value can be achieved." ... So stay tuned.

PikeNet Forum... Our first roundtable, "Streamlining Management Workflow and Increasing Tenant Satisfaction," will feature Scott Morey; Paul Quinn, CTO of Duke Realty; Jim Whalen, CIO of Boston Properties; and Rick Carlson of Deloitte & Touche. Here's the complete schedule.

--Peter Pike