Property Technology as a Service
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:
Industry leading practices and policies were put in place for all building management networks and property management offices.
Case Study: Building Cyber Security Overhaul
Background
A developer/owner/operator with over ten million square feet of high-profile Class-A office space had recently expanded their portfolio through acquisitions, creating a web of building management systems and loosely controlled remote access capabilities.
The Problem
As the company continued to grow, so too grew concerns over the cyber security of these newly onboarded assets. The company did not have the internal resources or capabilities to assess, remediate or monitor the integration of these new networks. Various outsourced teams had provided just as many network designs and remote access solutions. The need for an integrated, secure, and stable platform was paramount.
The Results
5Q was brought in to assess and remediate over 30 building networks and property management offices. Conducting 5Q Cyber assessments and creating Findings Reports took a little over six months. Once the full remediation scope was understood, a cohesive building network redesign was required across the portfolio to achieve the goals set forth by the company. Industry leading practices and policies were put in place for all building management networks and property management offices including managed switches, firewalls, remote access, access controls, key management, physical security controls and document control procedures.
Case Study: Building Cyber Security Assessments
Background
An investment and management company focused on
income-producing real estate in the United States expanded into a national
real estate operator with approximately over $10 billion of assets
under management including some of the highest profile,
marquis buildings in the United States.
The Problem
Corporate IT resources were focused on securing corporate networks and assets. With such high-profile buildings, the client’s senior management grew concerned over the size and attraction of their risk profile. Requiring teams with both cyber security
and real estate knowledge, the client turned to 5Q Cyber to assess their most precious crown jewels.
The Results
5Q Cyber has performed Building Cyber Security Assessments of the company’s marquis properties across the East Coast. A collection of various property types including office, mixed use (office, retail, multi-family) and data centers have been assessed totaling more than five million square feet. Risks were identified and gathered from digital vulnerability scanning, physical walkthroughs, in-person interviews, and policy reviews. Deliverables included our Findings Report which detailed 15 critical risks, 36 high risks, 58 medium risks, and 42 low risks. Along with the Findings Report, 5Q Cyber provided a Remediation Plan detailing exact steps required to remediate each identified vulnerability which simplified execution by the company’s corporate IT.
5Q's Findings Report detailed 15 critical risks, 36 high risks, 58 medium risks, and 42 low risks. 5Q Cyber provided a Remediation Plan to mitigate these risks.
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.
5Q revamped the help desk, migrated the data center to the 5Q virtual private cloud, performed operational and cyber assessments, and remediated every building in the portfolio.
5Q performed over 250 building assessments in four months, ahead of schedule.
Case Study: Building Cyber Assessments for Large Corporate Real Estate Project
Background
Fortune 10 Global Technology Leader with over 20 years of business has approximately 150 spaces around the world. A handful of these properties total over 1M square feet in cities such as Seattle, Silicon Valley, New York, and more.
The Problem
The client wanted to understand their current Americas portfolio IoT and OT cyber security state to assess gaps in property security standards.
The Results
Based on the volume and roll out plan across the region 5Q formed ten teams of two engineers to complete more than 250 building assessments in 4 months and flexed the teams as needed. The teams accomplished their original goal ahead of schedule and were given additional properties from other vendors who were behind schedule. Since the initial project, we continue to perform assessments and additional property level cyber security related work for the Client.
Case Study: Outsourcing IT Infrastructure for Large Office Owner/Operator
Background
The client company is in the Real Estate sector, primarily made up of companies that own commercial real estate properties. A large portion of the companies are structured as Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs).
The Problem
The client had several commercial properties with several gaps in their OT/IoT Inventories as well as no current Asset Management tracking.
The Results
Client hired 5Q to perform Building Cyber Assessments for 50 sites spanning 5 countries. Cyber Assessments were performed and completed over 7 months. 5Q was also hired to provide advisory and engineering services to assist the client in identifying and selecting a vendor(s) who can provide an automated method for IoT lifecycle management across the entire client portfolio. The goal is to provide a consistent, manageable approach for secure OT/IoT asset management in a building network using industry-standard controls and best practices.