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	<title>Lucernex Location Performance Management Software</title>
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	<description>One software solution for real estate managment</description>
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		<title>How Cloud Computing improves an IWMS</title>
		<link>http://www.lucernex.com/files/index.php/blog/benefits_cloud_computing_iwms_saas/</link>
		<comments>http://www.lucernex.com/files/index.php/blog/benefits_cloud_computing_iwms_saas/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 30 Aug 2010 12:00:19 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Joe Valeri</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Blog]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Cloud computing IWMS]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Cloud for Real Estate]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[SaaS for real estate]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[SaaS IWMS]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.lucernex.com/files/?p=3805</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[IWMS expert and Lucernex President, Joe Valeri (see Joe&#8217;s management summary here), discusses the benefits of Cloud Computing to IWMS users.
In prior Blogs I discussed the differences between the different types of Web-based software delivery; namely ASP (application service provider), SaaS (software as a service) and cloud computing and I discussed the pros and cons [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>IWMS expert and Lucernex President, Joe Valeri <a href="http://www.lucernex.com/files/index.php/company/management-team/joe-valeri/">(see Joe&#8217;s management summary here)</a>, discusses the benefits of Cloud Computing to IWMS users.</p>
<p>In prior Blogs I discussed the <a href="http://www.lucernex.com/files/index.php/blog/iwms-in-the-cloud/">differences between the different types of Web-based software delivery</a>; namely ASP (application service provider), SaaS (software as a service) and cloud computing and I discussed the pros and cons of each.  In this blog I will focus specifically on the primary benefits of cloud computing for IWMS users, performance, ease of implementation, price and payment flexibility.</p>
<p><span id="more-3805"></span></p>
<p></p>
<h2>IWMS Performance</h2>
<p>Performance is the easy one so I will cover it first.  Without getting too deep into my inner Geek, simply put a properly designed Cloud environment for an IWMS will be faster and stay faster.  It is faster since the hardware used is optimized for performance by a Cloud Computing Center that has been designed for speed and scalability.  A good cloud computing based IWMS will run in a massive, pre-established, ultra-modern hardware environment that has no single points of failure (meaning it has redundancies on everything), is load balanced to ensure use is optimally managed across all servers and is infinitely and quickly scalable.  Scalability is what makes a cloud IWMS STAY fast.  Tolerances are established (usually CPU and RAM utilization and database space use) and if any tolerances is surpassed, the architecture is quickly expanded to meet the new use level.  If properly designed this scalability is, within all reason, infinite.</p>
<p></p>
<h2>IWMS Implementation</h2>
<p>Implementation of an IWMS cloud based solution will be faster and cheaper.  From the moment a contract is completed, setup can be days away.  There is no new equipment to provision, no new load testing to do, no long lead times for hardware and software licenses.  Setup is really just a matter of entering data into the existing environment, client desired configuration and training.</p>
<p></p>
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<h2>IWMS Pricing</h2>
<p>Price and value actually stem from the design of the environment.  A software vendor pays some monthly fee to use part of a cloud computing center, then they pay additional fees based on client use.  This fee, in some cloud centers, may be based on bandwidth used or in most cloud centers is a simple cost per minute of use.  The vendor pays for what their clients use making it easy for an IWMS vendor to price the application much lower than even a SaaS vendor.  A SaaS vendor either builds out their own, expensive, data center and then pays several Network engineers to maintain it or they outsource to a hosting facility, where they typically have to still buy their own equipment and do most of the maintenance (meaning IT staff).  When they want to scale they have to buy more hardware install it and maintain that.  Worse, if hardware makes a technological leap a SaaS IWMS vendor has to hold off for at least 3 to 5 years, until the equipment is depreciated, before they can upgrade.  Cloud vendors get their equipment upgraded when the cloud center upgrades which is a constant occurrence.</p>
<p>In addition to a lower price for an IWMS cloud solution, vendors can also offer payment flexibility.  Since the vendor pays based on use, which is spread over the year, the vendor can charge clients based on use over the year.  </p>
<p></p>
<h2>Enterprise IWMS for any size company</h2>
<p>Another benefit of the cloud model is the ability to provide even the smallest real estate company with the most or all of the functionality a large retailer might get.  Cloud IWMS vendors, since their cost is based on usage, can charge a firm with a real estate portfolio of 5 or 10 locations a small flat fee per location or lease, making it extremely affordable for them, yet the vendor still can make a profit since the size of the portfolio is generally a direct relationship to use.<a href="http://www.lucernex.com/files/index.php/products/iwms/iwms-cloud/"><img src="http://www.lucernex.com/files/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/Cloud_ad_graphic_v21.jpg" alt="IWMS Cloud SaaS Real Estate" title="Cloud_ad_graphic_v2" width="217" height="163" class="alignright size-full wp-image-3817" /></a></p>
<p>Cloud computing is just being integrated into real estate software vendors way of doing business.  Those vendors who still require their system to be installed behind a client firewall will not be able to compete on price with a well-designed cloud solution.  Using a cloud computing based IWMS will provide a real estate portfolio owner with the fastest possible performance, near infinite scalability and the lowest possible pricing.</p>
<p></p>
<h2>Shameless Plug</h2>
<p><a href="http://www.lucernex.com/files/index.php/products/iwms/iwms-cloud/">IWMSCloud </a>from Lucernex is the first IWMS solution delivered in the Cloud.  We redesigned our entire IT architecture to optimize use of the cloud model and can now offer per location and per contract pricing allowing even the smallest tenants to use an Enterprise IWMS at a price they can easily afford.</p>
<p></p>
<h2>Previous IWMS related Blogs</h2>
<p><a href="http://www.lucernex.com/files/index.php/blog/what-is-iwms-anyway/">What is IWMS anyway?</a><br />
<a href="http://www.lucernex.com/files/index.php/blog/iwms-its-the-location/">IWMS? It&#8217;s Location! Location! Location!</a><br />
<a href="http://www.lucernex.com/files/index.php/blog/the-power-of-location-management/">The Power of Location Management</a><br />
<a href="http://www.lucernex.com/files/index.php/blog/iwms_why_so_expensive/">IWMS &#8211; Why so expensive?</a><br />
<a href="http://www.lucernex.com/files/index.php/blog/iwms-in-the-cloud/">IWMS in the &#8220;Cloud&#8221;</a><br />
<a href="http://www.lucernex.com/files/index.php/blog/how-capital-program-management-fits-in-an-iwms/">How Capital Project Management fits in an IWMS</a><br />
<a href="http://www.lucernex.com/files/index.php/blog/easier-to-implement-iwms/">What makes one IWMS easier to implement than another? </a></p>
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		<title>Lucernex Technologies Introduces  First IWMS Solution to be Available in “the Cloud”</title>
		<link>http://www.lucernex.com/files/index.php/news/lucernex-technologies-introduces-first-iwms-solution-to-be-available-in-the-cloud/</link>
		<comments>http://www.lucernex.com/files/index.php/news/lucernex-technologies-introduces-first-iwms-solution-to-be-available-in-the-cloud/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 11 Aug 2010 19:31:53 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>dschroeder</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.lucernex.com/files/?p=3628</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Dallas, TX (August, 2010) – Lucernex Technologies, an innovative developer of business intelligence software for real estate management and development, today announced the release of its newest product offering, IWMS Cloud®, making this the first IWMS location management solution available in “the cloud.” By utilizing cloud computing, Lucernex will pair the most advanced real estate [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><strong>Dallas, TX (August, 2010) </strong>– Lucernex Technologies, an innovative developer of business intelligence software for real estate management and development, today announced the release of its newest product offering, IWMS Cloud®, making this the first IWMS location management solution available in “the cloud.” By utilizing cloud computing, Lucernex will pair the most advanced real estate technology available with an affordable subscription pricing structure, making IWMS Cloud the least expensive and fastest to implement location management product on the market.<br />
<span id="more-3628"></span><br />
Lucernex’s IWMS Cloud is ideal for and targeted to the needs of small to medium size retailers; multi-location health care organizations; financial services institutions; restaurants and corporations. The launch of IWMS Cloud affords all companies with any size location portfolio the benefit of employing a full featured IWMS solution that can be implemented immediately, is affordable and utilizes the newest proven technology for improved performance.  </p>
<p>“Cloud computing is transforming the way companies do business and Lucernex has chosen to be the first to deliver this option in the real estate software industry,” said Joe Valeri, president, Lucernex Technologies. “We are the first real estate software provider in the industry to offer an IWMS delivered in The Cloud and we are pleased to be able to give our clients this competitive edge. The launch of IWMS Cloud will enable companies who thought they couldn’t afford our full-lifecycle IWMS solution to think again.”</p>
<p>There are multiple added benefits of using cloud computing in the real estate industry. These include:
<ul>
<li>	Technology that is sold “on demand” so a client can use as much or as little of the service as they need</li>
<li>Quicker-to-market capability, meaning cloud users can “go-live” faster than in-house or custom hosted projects</li>
<li>Increased bandwidth and storage options</li>
<li>Affordability since operating in a cloud is less expensive and this savings is passed along to the end user</li>
<li>Immediate scalability that allows a company like Lucernex to add more capacity in minutes to meet the needs of clients</li>
<li>Increased mobility enabling clients to access information from anywhere</li>
<li>Removal of IT costs because there is no hardware or software required – the cloud provider maintains all equipment and software </li>
<li>A focus on core product development without the distraction of IT requests or custom coding</li>
</ul>
<p>Cloud computing is a buzz word for anything that involves delivering hosted services on shared equipment in a secured environment using massive servers owned by a cloud provider.  IWMS Cloud operates within a Cloud Center that also hosts large banking and insurance company web sites &#8211; the most secure of all possible cloud options.  </p>
<h2>About Lucernex</h2>
<p>Founded in 2000, Lucernex Technologies provides real estate developers and facility managers with powerful software tools to guide them through the real estate development process. For nearly a decade, Fortune 500 companies in the commercial real estate, hospitality, retail, construction and engineering industries, both in the United States and Europe, have been utilizing Lucernex Technologies software solutions every day to better manage the development lifecycle. As an innovative leader in Integrated Workplace Management System (IWMS) solutions, Lucernex continues to grow its customer base by applying its Web-based software expertise and real estate development insight to provide advanced tools and services for business. For more information, please visit www.lucernex.com.</p>
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		<title>Lucernex at NRTA</title>
		<link>http://www.lucernex.com/files/index.php/news/nrta-lxcontracts-lease-administration-software/</link>
		<comments>http://www.lucernex.com/files/index.php/news/nrta-lxcontracts-lease-administration-software/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 06 Aug 2010 14:14:50 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Lucernex HQ</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Lease Administration software]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[NRTA 2010]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.lucernex.com/files/?p=3553</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Lucernex will be presenting the newest version of its Lease Administration and Rent Accounting software, Lx Contracts, at the annual NRTA conference in Anaheim, CA, September 26-29, 2010.  Lx Contracts was designed by Ken Brown, the grandfather of Lease Administration Software, and Jim Short &#8211; both of NFG (National Facilities Group) fame &#8211; the [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Lucernex will be presenting the newest version of its Lease Administration and Rent Accounting software, <a href="http://www.lucernex.com/files/index.php/products/web-based-lease-administration/">Lx Contracts</a>, at the <a href="http://www.retailtenants.org/p/conference">annual NRTA conference</a> in Anaheim, CA, September 26-29, 2010.  Lx Contracts was designed by <a href="http://www.lucernex.com/files/index.php/company/management-team/ken-brown/">Ken Brown</a>, the grandfather of Lease Administration Software, and Jim Short &#8211; both of NFG (National Facilities Group) fame &#8211; the designers of <strong>SLIM</strong>.  Come see Jim Short and the Lucernex team at our NRTA booth, hand them your business card, get a demo of Lx Contracts and you will be entered to win a Kindle!</p>
<p>The Lucernex team will also have details on our <a href="http://www.lucernex.com/files/index.php/slim-rem-siteseer-replacement/">Legacy Lease Administration Replacement program</a> for users of outdated SLIM, REM, Siteseer and RetaiLease products.</p>
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		<title>Lucernex in Chain Store Age</title>
		<link>http://www.lucernex.com/files/index.php/news/lucernex-in-chain-store-age/</link>
		<comments>http://www.lucernex.com/files/index.php/news/lucernex-in-chain-store-age/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 22 Jul 2010 14:59:40 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Lucernex HQ</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[IWMS for Grocery]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[IWMS for Supermarkets]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[supermarket growth management]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Supermarket location management]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.lucernex.com/files/?p=3480</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The June/July issue of Chain Store Age Magazine featured Lucernex President in an article about the Supermarket market titled The Supermarket Evolves&#8217;.
]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>The June/July issue of Chain Store Age Magazine featured Lucernex President in an article about the Supermarket market titled <a href="http://www.chainstoreage.com/digitaledition/CSA_JunJul10_Issue/pageflip.html"><em>The Supermarket Evolves&#8217;.</em></a></p>
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		<title>Reporting options in IWMS applications</title>
		<link>http://www.lucernex.com/files/index.php/blog/iwms-reporting-options/</link>
		<comments>http://www.lucernex.com/files/index.php/blog/iwms-reporting-options/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 12 Jul 2010 12:00:19 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Joe Valeri</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Blog]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ad-hoc reporting]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[commercial real estate software]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[IWMS]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[IWMS Reporting]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.lucernex.com/files/?p=3262</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[IWMS expert and Lucernex President, Joe Valeri (see Joe&#8217;s management summary here), discusses reporting options in IWMS Location Performance Management Applications.

It always amazes me how little importance some software buyers place on reporting options.  The fact is, while some IWMS applications have great industry specific functionality or better project management or CAFM or lease [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>IWMS expert and Lucernex President, Joe Valeri <a href="http://www.lucernex.com/files/index.php/company/management-team/joe-valeri/">(see Joe&#8217;s management summary here)</a>, discusses reporting options in IWMS Location Performance Management Applications.</p>
<p></p>
<p>It always amazes me how little importance some software buyers place on reporting options.  The fact is, while some IWMS applications have great industry specific functionality or better project management or CAFM or lease administration; the ultimate reason to establish a single source of location data it to enable effective decision-making.  And effective decision-making can only come through thoughtful review of summarized data (i.e. reporting).  While dashboards can help drive some decision making as can specific analysis functionality, reports are still the most widely used deliverable of any IWMS system.<br />
<span id="more-3262"></span><br />
Also interesting is how many business users seems so willing to forfeit their right to quickly create queries and reports on their own, instead giving over this function to IT personnel specifically hired (at high salaries) as report writers.  I believe the reasons for this are simply a history of “enterprise” report writers in large firms and a lack of knowledge of the reporting options available in IWMS applications.</p>
<p>IWMS applications vary widely in their reporting capabilities and many have only one option that adds a substantial cost to the annual total cost of ownership (TCO).</p>
<p>With this in mind I will discuss the different types of reporting and what prospective IWMS users should look for in their IWMS applications.</p>
<p>In general there are three types of reporting, dashboard objects which are really mini interactive reports, ad-hoc reports and enterprise reports.  Now a reporting expert will probably call this a gross generalization but for business end users this is really what should matter to you.</p>
<h2>Dashboard Objects</h2>
<p>Unlike other forms of reporting, IWMS software reviewers do typically place a sufficient amount of importance on dashboards.  Though many folks don’t consider Dashboard Objects reports, in truth they are small interactive reports with 5 or 6 columns typically with one grouping variables and a way to re-filter the report using options on that grouping variable.  For example, a dashboard object may contain a list of lease options coming due in the next 30 days allow the user to click on a field to drill down to the specifics on the actions needed to execute the option. The object might even have a drop down box allowing the user to change the number of days into the future to show these lease options.</p>
<p>You will find some form of dashboard in every IWMS application with varying degrees of functionality.   The difference in vendors comes in:</p>
<ul>
<li> The number of pre-built objects available</li>
<li> The functional areas covered by those pre-built objects</li>
<li> The expertise of the IWMS vendor to create meaningful pre-built objects</li>
<li> Drill down capability on each object – note, systems that use an external providers dashboard will not have the same degree of drill down capability into the core application as a provider who has built their own dashboard into their own code. See <a href="http://www.lucernex.com/files/index.php/blog/single-vs-multi-platform-iwms/"><em>Single vs. Multi-platform IWMS and why you should care</em></a></li>
<li> Security control over those objects</li>
<li> The ability of the client to create their own dashboard objects</li>
<li> The complexity of the process to create a new object (by the end user or an IT user)</li>
<li> The performance or response time of the dashboard – keep in mind when you launch a dashboard you are actually tasking the system to generate a bunch of reports across a large database.  Poorly architected systems may take a long time to “paint” the screen.</li>
<li> The ability to re-sort tabular dashboard objects with one click and no screen or object refresh – this one items will tell you a great deal about the quality of the system architecture.  If a re-sort requires a page or an object refresh there is a performance issue being hidden</li>
</ul>
<p>Once implementation of an IWMS application is completed, experience tells us that most users will spend most of their time on the dashboard.  It is the first thing you see and, in a well architected and designed system, brings each users required tasks and issues to the forefront so that work can be done in priority order with ease.  Make sure to consider this use case when selecting an IWMS application.</p>
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<h2>Ad-hoc reporting</h2>
<p>The next most used reporting feature is ad-hoc reporting.  The funny thing is many IWMS applications do not actually have a true business user capable ad-hoc reporting tool.  Instead, most IWMS applications take the easy road and partner with a third-party reporting company and rely completely on canned reports or on complex ad-hoc reporting tools that require an IT report writer to create reports.  This means business users are beholden to IT (and the often long waiting periods after request) to get even the simplest report created.  It also requires the purchaser of the IWMS to lay out an additional $25,000 to $75,000 up-front plus annual maintenance for the right to report against their IWMS database.</p>
<p>Ad-hoc reporting should be just that, ad-hoc; meaning any business user should be able to, upon coming up with an idea for a report, create a report within a few minutes and get a result.  And they should be able to do it without understanding what an outer-join is or a foreign key relationship.  There will always be some reports that are too complex and require a professional report writer, but this should be the exception, not the norm.</p>
<p>When getting a demo of an IWMS ask the vendor to build a simple report right in front of you to find out if there is a true ad-hoc report capability and if its truly business user friendly.  Can the report be saved and kept private or shared with others?  Can the report be scheduled and automatically sent out? Also ask if those reports can be emailed to a distribution list or printed, or saved as PDF, or dumped into Excel.  Business users should control reporting not IT so ASK!</p>
<h2>Enterprise Reporting</h2>
<p>As mentioned above, there will always be some reports that are too complex for any ad-hoc tool or that require data from multiple systems including the IWMS application and other databases within the client network.  Ad-hoc reporting tools also cannot typically produce detailed and often very user specific formatting requests.  In these cases Enterprise reporting is required.</p>
<p>There is a huge divergence in IWMS vendors on Enterprise reporting that breaks down into two camps.</p>
<h3>Mandated Third-party reporting software</h3>
<p>Many IWMS applications, particularly those created from a bunch of different applications gotten through multiple acquisitions of other software firms.  Using a mandated third party applications is required in this case as the vendor needs it to knit together all the different databases that are a typical by-product of the multi-platform IWMS application.</p>
<p>The benefit of this option is the vendor has likely pre-configured the data into manner making it easier to report on.  This will make implementation of the reporting tool simpler and thus reduce some professional services cost at implementation (that might have been spent on organizing the data for reporting).  There still will be a PS cost in creating the clients specific reports since it is unlikely the client has an IT resource that knows the required third party tool.</p>
<p>The biggest problem with this option is the purchaser is required to pay a rather large fee up front and then annually to use this third party reporting tool.  A tool that they likely don’ t have hardware or IT resources to support.  This means a very high TCO when you analyze the cost of the licenses, maintenance, hardware and IT staffing.</p>
<p>Even if a company has already invested in an Enterprise reporting tool, many IWMS vendors offer one option for third-party reporting and if you are not already using that third-party product you have no choice but to bring in yet another reporting solution.</p>
<h3>Vendor Agnostic Third-party reporting </h3>
<p>In short, what this means is the IWMS vendor allows for reporting by most if not all third party reporting solutions.  There are two common methods used for this type of reporting, data marts and web services.</p>
<p><strong>Data marts</strong>  There is a base standard most third-party enterprise reporting vendors use for how they access data called ODBC or JDBC.  What this means is any data provided in a manner that can be accessed using ODBC or JDBC can be reported on.</p>
<p>So, some IWMS vendors will provide new clients with a data mart, which is a small database designed specifically for reporting against.  The vendor should then also provide a pre-built process for updating that data-mart on some short time period (often nightly).  This then allows the client organization to leverage their existing enterprise reporting investment to create Enterprise reports against their IWMS system.  They don’t have to buy any additional software licenses nor hire more IT staff to write reports using a new reporting tool.</p>
<p>Clients do have to provide a database instance to store the data mart in-house and enough bandwidth at off-peak hours to update it.  There will likely be some up-front cost in making sure the data mart has all data clients may add during an implementation and in making sure the data exchange for updating the data mart works in a secure fashion though any cost here will be far less than the cost of buying a new third-party reporting tool.</p>
<p><strong> Web services</strong><br />
Another method more advanced IWMS vendors may provide is web-services access to data for reporting.  What this means is the vendor has pre-built little programs that are created for the sole purpose of securely passing data out of the system to a requesting system.  The big advantages here are that this method is self updating and does not require much upfront PS work to get it going.  It also  </p>
<p>The downside is that many customers simply don’t have the IT know how to do it.</p>
<p>Using this means the customer IT staff would create a report using what ever third party tool they already have and then write web services (if the third party tool does not already have them) to ask for the data the report requires.  The request is sent to the IWMS vendor application, which has web services to receive the request and respond with the data required for the report.</p>
<p>I could go on all day about reporting but as this is my longest blog ever I applaud anyone who got this far and thank you for getting here!</p>
<h2>Shameless Plug</h2>
<p><span style="color: #005daa;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Lx</span></span><a href="http://www.lucernex.com/files/index.php/products/iwms/"> IWMS</a> offers business user friendly <a href="http://www.lucernex.com/files/index.php/products/iwms/lx-iwms-reporting/">ad-hoc reporting and Enterprise reporting</a> through a delivered data mart and web services allowing clients to leverage their existing Enterprise reporting investments without any additional software cost.  <span style="color: #005daa;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Lx</span></span><a href="http://www.lucernex.com/files/index.php/products/iwms/"> IWMS</a> also provides a user definable set of dashboards including dozens of pre-configured user specific dashboard objects. And, in late 2010, we will add the option of an optional Enterprise reporting tool called <a href="http://www.actuate.com/info/ppcgoogle-birtdemo-reporting/">BIRT</a>; an open source (aka FREE) reporting application that will allow clients without existing enterprise reporting to build and utilize advanced Enterprise reports with <strong>NO additional software cost</strong>.</p>
<p></p>
<h2>Previous IWMS related Blogs</h2>
<p><a href="http://www.lucernex.com/files/index.php/blog/what-is-iwms-anyway/">What is IWMS anyway?</a><br />
<a href="http://www.lucernex.com/files/index.php/blog/iwms-its-the-location/">IWMS? It&#8217;s Location! Location! Location!</a><br />
<a href="http://www.lucernex.com/files/index.php/blog/the-power-of-location-management/">The Power of Location Management</a><br />
<a href="http://www.lucernex.com/files/index.php/blog/iwms_why_so_expensive/">IWMS &#8211; Why so expensive?</a><br />
<a href="http://www.lucernex.com/files/index.php/blog/iwms-in-the-cloud/">IWMS in the &#8220;Cloud&#8221;</a><br />
<a href="http://www.lucernex.com/files/index.php/blog/how-capital-program-management-fits-in-an-iwms/">How Capital Project Management fits in an IWMS</a></p>
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		<title>Joe Valeri in SmartCEO Magazine</title>
		<link>http://www.lucernex.com/files/index.php/news/joe-valeri-in-smartceo-magazine/</link>
		<comments>http://www.lucernex.com/files/index.php/news/joe-valeri-in-smartceo-magazine/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 02 Jul 2010 17:25:07 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Lucernex HQ</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Joe Valeri Social Media]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[real estate social media]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[SmartCEO]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[social media in real estate]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.lucernex.com/files/?p=3302</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Dallas, TX (July 2010)  &#8211; Lucernex President Joe Valeri was featured in the July 2010 edition of SmartCEO magazine in an article titled &#8220;How real businesses like yours are using social media&#8221;.  read the full article here.
]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><strong>Dallas, TX (July 2010)</strong>  &#8211; Lucernex President Joe Valeri was featured in the July 2010 edition of SmartCEO magazine in an article titled &#8220;How real businesses like yours are using social media&#8221;.  read the <a href="http://viewer.zmags.com/publication/7d1f31a6#/7d1f31a6/14">full article here</a>.</p>
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		<title>Lucernex Technologies announces a Summer Sale: Up to 20% off all Lx LseMod Products</title>
		<link>http://www.lucernex.com/files/index.php/news/lucernex-technologies-announces-their-summer-sale-up-to-20-off-all-lx-lsemod-products/</link>
		<comments>http://www.lucernex.com/files/index.php/news/lucernex-technologies-announces-their-summer-sale-up-to-20-off-all-lx-lsemod-products/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 02 Jul 2010 16:02:10 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>dschroeder</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.lucernex.com/files/?p=3279</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Dallas, TX (July 02, 2010) &#8211; Lucernex Technologies, an innovative developer of business intelligence software for real estate management and development, today announced their Summer Sale of up to 20% off all LX LseMod Products.  For the Summer Sale, Lucernex is offering a 15% discount off any LX LseMod Products, their market leading lease [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><strong>Dallas, TX (July 02, 2010)</strong> &#8211; Lucernex Technologies, an innovative developer of business intelligence software for real estate management and development, today announced their Summer Sale of up to 20% off all LX LseMod Products.  For the Summer Sale, Lucernex is offering a 15% discount off any LX LseMod Products, their market leading lease analysis software.  Online orders receive an additional 5% rebate.  This sale is valid through August 31, 2010.   </p>
<p>For more details and contact information, please visit:</p>
<p><a href="http://www.lucernex.com/files/index.php/lsemod-summer-sale/">http://www.lucernex.com/files/index.php/lsemod-summer-sale/</a></p>
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		<title>What makes one IWMS easier to implement than another?</title>
		<link>http://www.lucernex.com/files/index.php/blog/easier-to-implement-iwms/</link>
		<comments>http://www.lucernex.com/files/index.php/blog/easier-to-implement-iwms/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 28 Jun 2010 12:00:31 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Joe Valeri</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Blog]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Best practices IWMS]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Flexible IWMS]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[IWMS Implementation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Pre-configured IWMS]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.lucernex.com/files/?p=3246</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[IWMS expert and Lucernex President, Joe Valeri (see Joe&#8217;s management summary here), discusses the reasons some IWMS implementations are easier than others.

There is a very wide range in how long an IWMS implementation will take from as little as a few weeks to as long as a few years.  There are a number of [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>IWMS expert and Lucernex President, Joe Valeri <a href="http://www.lucernex.com/files/index.php/company/management-team/joe-valeri/">(see Joe&#8217;s management summary here)</a>, discusses the reasons some IWMS implementations are easier than others.</p>
<p></p>
<p>There is a very wide range in how long an IWMS implementation will take from as little as a few weeks to as long as a few years.  There are a number of reasons for the variances in implementation time frame but I will focus on three that I believe are the most significance: product flexibility, delivered functionality and client requirement complexity.  These three issues are actually highly entwined making it even harder for most companies selecting an IWMS to properly assess each one.<br />
<span id="more-3246"></span></p>
<p></p>
<h2>Delivered Functionality</h2>
<p>When companies look at applications they often make the mistake of basing their analysis of how well the product fits them based on what they are shown in a demo.  Even though those demos may be as long as 8 hours, what you don’t know is how long the vendor spent preparing it and how much of what your seeing is real functionality vs. “configuration magic”.  Pre-configured product can be a good thing if the items configured are actually truly usable by the client.  However what most often happens is the client is shown a demo, let’s say of sample real estate transaction management processes, thinking that what they are seeing is actually part of the delivered product only to find out later that it was a configuration item and they will need to build their own base functionality from scratch.  This of coarse means professional services cost to get it done, often in the form of a change order over the initial estimate.</p>
<p>To avoid this ask vendors to first give you and “out-of-the-box” demo before getting the long demo full of “configuration magic”.  You will then be able to properly assess what you are and are not getting.</p>
<p></p>
<h2>Product Flexibility</h2>
<p>There are also products that deliver a lot of out-of-the-box functionality providing clients a better starting point for their implementations but that are inherently hard to change.  For example a vendor may have a very specific IWMS product for restaurants or cell towers, delivering a lot of specific features to fit that market BUT when you begin to implement you realize that changing critical system pages, building a simple report or creating a data export requires a software developer immediately extending the implementation timeframe and running up cost. </p>
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<p>Ask the vendor to modify a few critical pages during the demo and add, delete and change fields.  Ask them to add a page someplace in the menu structure that you identify.  Make them create an ad-hoc report on the fly and show how that can be scheduled.  All of these items will indicate a level of flexibility that will significantly decrease the implementation timeframe and overall project cost.  This level of flexibility can mean the difference between a 2-month project and a 6-month project.</p>
<p></p>
<h2>Client requirements complexity</h2>
<p>Every client is different and each client always has unique requirements.  Applying those unique requirements will require some degree of configuration or, with some less flexible software, customization.  As the number of locations gets larger, typically, the complexity of configuration also gets larger.  Larger firms not only have more complex business processes they also have many integrations and data conversions adding complexity and cost to any implementation.  All of these items will add to the timeline and cost of an implementation project though a large degree of the business process complexity can me mitigated with a highly flexible product.</p>
<p></p>
<h2>Shameless Plug</h2>
<p>Can an IWMS really be implementing in weeks or a few months instead of a few quarters or years?  Lucernex provides a Quickstart® program that can have smaller companies live in two to nine weeks.  We have the most flexible product on the market allowing for client or implementation team configuration of nearly every page, wizard, form, workflow or report in the system.  The Lx IWMS also is delivered with a huge amount of industry specific functionality out-of-the-box and also comes with many best practices forms, workflows, reports and pages pre-configured.  Unlike may other vendors we are doing everything we can to AVOID high professional services fees for implementation by making the product easy to configure without ANY software development resources.  It is extremely rare that any of our implementation require any customization.</p>
<p></p>
<blockquote><p><strong>Definitions</strong></p>
<p><strong>Configuration</strong> &#8211; adapting a software application to meet unique client needs using tools provided by the software developer; this may or may not require a software programmer<br />
<strong>Customization</strong> &#8211; programming code written by a software developer that impacts either base code or client specific code to meet the unique needs of a small number of clients<br />
<strong>Integration</strong> &#8211; programming code that allows two different software programs to exchange data and/or activities on an on-going basis<br />
<strong>Data Conversion</strong> &#8211; a one-time movement of data from one software application to another usually with the intent of replacing the originating system
</p></blockquote>
<p></p>
<h2>Previous IWMS related Blogs</h2>
<p><a href="http://www.lucernex.com/files/index.php/blog/what-is-iwms-anyway/">What is IWMS anyway?</a><br />
<a href="http://www.lucernex.com/files/index.php/blog/iwms-its-the-location/">IWMS? It&#8217;s Location! Location! Location!</a><br />
<a href="http://www.lucernex.com/files/index.php/blog/the-power-of-location-management/">The Power of Location Management</a><br />
<a href="http://www.lucernex.com/files/index.php/blog/iwms_why_so_expensive/">IWMS &#8211; Why so expensive?</a><br />
<a href="http://www.lucernex.com/files/index.php/blog/iwms-in-the-cloud/">IWMS in the &#8220;Cloud&#8221;</a><br />
<a href="http://www.lucernex.com/files/index.php/blog/how-capital-program-management-fits-in-an-iwms/">How Capital Project Management fits in an IWMS</a></p>
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		<title>Single platform vs. multi-platform IWMS and why you should care</title>
		<link>http://www.lucernex.com/files/index.php/blog/single-vs-multi-platform-iwms/</link>
		<comments>http://www.lucernex.com/files/index.php/blog/single-vs-multi-platform-iwms/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 14 Jun 2010 12:00:14 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Joe Valeri</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Blog]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Accruent]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[IWMS]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Manhattan Centerstone]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[single platform IWMS]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Tririga]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.lucernex.com/files/?p=3179</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[IWMS expert and Lucernex President, Joe Valeri (see Joe&#8217;s management summary here), discusses the differences between a single platform and multi-platform IWMS and why you should care.

Have you ever looked at an older house and noted how it’s had extensions added that don’t fit the original house?  Whether it’s the pattern of the windows, [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>IWMS expert and Lucernex President, Joe Valeri <a href="http://www.lucernex.com/files/index.php/company/management-team/joe-valeri/">(see Joe&#8217;s management summary here)</a>, discusses the differences between a single platform and multi-platform IWMS and why you should care.</p>
<p></p>
<p>Have you ever looked at an older house and noted how it’s had extensions added that don’t fit the original house?  Whether it’s the pattern of the windows, the exterior surface or the shape of the extension that does not match you can tell it’s just not right and makes the whole structure look bad.  Inside the house, the switch and outlet layout in the new rooms are different and the plumbing does not work as well as it did before.  The air conditioning doesn’t get the house as cool and even the foundation of the house is cracking because the new and old sections are settling differently.<br />
<span id="more-3179"></span><br />
Now imagine the same process only with software.  Start with one application from one company and add on parts from many other applications built on different platforms.  Much like a house you have to match up the foundation perfectly and connect the wiring and plumbing perfectly, using a pattern and style identical to the past, or things just won’t work right.</p>
<p>With software it’s easier to disguise the exterior differences by adding a new user interface to all applications to make them look like one.  However it’s infinitely harder to match up the structural elements of the applications and make them work like one especially if the platforms vary.  The truth is no matter how good a development team is and how much time and money you spend on it, no two applications can ever be joined together in a way that allows them to operate as well as a single code, single platform application that was developed by one software firm.  It would be like Rembrandt trying to finish a painting half completed by Picasso – no matter how great the artist, the result won’t be as good.</p>
<p></p>
<h2>What are the problems you will see with disparate platforms?</h2>
<h3>Complex and expensive IT Architecture</h3>
<p>The most obvious problem occurs in applications that are installed behind a client’s firewall – complex and expensive hardware configuration.  If an application has one Java application, one .NET application, two databases plus third party workflow and reporting applications, you can end up with dozens of servers just to get a single instance of the system.  The cost of purchasing and, worse, maintaining that hardware can be enormous.  The client also needs to hire a much wider array of IT staff to support the numerous platforms and code types.</p>
<h3>Defect Management</h3>
<p>When a defect occurs in a single code base, single platform system, you have one set of logs to read to find the source of the error and one set of code to fix.  If you have multiple code bases not only is it much harder to find the problem, curing the defect can be exceptionally hard as the developer has to diagnose code across a cobbled together interaction of two disjointed systems with different designer patterns.</p>
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<h3>Cross platform functionality</h3>
<p>Let’s say you want to create a workflow that covers a wide section of the real estate lifecycle.  In a cobbled together application you will have a workflow engine from a third party that won’t be able to work seamlessly with the Java part of your application, the .NET part of your application and the different databases.  It can’t possibly be as easy and capable as a work flow engine that is built into the core of the application by the same software developers that created all of the functional code.</p>
<h3>Price</h3>
<p>When a company purchases several other software companies to obtain parts of their application and then invests millions of dollars trying to make several applications look like one application, then adds on multiple third party applications for workflow, reporting and other features, the application has to be pretty pricey to pay off all the debts, past investment and third party vendors.</p>
<h3>Implementation</h3>
<p>The complexity of the IT Infrastructure will make implementation of a multi-platform system longer and the disjointed operation of the cobbled together applications will make implementation take far longer than a single platform, single code base system.</p>
<h3>Reporting</h3>
<p>Though there are dozens more examples I could provide let me leave you with one more – reporting.  How do you report out of a disparate application with multiple databases?  Answer – using expensive IT resources and an expensive third party reporting application.  Good luck using ad-hoc reporting tools or leveraging your existing investment in enterprise reporting unless it matches the application the vendor requires you to use.</p>
<p>Most IWMS applications being offered by vendors today were created from the whole or parts of other applications merged together.  They try to hide it with a common user interface but behind the pretty exterior there is a cracked foundation and mismatched plumbing.</p>
<p></p>
<h2>Here are some ways to unearth the cobbled together multi-platform systems</h2>
<p>1.	Ask to see an architectural diagram of the hardware used.  Even if you are buying a hosted SaaS or Cloud solution, ask to see the diagram and ask your internal IT department to interpret it. Make sure the vendor includes the applications that run on each server. If you see multiple database instances (other than for redundancy) or multiple types of application server, you know there’s a problem.<br />
2.	Ask how many databases are used by the system<br />
3.	Ask about ad-hoc reporting – is there a way for a non-technical end-user to report against the system?<br />
4.	Ask the vendor directly if they bought any of their code from any other company. With the exception of small third party code libraries (like a spell checker or user interface controls) the answer should be ‘no’.<br />
5.	Look at past press releases for the company and see what companies they have bought over time to assess how much of the application came from someone else.</p>
<p>While the multi-platform problem has a bigger negative impact on in-house implementation, its almost as big a problem for hosted solutions.  Hosted providers can hide their platform disparities from client IT departments however the functional problems multiple disparate platforms present are just as substantial in a hosted solution.</p>
<p></p>
<h2>Shameless plug</h2>
<p>Lucernex has employed the same group of developers since 2000 with the same chief architect and same product designer.  Other than the addition of <a href="http://www.lucernex.com/files/index.php/company/management-team/ken-brown/">Ken Brown</a> (of SLIM fame) last year, we have had the most consistent group of developers of any IWMS vendor.  As a result we have ONE code base, ONE Java Platform, ONE Database and ONE design pattern.  This allows for a simple IT infrastructure to support <span style="color: #005daa;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Lx</span></span><a href="http://www.lucernex.com/files/index.php/products/iwms/"> IWMS</a> which made our move to the cloud, with <a href="http://www.lucernex.com/files/index.php/products/iwms/iwms-cloud/">IWMSCloud®</a>, a snap.  We have a workflow engine we developed into the core of our application and a simple, intuitive ad-hoc report builder that any user, technical or not, can use effectively after an hour of training.  Our application might not look as fancy as some of the firms with multiple platforms and many third party applications cobbled together, but having a single platform and code base allows us to offer unparalleled functionality at a much lower cost.</p>
<p></p>
<h2>Previous IWMS related Blogs</h2>
<p><a href="http://www.lucernex.com/files/index.php/blog/what-is-iwms-anyway/">What is IWMS anyway?</a><br />
<a href="http://www.lucernex.com/files/index.php/blog/iwms-its-the-location/">IWMS? It&#8217;s Location! Location! Location!</a><br />
<a href="http://www.lucernex.com/files/index.php/blog/the-power-of-location-management/">The Power of Location Management</a><br />
<a href="http://www.lucernex.com/files/index.php/blog/iwms_why_so_expensive/">IWMS &#8211; Why so expensive?</a><br />
<a href="http://www.lucernex.com/files/index.php/blog/iwms-in-the-cloud/">IWMS in the &#8220;Cloud&#8221;</a></p>
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		<item>
		<title>A case for why integrated IWMS solutions are better than stand-alone real estate solutions</title>
		<link>http://www.lucernex.com/files/index.php/blog/integrated-iwms-vs-stand-alone-real-estate-software/</link>
		<comments>http://www.lucernex.com/files/index.php/blog/integrated-iwms-vs-stand-alone-real-estate-software/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 24 May 2010 12:00:23 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Ken Brown</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Blog]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[best of breed real estate software]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[franken product]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[IWMS]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[IWMS CAFM]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[IWMS CMMS]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ken Brown]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[real estate software]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[SLIM]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[stand alone real estate software]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.lucernex.com/files/?p=3114</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Lucernex expert and EVP Ken Brown&#8217;s (see Ken&#8217;s management summary here) provides a case for why integrated IWMS solutions are more beneficial than stand-alone real estate solutions or &#8220;Franken Products&#8221;.
When considering the purchase of real estate software point solutions such as Lease Administration, Project Management, Purchase Management, CMMS and Space Planning/CAFM it is helpful to [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Lucernex expert and EVP Ken Brown&#8217;s <a href="http://www.lucernex.com/files/index.php/company/management-team/ken-brown/">(see Ken&#8217;s management summary here)</a> provides a case for why integrated IWMS solutions are more beneficial than stand-alone real estate solutions or &#8220;Franken Products&#8221;.</p>
<p>When considering the purchase of real estate software point solutions such as Lease Administration, Project Management, Purchase Management, CMMS and Space Planning/CAFM it is helpful to understand the differences, benefits and challenges of a-la-carte options vs. an integrated suite of products.  Individual software solutions are just that – products that are sold individually and have little to no compatibility with other product offerings.  Product suites like an Integrated Workplace Management System (IWMS) are offered as an integrated group of solutions and give the user benefits such as flexibility, ease of use, common overhead, better support for system architectures and platforms. Vendors, like <a href="www.lucernex.com">Lucernex Technologies</a>, who build their systems from the ground up using one architecture, one database, one codebase and one common interface eliminate many of the problems encountered with so-called “best of breed” solutions. This blog will illustrate specific examples of why an integrated product suite such as IWMS is best:<br />
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First, an IWMS product affords a company software flexibility.  Users will be able to share data &#8211; including setup and security information – throughout the system and configure the system to meet the company’s needs rather than the other way around. The ability to move data such as deadlines, leasing numbers and budgets without having to re-enter it in multiple places saves valuable time, increases accuracy, and eliminates the frustration that occurs when one part of the system doesn’t talk to the other.</p>
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<p>An IWMS solution is also easier to manipulate than single point solutions.  All products integrated into an IWMS package look, feel and work the same way.  Key interface items like navigation menus, common controls, prompts and messages work together to make the user experience more enjoyable. With a common interface, a user can learn one part of the application and then easily apply this knowledge to another area of the solution. One of the many reasons why Microsoft Office is so widely adopted and successful is because it has a common user interface just like an IWMS product.</p>
<p>Another challenge with implementing multiple software products is that many solutions overlap in areas of functionality.  Document management, contract management, security and configuration (form building, report creation, workflow setup, etc.) may have specific areas of the application that are the same. When multiple products try to do similar things the inefficiencies and incompatibilities will render part of these solutions useless.  Products within an IWMS system “talk” to one another so that these overlapping areas of functionality work together rather than compete with one another.  Who wants to enter contact data twice or define different user security roles because one part of the system cannot talk to another and share the information? With IWMS, all products “talk” to one another, share information, and enable the user to function more efficiently.  </p>
<p>A final point to take into consideration is that when a company adopts multiple products they increase their implementation costs, training and on-going maintenance costs dramatically. The purpose of a software solution system is to save time and money and positively impact a company’s bottom line.  Often, the implementation of multiple products does just the opposite.</p>
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<h2>Shameless Plug</h2>
<p>At Lucernex, we have a term we like to use for solutions that are banded together, using pieces of various applications to create an end to end solution. We call it a “Franken Product” and if you don’t want a monster on your hands, than consider a single platform IWMS solution. At Lucernex, our response to the &#8220;Franken product&#8221; is <a href="http://www.lucernex.com/files/index.php/products/iwms/">Lx IWMS</a>. The Lucernex Lx IWMS platform is a single platform with one database, one code base and one architecture.  It covers the entire property lifecycle with modules dedicated to <a href="http://www.lucernex.com/files/index.php/products/iwms/lx-iwms-modules/location-analysis-with-scout/">market planning and location analysis</a>, <a href="http://www.lucernex.com/files/index.php/products/iwms/lx-iwms-modules/construction-project-management/">project management</a>, <a href="http://www.lucernex.com/files/index.php/products/iwms/lx-iwms-modules/capital-project-management/">capital program management</a>, <a href="http://www.lucernex.com/files/index.php/products/iwms/lx-iwms-modules/lease_administration/">lease administration</a>, <a href="http://www.lucernex.com/files/index.php/products/iwms/lx-iwms-modules/lease-analysis/">lease analysis</a> and <a href="http://www.lucernex.com/files/index.php/products/iwms/lx-iwms-modules/facilities-management/">facilities management</a> that streamline key processes such as site acquisition and development, construction, procurement, grand opening, lease management, property disposition, and capital or remodeling projects. To avoid the problems, challenges and inefficiencies of a Franken Product, strongly consider a single, integrated solution and beware solutions with a consistent UI that are hiding a “Franken Product” underneath.  </p>
<p><em>For more information about Lucernex Technologies’ Lx IWMS, visit <a href="www.lucernex.com">www.Lucernex.com</a></em></p>
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<h2>Previous Blogs by Ken Brown</h2>
<p><a href="http://www.lucernex.com/files/index.php/blog/optimizing-and-globalizing-real-estate/">Optimizing and Globalizing Real Estate?</a><br />
<a href="http://www.lucernex.com/files/index.php/blog/upgrade-lease-administration-software/">It’s time to upgrade lease administration software now</a></p>
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