As a leading data scientist put it: “Without data, you are just another person with an opinion.” This fact applies to all businesses, real estate companies included. With 98 percent of people relying on websites when searching for homes, data is easier to collect now more than ever.
2 Types of Real Estate Company Data to Protect
Customer data
Real estate transactions tend to involve considerable amounts of private and personal information. This includes bank account information, social security numbers, and more. As apps and sensors are rolled out both in the commercial and residential sectors, realtors are also collecting actionable insights regarding users’ behaviors and preferences. Such data is helping realtors to gain a competitive edge in aiding analyses, making future predictions about the real estate market, and in proper property valuation.
Company Data
Other than customer data, real estate companies also have access to significant amounts of highly valuable data regarding its internal processes, sales strategies, and marketing tactics, and more. Just like consumer data, company data is extremely crucial data. A real estate company cannot afford to lose this data or give cybercriminals easy access to it.
3 Foolproof Ways of Protecting Real Estate Company Data
Secure all your devices
1. A realtor must know who has their devices and what is on them. Safety starts with physical protection, keeping devices under lock-and-key.
Additionally, use password generators to avoid weak passwords. If possible, use of biometric passkeys such as face recognition. Ensure that your devices exclusively contain business apps from trustworthy developers.
It is a good idea to use paid cybersecurity software to keep malware off your devices. Installing antivirus software isn’t enough. You need to update the software regularly to eliminate vulnerability to any emerging cyber threats.
2. Use a realtor CRM
This tool manages how brokers and agents interact with their clients. A good CRM separates permissions, with senior staff having all permissions to read and write data. Other staff should see data that is only relevant to their work.
A good CRM also helps manage users. If a staff member leaves the company, you can easily revoke their access to company data.
Finally, most CRMs are also configured to notify you in case of permission changes. This way, data breaches wouldn’t happen without your knowledge.
3.Outsource to a Chief Data Officer
Every company wants the same things when it comes to big data — to become more data-driven to understand its customers better and protect itself against cybersecurity risks. Ultimately, you aim for a digital transformation that will make your company both safer and more efficient.
As you start gathering and utilizing significant amounts of data, you’ll experience a need for a futuristic practitioner to steer your company through that data-driven journey. That practitioner is none other than a Chief Data Officer (CDO).
You’re probably wondering – what role does a CDO play? Well, CDOs are usually responsible for information governance, information protection and privacy, and data lifecycle management, among others. In other words, a CDO is a type of navigator who will guide your real estate company toward data democratization, with the ultimate goal of making your company data-driven.
Hire a Chief Data Officer Today
If you’re not convinced that having a CDO is worth it, here’s one statistic that will serve as a brain opener: companies that have a CDO are over twice as likely to have a clear enterprise-wide digital plan.
If you are convinced that hiring a CDO is what you should do, you should seriously consider Helios Company as your outsourced Chief Data Officer.
Contact us today to find out how we can become more data-driven while protecting your real estate company data.
Recent Comments