HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--ARGUS is no longer just the name of the commercial real estate industry's most widely used software, it is now the name of the company that created it. As of today, Realm Business Solutions is known as ARGUS Software.
"This name change illustrates our position as a leader within the commercial real estate industry," says Mark Kingston, president and CEO of ARGUS Software, the Houston-based company formerly known as Realm Business Solutions. "ARGUS has strong brand recognition and value within the industry. It is known across global real estate markets for making the process of real estate valuation easier, more transparent and more efficient, which makes it a worthy name for our company.
“We have experienced explosive growth in the past year,” adds Kingston, who notes that through a combination of acquisitions and new product development, ARGUS Software has built a product portfolio that includes solutions for nearly every aspect of the commercial real estate lifecycle.
Through the process of expanding their product offering, Kingston and his team became acutely aware of the problems companies within the industry today are having exchanging data between their internal systems and outside sources as well as dealing with differing currencies, methodologies and practices when managing their transactions and portfolios.
“Given this reality,” he says, “we are going to begin assembling integrated suite offerings similar to the way Microsoft® bundled the Microsoft Office suite years ago. Our object is interoperability of data between products, languages, currencies and practices, which in turn provides the efficiency, transparency and consistency the industry is craving.”
ARGUS Software will release its new product suites shortly. Along with the corporate name change, all of ARGUS Software's products will also be known by ARGUS with product descriptors as part of their names. For example, the company's valuation product is now called ARGUS Valuation - DCF, while the product previously known as DYNA will be known as ARGUS Asset Management.
"The new name formats were created with our customers in mind," Kingston says. "The descriptors make it easy for commercial real estate professionals to easily determine which ARGUS Software products are best for them."
To celebrate its new name, ARGUS Software also is rolling out four new products: ARGUS Enterprise, ARGUS Development Budget, ARGUS Lease CRM and ARGUS Zone.
ARGUS Enterprise
ARGUS Enterprise is a comprehensive software platform that brings together web-based tools for cash flow analysis, budgeting, forecasting, asset management, portfolio sensitivity and enterprise reporting. The platform boasts all of the pieces real estate companies need to perform at their highest levels and centralizes all the tools needed for 21st Century real estate analytics.
ARGUS Enterprise helps manage data across multiple systems and multiple projects, bringing everything and everyone together. It can be used in every part of a real estate organization from acquisitions and asset management to property management and sales. The suite is extremely scalable and will create significant value for real estate organizations of any size.
ARGUS Development Budget
ARGUS Development Budget solves several problems for developers by linking into job costing systems to obtain specific details about construction costs. The program can then compare budgets to the actual amount of money being spent, helping developers control their costs and manage overruns.
The application also helps developers forecast how much money they are spending by period providing a clear understanding of project cash flow. The software also provides developers with the tools they need to manage project contingency and benchmark construction projects.
ARGUS Lease CRM
ARGUS Lease CRM is a customer relationship management product geared toward the people who lease space and negotiate with existing and perspective tenants. It is designed to integrate with any property management system and provides deal workflow management, lease pipeline tracking and contract management.
Built with Microsoft CRM as its engine, ARGUS Lease CRM also manages lease renewals and keeps track of any lease options by flagging specific blocks of space if existing tenants have expansion or first right of refusal options. Perhaps most importantly, the ARGUS Lease CRM helps leasing agents compare different leasing scenarios, allowing leasing agents to optimize deals and see how they impact a property’s overall financial performance.
ARGUS Zone
ARGUS Zone is a private collaboration network for our clients. This network is a simple solution to a common problem. The real estate industry depends on the movement of information, both inside and outside individual firms. E-mail is the industry’s primary collaboration tool, and it has become inefficient.
ARGUS Zone uses a "hub & spoke" approach to information management. Members create secure websites for properties or projects, and invite colleagues to share information in these secure workspaces.
Teams work more efficiently because the information they need is organized in an intuitive collection of utilities that store files, assign tasks, track discussions, and keep everyone up-to-date, anytime and anywhere.
"These new products will revolutionize the way the industry works," Kingston says. "They illustrate ARGUS Software's dedication to serving its clients and its focus on innovation and problem solving."
The Company anticipates the re-branding process will take between four and six months to complete. Meanwhile, all phone numbers, e-mail addresses, product support options and other material means of communication for the company will remain in place. See the Company website at www.ARGUSsoftware.com or www.Realm.com for more information.
About ARGUS Software
ARGUS Software provides universal software and service solutions that reveal, optimize and realize value for the commercial real estate industry. ARGUS Software’s products have become the industry standard and provide the complete solution for managing and growing your commercial real estate portfolio. More than 8,000 of the industry's leading owners, managers, financial institutions, brokerages and REITs trust ARGUS Software solutions to improve the visibility and flow of information throughout their critical business processes. These processes include property management, asset valuation, portfolio management, budgeting, forecasting, reporting and lease management.
