New Study on Real Estate and Facilities Management Underwritten in Part by USM Finds that Enterprises Can Derive Significant Value from Strategic Internal Function

Norristown, PA, -- The current and ongoing global economic recession has forced many enterprises to reevaluate existing programs and plans as a means of driving business performance in tough times. It is with this backdrop in mind that enterprises should extract value from existing assets and operations through effective real estate and facilities management, according to a new study published by Aberdeen Group, a Harte-Hanks Company (NYSE:HHS).

The “Real Estate and Facilities Management: Defining a Strategic Function, Driving Significant Value” report, which surveyed the strategies, performance, and key capabilities and technology utilization of over 120 enterprises, found that the majority (65%) of organizations perceive real estate and facilities management as a more strategic enterprise function. Because of the economic downturn, as the new study indicates, enterprises can appreciate the role of real estate and facilities management in impacting monetary outlays and driving financial performance.

“With nearly 13% of the average enterprise's spend dedicated to its real estate and facilities costs, the location and support of business locations also has a significant impact on financial performance,” said Christopher Dwyer, research analyst and author of the study, Aberdeen. “In good times, a focus on cost containment is prudent; in more difficult times, it becomes a necessity. But, for leading enterprises, the long-term value of looking beyond real estate and facilities spend as sunk costs or simply the cost of being in business is measurable and pays dividends to those enterprises willing to believe that their competitive position can be affected by where they do business and how they manage these spaces.”

The new report found that leading enterprises (the top 20% of aggregate performers based on a set of key performance metrics) have readily leveraged core organizational capabilities and key technology solutions to drive real estate and facilities management performance. These top-performing enterprises have:

• Driven 2.6 times greater maintenance expense savings 
• Experienced an 85% higher rate of space utilization than laggard enterprises 
• Have effectively achieved a 73% lower cost to process a single work order than industry average enterprises.

A complimentary copy of this report is made available due in part by USM. To obtain a complimentary copy of the report, visit: http://www.aberdeen.com/link/sponsor.asp?spid=30411763&cid=6019