NEW YORK—To help businesses in global markets, Colliers International's Global Occupier Guide provides value to clients by integrating big-data and analytics in real-time to help them make smarter financial decisions faster.

“A visitor to the site can get information on government incentives, business friendliness ratings of a global market, a schedule and capital budgeting guide for commercial space and even requirements when negotiating lease agreements,” says Colliers president of occupier services and corporate solutions in the Americas Scott Nelson. “We firmly believe in data transparency and this innovative tool is a first step to providing a truly open-source view.”

In examining the business strategies behind the guide's creation, Nelson says Colliers wanted its clients and professionals to have tools that enhance collaboration and efficiency. “The real estate industry norms vary greatly in many respects from one global market to another, and this guide allows for more than sharing information, but encourages feedback and an open dialogue with clients. This type of collaboration is what ultimately leads to the best possible business decisions for clients.”

Chris Zlocki, head of innovation for Colliers, tells GlobeSt.com the guide provides clients the ability to explore global insight focused on local economic conditions for leasing, financing and construction. “With this data, a real estate leader can gain valuable intelligence on real estate spend, occupancy patterns and cost reduction opportunities in a simple to use web-enabled interface,” he said. “This insight helps guide decisions about location and site-selection strategies.”

In addition, he says the data helps clients understand where there are areas for improvement and potential risks given their future occupancy strategies. “For multiple clients, we integrate their financial, HR, operating, facilities and lease-administration information. We then overlay benchmark analytics to provide an illustration of how they are performing relative to the market rents for their properties, total occupancy cost and how cost-effective their labor and economic conditions are relative to the market and competition.”