ACUMENTIS
Acumentis: Combining digital culture and brand
IN ASSOCIATION WITH
DIGITAL REPORT 2020
Acumentis: combining digital culture and brand 02
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ACUMENTIS
Craig Ulrick, Acumentis’ Chief Information Officer, discusses the company’s rapid expansion, digital rebirth and the brand culture which made it all possible
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F
ounded in 1982 as LMW, Acumentis’ presence in the Australian real estate industry has been long and distinguished.
Representing the only property valuation and advisory services firm on the ASX, the company currently employs over 300 people across 40 offices spread around the country, including Sydney, Brisbane and Perth. Capable of providing a range of services, such as residential property valuations, strategic portfolio advice, data analysis and agribusiness, Acumentis’ breadth of knowledge is matched by its desire for expansion. Having acquired several other valuers over the course of its existence, most recently in mergers with MVS in 2017 and Taylor Byrne in 2018, the company finally decided to rebrand itself in 2019 to reflect its new commitment to digital transformation. Having joined the company two years ago, as the excitement of its expansion was fully underway,
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ACUMENTIS
“ Our transformation has been a combination of digital, culture and branding: we have a new brand that has been informed and shaped by our team and it reflects the culture of this business� Craig Ulrick, Chief Information Officer, Acumentis 06
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Craig Ulrick, Chief Information Officer
real insights about our customers and
(CIO), wanted to capture the energy
make informed decisions,” he explains.
and sense of urgency permeating
“We had to build smart-tech solu-
the atmosphere of Acumentis in
tions to replace slow and sometimes
his approach to digital transforma-
ancient business processes.” For
tion. Placing an immediate focus on
Acumentis, the mission to undergo
increasing efficiencies and driving
digital transformation can be summed
the revitalisation of legacy systems,
up in two words: Project One.
Ulrick was determined to bring the
In order to adequately serve its
company fully into the digital era.
customers, the company had to find
“Acumentis is one core platform; one
a way to analyse quality data in real-
core brand with multiple combined
time - fast enough to help them make
services, which share the same data
crucial real-estate-related decisions
across the group and allow us to gain
in an informed manner. “It was nice w w w.a c ume nt i s. com . a u
ACUMENTIS
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getting stuck into a nice, big, juicy project like that,” says Ulrick. “Project One was part of our rebrand development to transform the company into a cutting-edge platform. The business made a decision to transform because it wasn’t sustainable to maintain the many systems we had under different contracts and arrangements previously.” Gathering information about properties from myriad sources, including government bodies, local authorities, councils and geographic surveys, the voluminous sum of this
1982
Year founded
$42mn+ Revenue in AUS dollars
300+ Number of employees
research can be overwhelming, particularly as it must be interpreted and used to a customer’s advantage. The role of AI and algorithm-
E X E C U T I V E P R OF IL E :
Craig Ulrick Title: Chief Information Officer
powered analytic systems has been
Company: Acumentis
pivotal in making sure that quality,
Industry: Property Valuation
data-driven decisions can be made.
Location: Sydney, New South Wales
“Acumentis uses something called an ‘automatic valuation machine’ (AVM). It’s not quite AI; it’s more like machine learning,” clarifies Ulrick. “So you type in an address and it processes some associated data. It then informs you what that property might be worth right now. It’s not perfect, but it gets a lot of the things spot on.” Ulrick opines that the further automation of these labour-intensive tasks will form the core focus of the real estate industry moving forward, particularly regarding valuation
Craig possesses a wealth of IT experience and has held CIO roles in a range of industries including health care (medical devices) and financial services, giving him extensive knowledge in driving innovation for large organisations. Following major acquisitions in 2017 and 2018, there was a need to digitally transform the operations of the business. Craig was tasked with this alongside streamlining core platforms.
services. Software similar to facial recognition technology is being trialled on photographs of properties in order to determine if the quality, condition and value of a property can be estimated by a machine programmed to notice key features. However, whilst maintaining a visionary approach is important when w w w.a c ume nt i s. com . a u
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“Acumentis is one core platform; one core brand” Craig Ulrick, Chief Information Officer, Acumentis
considering the application of new
largely spreadsheet driven process
technology, it is equally important to
of commissions. It’s allowed us to
leverage the services of key suppliers
streamline our data and just focus on
and partners. However, more than
making informed decisions with it.”
simply delivering a great service or
Equally vital is the digital marketing
project, Ulrick emphasises that the
agency Orange Digital, Ulrick says.
company’s ideal partner would want
“Orange partnered with us to align our
to actively understand the real estate
people and our brand, assisting us to
sector and want to join in the mis-
shape our ongoing culture program
sion to improve it. Software solutions
and allowing us to bring a combination
developer CALUMO is a powerful intel-
of minds into our strategy and people
ligence platform which Acumentis uses
engagement.” With a passion for cul-
to run its budgeting and forecasting.
ture and brand, the Brisbane-based
Enabling the company to collate infor-
company is also an expert in web
mation across multiple platforms, Ulrick
design, development, apps, videos and
enthuses that CALUMO provides a
search engine optimisation. Its ser-
fantastic tool for business automa-
vices during Acumentis’ rebrand have
tion. “We used it recently to replace a
been significant and transformative. w w w.a c ume nt i s. com . a u
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ACUMENTIS
“ We are the custodians of our customers’ data” Craig Ulrick, Chief Information Officer, Acumentis
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Acumentis’ digital transformation has gone hand-in-hand with its increased focus on security. Following a data disclosure incident in early 2019, the way the company handled data had to be overhauled and bolstered accordingly. Rather than choosing not to comment on the issue or acknowledge areas that required improvement, Ulrick states that the company took the occurrence in its stride and remained open and frank with the public. “We are the custodians of our customers’ data,” he says, and Acumentis wasted no time in finetuning its approach. Achieving ISO 270001 certification in late 2019, covering the technology and infrastructure supporting its valuation services in the residential, government, commercial, insurance and property advice sectors, Ulrick believes the company has reaped a positive result from initially unfortunate circumstances. “We can segregate our customers’ data and encrypt it, along with any attachments. We consider how long information is needed for and only store it for the absolute minimum of time.” It is also a vigorous approach to client protection w w w.a c ume nt i s. com . a u
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15 which he considers a distinguishing
Australia’s best-in-class valuation and
feature for Acumentis among other
advisory agency. “We will continue to
companies in the sector.
expand and invest in our people and
When asked what the future might
clients, in order to understand what
hold for Acumentis in 2020, Ulrick is
problems they’re having and how we
quick to intimate that further expansion
can solve them,” Ulrick concludes. “Our
within Australia remains a high priority,
transformation has been a combination
particularly with regards to overcoming
of digital, culture and branding: we have
the geographical challenge of serving
a new brand that has been informed
such a large country effectively. Further
and shaped by our team and it reflects
automation and value-added services,
the culture of this business.”
such as illicit substance screening capabilities for properties and quantity surveying services, will help shape the company’s ongoing quest to become w w w.a c ume nt i s. com . a u
ACUMENTIS LEVEL 7 283 CL ARENCE STREET SYDNEY, NSW AUSTR ALIA 2000 T +02 8823 6300
www.acumentis.com.au
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