How to transition from a traditional to an e-business enabled real estate agency

Abstract

A framework is developed to enable transition from a typical real estate agency towards an e-business enabled business environment, based on an agency configuration located in Townsville, Australia. This transition is modeled according to a number of stages. In the strategic audit stage, a TOWS matrix is suggested which combines Porter’s Five Forces Model of Competition, adapted with a SWOT analysis. The next stage of an e-business case development for this real estate setting differentiates among inside partners, nearside partners, and external partners. Stage three states the composition of the systems analysis team, whereas in stage four the system architecture and infrastructure are specified, including a number of relevant legislative issues. Subsequently, the web interface design-stage is elaborated on, including accessing issues by different user groups. Two extreme examples of customer interfacing are presented to illustrate the need for the interface to be flexible, information gathering, and execution focused. These four stages summarize the transition process real estate agencies may work through to become fully e-business enabled.