How a Platform and an Agent Work Together
Summary: Buildings with a managing agent may see a platform as duplication. This article looks at how Aregnum and a managing agent complement each other.
A building that uses a managing agent may wonder whether a platform duplicates what the agent does, making it redundant. The thinking is that the agent already manages the building, so a platform would overlap. But a platform and a managing agent are not the same kind of thing, and they complement rather than duplicate each other, with the platform being a tool that supports management whether the agent or the building uses it. Understanding this shows how a platform and an agent work together rather than one replacing the other.
A managing agent is a service provider, while a platform is a tool, so they are different in kind. The agent provides management as a service, whereas a platform is a system for managing, which the agent or the building can use to do the work better. Because Aregnum is a tool rather than a competing service, it does not duplicate the agent but provides a system that supports the management the agent or building carries out.
The agent can use the platform to manage the building better, so it supports the agent’s work. A managing agent using a platform has better tools for managing the building, organised records, financial capabilities, communication, than managing informally. Because the platform supports the agent’s management, it makes the agent’s work more effective rather than duplicating it, benefiting the building the agent serves.
The platform gives the building visibility alongside the agent’s management, which supports the relationship. A building using a platform has visibility of its own affairs, which complements the agent’s management by keeping the building informed and the agent accountable. Because the platform provides this visibility, it supports the building’s relationship with its agent, adding transparency rather than duplicating the agent’s role.
The platform provides continuity independent of the particular agent, which protects the building. A building’s management should not be wholly dependent on a particular agent, and a platform holds the building’s information and systems independently, providing continuity if the agent changes. Because the platform holds the building’s management independently, it protects the building’s continuity across changes of agent, which is a benefit distinct from the agent’s service.
It is also worth noting that a platform can improve the relationship between a building and its managing agent by adding transparency that benefits both. When the building has visibility of its own affairs through the platform, the agent’s management is more open to the building, which builds trust and reduces the misunderstandings that opacity can breed, while the agent benefits from a building that can see the work being done. Because the platform gives both the building and the agent a shared, visible basis for the building’s management, it supports a healthier, more transparent relationship between them, which is a benefit of the platform that goes beyond either party’s individual use of it and serves the working relationship itself.
A platform does not duplicate a managing agent, because the two are different in kind and complement each other. Aregnum is a tool that supports management, which the agent can use to manage the building better, while giving the building visibility and providing continuity independent of the particular agent. For a building with an agent wondering about duplication, the reality is that the platform and the agent work together, the platform supporting the management the agent provides and protecting the building, rather than one replacing the other.
Frequently Asked Questions
Doesn’t a platform duplicate our managing agent?
No. A platform and a managing agent are different in kind and complement each other. The agent provides management as a service, while the platform is a tool that supports management, which the agent or building can use to do the work better.
How does the platform support the agent?
A managing agent using a platform has better tools, organised records, financial capabilities, communication, than managing informally, so the platform makes the agent’s work more effective rather than duplicating it, benefiting the building the agent serves.
What does the platform add for the building?
It gives the building visibility of its own affairs, which complements the agent’s management by keeping the building informed and the agent accountable, adding transparency to the relationship rather than duplicating the agent’s role.
How does the platform protect the building?
A building’s management should not be wholly dependent on a particular agent. The platform holds the building’s information and systems independently, providing continuity if the agent changes, which is a benefit distinct from the agent’s service.
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