Nakisa, a global leader in cloud-native enterprise solutions working with brands such as 3M, BP, Coty, Delta Air Lines, and Walmart, has expanded its suite of offerings with the launch of an Integrated Workplace Management System (IWMS) Product Portfolio. For those new to IWMS, it is a comprehensive software platform used by corporate and commercial real estate (CRE), IT, and digital workplace professionals to centralize and manage the lifecycle of their real estate portfolios, enhancing operational efficiency, sustainability, and cross-team collaboration.
Recognizing the evolving needs of the market, Nakisa, long known for its innovative approach to lease accounting, workforce planning, and real estate management, saw the need to create a full-featured cloud-native IWMS solution tailored for global retailers. Nakisa’s IWMS product was so effective at launch that it was recognized by Gartner as a leading disruptor in its IWMS Market Guide 2024.
Why and how did Nakisa move into the IWMS space with such a strong showing right out of the gate? Retail Insider interviewed Founder and CEO Babak Varjavandi, Global VP of Business Development and Marketing Saleh Bahrololoum, and Director of Business Development – IWMS Ashwath Muralidharan to learn more.
Transforming into a Portfolio Provider
Nakisa strategically shifted from being a point solution provider— focused on real estate asset management only— to a portfolio provider, offering a comprehensive system of integrated solutions that range from covering capital project planning and budgeting to portfolio management, as well as facility and maintenance management. “We aim to equip our clients with all the tools they need in one platform, increasing efficiency and alignment across departments so they can focus on running their businesses— not managing software,” said Saleh Bahrololoum, VP of Business Development and Marketing.
With its IWMS portfolio, Nakisa allows enterprises to efficiently manage capital project planning and budgeting, site selection for opening new stores or expanding to new markets, lease administration and accounting, and facility operations and maintenance. The IWMS software provides role-based workflows and team-specific UIs, enabling each team—whether real estate, lease accounting, facility, or capital project management—to work independently and have the functionality and user-friendly interface they need to achieve their goals. Despite team-specific setups, all teams operate within a unified asset repository, using the same data and platform to ensure cross-team alignment. This approach reduces clients’ learning curve and helps them achieve quick time-to-value and high ROI. These elements are particularly beneficial for retail and commercial real estate management.
Tailored for Retail and Commercial Real Estate
Nakisa’s IWMS solution provides comprehensive support for retailers in commercial real estate management through many key features, including automated percentage-based rent calculations and common area maintenance (CAM) reconciliation out of the box or the ability to customize formulas or create scripts to meet specific use cases.What’s more, the solution provides comprehensive management for tax, insurance, accounts payable (AP), and accounts receivable (AR), along with a dedicated vendor portal designed to enhance communication and collaboration with landlords. Clients find great value in Nakisa’s virtual document library, along with the advanced notifications and alerts for critical clauses and dates. Beyond that, Nakisa offers advanced configurability so that users can easily deal with a portfolio with diverse assets, comply with parallel standards (i.e., IFRS 16, ASC 842, and local GAAP), integrate natively with multiple ERPs (SAP, Oracle, Workday), and operate in diverse geographies and currencies.
Nakisa’s deep expertise in enterprise finance and lease accounting is pivotal to its new IWMS portfolio. Integrating financial and operational data within one solution aligns real estate and finance teams. “Our IWMS solution bridges the gap by centralizing all operational and financial data in one platform,” said Ashwath Muralidharan, Director of Business Development – IWMS. “It empowers teams to act quickly and accurately, addressing a common challenge in retail real estate. For retail clients, this means real-time access to critical insights, enabling them to make faster and more informed decisions about their assets.”
Nakisa’s IWMS offers powerful analytics and reporting capabilities that aim to democratize access to real-time insights. Clients, regardless of their BI skill level, can utilize out-of-the-box dashboards, no-code formulas, and real-time data visualizations to effectively track KPIs, manage assets, and analyze costs. Highly flexible scripting options are also available for those who need advanced configuration.
Success Stories: Nakisa’s Impact on Leading Brands
Nakisa has already delivered significant results with high-profile clients such as Nestlé, Walmart, FairPrice, and PUMA (who represent just a few of Nakisa’s Fortune 1000 companies). “Our solutions provide improved efficiency, enhanced compliance, and scalability,” shared CEO Babak Varjavandi, describing Nakisa’s impact on enterprise clients. Through Nakisa’s native bidirectional SAP integration, robust security, and strict adherence to SOC 1 Type II and SOC 2 Type II standards (among many others), Nakisa ensures secure and comprehensive lease accounting and administration.
Nakisa’s flexibility in meeting specific retail requirements has established it as a trusted partner for major brands, helping its clients achieve up to 70% operational efficiency gains. “We designed Nakisa’s IWMS to be adaptable, scalable, and user-friendly, with client needs driving every feature,” said Muralidharan.
Disrupting the IWMS Market with a Cloud-Native Solution
Nakisa’s IWMS portfolio stands out from traditional systems by offering a cloud-native solution that’s configurable on Day 1 to meet the diverse needs of enterprises – without the need for customization. “Our product is designed to meet 80-90% of our clients’ needs right out of the box,” said Muralidharan. “Any additional customization can be managed through client-side configurations, saving both time and resources.”
Built on a flexible, scalable architecture, Nakisa’s platform integrates seamlessly with existing ERP systems, providing a solution that evolves alongside clients’ growing needs. Bahrololoum added, “Our cloud-native approach enables fast and simple deployment, making it easy for clients to scale their operations as they grow without incurring the high costs typically associated with traditional IWMS providers.”
Innovation and Future Outlook
Nakisa is actively planning future innovations to enhance its IWMS offerings, particularly focusing on sustainability tracking and advanced analytics. “Sustainability is becoming increasingly critical to real estate operations, and our platform will soon be able to track energy usage, water consumption, and carbon emissions in real-time,” said Muralidharan. “This data will be invaluable for companies committed to achieving their environmental, social, and governance (ESG) goals.”
Nakisa’s ongoing commitment to AI-driven enhancements and analytics will enable clients to predict maintenance needs, optimize space utilization, and support growth initiatives. “We’re dedicated to creating solutions that empower clients to make informed, data-driven decisions about their portfolios,” Varjavandi added. “This commitment to innovation and client success is central to our long-term strategy.” In fact, Nakisa offers a unique large language model (LLM) lease abstraction feature that allows users to leverage generative AI to quickly extract and deploy key lease information in workflows, eliminating manual tasks and their associated errors. This feature has gained the interest of global retailers looking to streamline operations.
How Nakisa’s 20 Years of Independent Growth Paved the Way for Its IWMS Innovation
Starting with core capabilities in lease administration and accounting, Nakisa’s expertise naturally evolved into IWMS, driven by its clients’ needs. Varjavandi explained, “We recognized years ago the importance of adapting to and anticipating the demands of large enterprises in real estate management and lease administration. Our commitment to becoming a comprehensive IWMS provider is the result of years of listening to our clients,” Varjavandi noted. With its expansion into IWMS, Nakisa now offers a fully integrated, cloud-native platform tailored for large enterprises, built to easily integrate with major systems like SAP, Oracle, and Workday.
Offering such an IWMS product would be a significant accomplishment for large companies like IBM, so how did Nakisa develop their offering with just 300 employees?
A large part of that answer comes from the company’s long-standing independence. For 20 years, Nakisa achieved continuous profitability without external funding, allowing it to grow sustainably and make strategic, client-focused decisions. This autonomy fostered a high level of employee retention, supported by a truly diverse C-suite leadership team, managers, and staff who all comfortably and openly offer up ideas and constructive feedback to one another.
Varjavandi continued, “Our independence has enabled us to grow sustainably, align product development with client needs, and focus on building robust, cloud-native solutions that support large enterprises’ evolving challenges.”
A Vision for the Next Generation of Real Estate Management
Nakisa’s IWMS portfolio, the result of years of planning and careful development, sets a new standard in real estate management by offering a fully integrated cloud-native solution for large enterprises. This head start allows Nakisa’s IWMS products to stand apart from many established vendors that offer a mix of on-premises and cloud-based solutions. As Bahrololoum explained, “Our mission is to offer a seamless, integrated experience that transforms how companies manage their properties. We’re enabling our clients to become more agile and resilient as they navigate the industry’s evolving challenges.”
With a strong emphasis on innovation, client needs, and sustainable growth, Nakisa is set to make a significant impact on the industry through its IWMS portfolio, enabling clients to streamline operations and achieve long-term success.
For more information, visit Nakisa’s IWMS page or watch its launch webinar to see it in action. You may also contact Henry Cheang at hcheang@nakisa.com.
*Partner Content. To work with Retail Insider, email Craig Patterson at: craig@retail-insider.com
Excellent interview!.
Interesting. Some big names.