Like many business owners across the country, Jeff Landry’s company took a hit when the coronavirus arrived in March. As CEO of ID Plans, a commercial real estate technology company that provides property management software, Landry saw many of his clients struggle in the first few months of the outbreak.
But after the initial downturn, Landry says his business bounced back stronger.
“A lot of retail spaces were impacted [by COVID-19] and that was a large majority of our business,” Landry said. “But now we’re busier than we’ve ever been because of all the vacant spaces.”
Launched in 1999, ID Plans provides data and software platforms that help property managers better oversee their assets from afar. The Tampa-based company deploys data specialists to properties owned or managed by its clients, where they take laser measurements, snap photographs and upload the collected data to a cloud-based platform.
On the ID Plans platform, clients can take a virtual tour of the location and explore AutoCAD renderings. The sudden closure of many brick-and-mortar retailers and subsequent increase in vacant spaces has resulted in an unanticipated uptick in demand, said Landry, who co-founded the company over 20 years ago.
“We’ve grown quite a bit because we go look at vacant spaces and try to make them more appealing [for our clients],” he said. “We’ve gotten a lot busier because of it.”
Recent demand has caused ID Plans to struggle to deliver on its promise of providing property reports within 10 business days. The company currently has about 60 employees, most of whom are data specialists, and intends to hire more over the coming months to meet the increased demand.
ID Plans faces competition from industry stalwarts such as local architectural firms. However, Landry insists his company’s product goes above and beyond those offered by competitors.
“We offer virtual tours, which they typically don’t offer,” he said. “We map out the entire space and gather and report information that they don’t provide. Plus, we deliver a consistent product across the country.”
Over the past few years, ID Plans has seen an annual growth rate of about 28 percent and $5 million in revenue, according to Landry. He’s optimistic about his company’s future, particularly given the obstacles it has already overcome.
“The thing we feel proudest about is how we’ve made it through recessions, 9/11, and now COVID,” he said. “We’ve always been tenacious.”
