Cyber security is of paramount importance, but it’s not often top of mind in the real estate industry. Worse, it’s ignored and underestimated. Many people don’t realize that there are significant risks in working with software service providers that don’t understand and have not taken actions to mitigate cyber security threats.

Cyber security is a cornerstone of SaleFish Software’s business. SaleFish Software was recently certified by Cyber Essentials Canada, making it the first and only real estate platform in the world to be fully certified to this standard (the only recognized cyber security standard in Canada).

“Becoming cyber security certified is a great achievement. Over the last year and a half, we have made it our priority to understand the risks associated with data security breaches. At SaleFish, we have addressed these risks through a combination of technology, training, procedures and policies,” said Rick Haws, President of SaleFish. “We can now say that we have the required knowledge and safeguards in place to protect our clients’ data. There are a lot of organizations that are using software and applications that are not secure and they’re putting their companies, their customers, and their reputations at risk. Cyber security is overlooked, misunderstood and undervalued in our industry, but we committed to leading the change.” 

Builders, developers and sales companies need to understand the risks associated with data security breaches and address them through a combination of technology, training, procedures and policies. There’s liability involved in partnering with companies that don’t understand these risks and that haven’t taken actions to protect against them – and companies need to know when they’re putting themselves and their customers at risk.

The rise of cybercrime has resulted in security breaches that cost organizations millions each year and put the security of organizations’ data at risk. Cyber security is of greater importance than ever before because cybercrime is so prevalent. Did you know that more than 28 million Canadians have been impacted by security incidents, many of them small and medium-sized businesses?

Furthermore, did you know that:

• Data breaches can result in fines of up to $100,000?
• Unauthorized access accounted for 58% of data breaches? Access control mitigates these risks and is one of the core components of our cyber certification.
• One in four of all incidents of data breaches involved social engineering attacks such as phishing and impersonation?
• One in five data breaches were the result of an accidental disclosure – the result of a document being left behind? A secure configuration mitigates this risk and is one of the core components of our cyber certification.
• There’s a significant lack of understanding when it comes to employees being aware of risks and their privacy responsibilities? This applies to our competition but also our customers. 

As a real estate technology firm operating globally, SaleFish Software handles valuable homeowner data daily and is now able to protect its security. As a builder, developer or sales company, clients entrust you with important data. There’s a lot of important, highly private data that is exchanged in the sale of a new home or condo, and it’s important to keep it safe and protected. Your clients take their privacy seriously, and so do we.

Every builder, developer and real estate sales company should ask themselves: Is your homeowner data secure? The only company that can yes is SaleFish Software.

The only true way to protect data is to utilize a solution that’s secure end-to-end (E2E) with the required knowledge and safeguards in place. E2E security means that your data and your clients’ info are protected from start to finish. All data and communication from the preliminary source must be secure, all the way to the end destination. This is done by using the appropriate and relevant cyber security protocols to completely safeguard against any threat of third party intrusion. To achieve E2E security, security measures should be built in to the software you’re working with. That’s why it’s important to partner with a software service provider who takes your security seriously.

After being in this business for over 15 years, we realized that other companies in the industry aren’t taking cyber security seriously. Other software service providers don’t mention cyber security because they’re unaware. They’re collecting personal information on behalf of builders, developers and sales companies and don’t have the appropriate safeguards in place. In these current times, many in our industry have chosen to use tools that are known to be unsecure and they continue to use them – even as customer records are sold illegally online. This shows a lack of understanding as to the risks. For example, some software service providers reference 256-bit data encryption as security – this was considered to be secure 10 years ago, but it’s not now. If you’re a builder, developer or sales company and you’re using software with basic encryption, you’re putting your company at risk. Similarly, companies that are using DocuSign think they’re secure. DocuSign is secure, but the other software or processes that they’re using to populate it aren’t secure – it’s an open system and therefore is unsecure. For companies that are using these solutions, they and their purchasers are completely exposed to breaches and liability.

Partner with a software service provider who gets it, like SaleFish.

SaleFish Software can now enable any buyer and any seller to use the most secure digital platform to find and purchase a new home anywhere in the world. We’re the global leader in digital new home and condo sales, with a proven platform that has completed more than 150,000 transactions valued at over $55 billion in the last decade and with offices in Canada and Australia. We’re also a clear industry leader: we were the first company to market, the first to scan IDs, the first to sell online, and the first with identity verification. With industry leading innovations such as digital documents with digital signatures, ID scanning and identity verification, it’s possible to execute sales agreements in minutes and with complete confidence.

Our platform is all about simplicity and ease: it integrates seamlessly with your CRM or ERP platform, simplifies sales processes, and was designed to make the lives of our clients and their customers easy and carefree. Our clients’ success is our success.

SaleFish is the only real estate platform certified by Cyber Essentials/CyberSecure, the only standard officially recognized by the Federal Government of Canada. Not only is SaleFish certified with Cyber Essentials Canada, we’ve achieved Plus Level Certification. Cyber Essentials Plus involves 3rd party auditing, vulnerability scanning and penetration testing and approval by an accredited certification body in order to obtain certification.

Cyber Essentials is the most comprehensive annual third-party cyber certification process for business in the world today. The Cyber Essentials standard started as a government-backed cyber security process that was developed and implemented by the UK Government in 2014. Cyber Essentials certification requirements and processes are the global gold standard for auditing any business that handles personal data, with a specific focus on securing all types of data that interact with firewalls, secure configurations, user access controls, patch management, and malware protection. Cyber Essentials has since been adopted in Canada as a national standard by CyberNB, the only government-mandated agency in Canada to focus on growing its cyber security ecosystem.

“Seeing SaleFish take their award-winning real estate platform to the next level and enabling it globally to meet the highest global standard of data security is exactly the outcome we’re striving for each and every day at CyberNB,” said Tyson Johnson, Chief Operating Officer of CyberNB. “To the best of my knowledge, SaleFish is the first real estate platform in the world to have been fully certified to the Cyber Essentials standard.”

The benefits of this certification start with the highest levels of security for SaleFish’s customers: the builders, developers and sales companies who entrust SaleFish to manage their inventories and their digital customer experience. It also opens the doors to new markets that could not be accessed without this important check in the box.

With SaleFish Software, you can rest assured that you’ll get the best real estate platform on the market and the highest level of security possible. Contact us today to book your free virtual demo of our software. And make sure to follow SaleFish Software on Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn for more news and tips.

SaleFish Software is once again proving that they’re the industry leaders and innovators when it comes to real estate transaction software.

Having created the market segment and being the first to incorporate ID scanning and selling online, SaleFish is once again leading the way with identity verification and by providing the highest level of cyber security available on the market today. In addition, they’re launching a new broker application to further expand their software offering.

SaleFish Software is proud to introduce these new features to its software:

Identification Verification

SaleFish Online is integrating with a Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC) approved verification software. Now it’s possible to comply with FINTRAC requirements by digital means.

In October of 2019, FINTRAC made provisions for software to be used for the purposes of verifying a person’s identity on behalf of the reporting entities (builders/developers/sales companies). After doing extensive research, SaleFish Software invested in a partnership with a software company that offers end-to-end AI-powered identity verification and authentication. With this new software embedded in SaleFish Online’s application, SaleFish can now validate the front, back and content of a person’s ID and then the person’s face, using facial recognition technology, through the process of taking a selfie. The powerful software can recognize multiple different types of IDs in Canada and also in Australia, Germany and Turkey, supporting SaleFish Software’s initiatives in its expanding markets.

Cyber Security

As a real estate technology firm operating globally, SaleFish Software recognizes that it handles valuable homeowner data daily and it is now able to safeguard the information. SaleFish Software was recently certified by Cyber Essentials Canada, making it the first and only real estate software platform in the world to have achieved this level of cyber security certification.

Cyber Essentials is the most comprehensive annual third-party cyber certification process for business in the world today. Cyber Essentials certification requirements and processes are the global gold standard for auditing any business that handles personal data, with a specific focus on securing all types of data that interact with firewalls, secure configurations, user access controls, patch management and malware protection.

Broker Link

SaleFish Online’s new Broker Link is a valuable new layer that has been added to the software. It will allow new home builders, developers and sales companies to assign suite

numbers or unit specs or lots to a specific broker, multiple brokers or all brokers. Brokers will be able to access SaleFish’s Broker Link for real time pricing and availability. Content will include floor plans, lots, elevations, suite plans and floor plates. The broker will be able to submit a worksheet based on what has been allocated to them. Successful/approved offers will be converted to sales and the sales will be completed using SaleFish’s secure, end-to-end sales platform, including digital signatures for purchasers, witnesses, signing officers and others as required. The entire digital workflow is now as smooth as ever with remote signing capability and digital FINTRAC compliance.

It’s All Possible with SaleFish Online

SaleFish Software has extensive experience with online real estate sales and is the trusted solution for new home builders, condo developers and real estate agents all over the world. SaleFish Online is a proven method of selling homes, and the world has never been more ready to make the transition to selling online.

Want to learn more? Contact us today to book your free demo. And make sure to follow SaleFish Software on Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn for more news, updates and tips.

I’m a fan of the shows Dragon’s Den and Shark Tank. They’re essentially the same show with slight differences: business owners try to convince investors (dragons and sharks) to invest in their business. The episodes I like the best are the ones in which the business owners are ‘on their own bus’ (is the way I like to put it), or as the would-be investors say, they are creating their own market segment. These are the riskiest propositions for all involved, but I like these episodes; I can relate to them.

In the beginning everything was simple. The software was simple, the pricing was simple, and the offering was inexpensive. Somewhere along the line the software became big enough, robust enough and expensive enough that everything changed. When this type of thing happens to companies that are on their own bus, the going gets interesting. Now you gotta justify the value, you have to try and figure out what line item on a balance sheet you might fit into when no such product exists—an interesting proposition. If you’re a bit lucky, stubborn as hell, selectively oblivious and surrounded by great people and have great clients, you can push forward and pave the way.

We’ve found that sometimes new practice adoption is driven by the owner, sometimes by sales, other times by marketing or admin and even by the CTO (yes, this has happened). You learn it’s not the position that matters but the particular type of person. The type that wants transparency or efficiency or data to make better decisions or less mistakes or a better customer experience. These types of people have the vision, confidence and influence to affect change.

Now we’re traveling to new countries and meeting with leading companies and thought leaders—and I can confidently say we are still on our own bus.

Being on your own bus means paving the way and pushing forward, standing in the face of no results and continuing to stand there. It’s one idea at a time, one line of code at a time, one feature at a time, that’s how driving the bus is done.

If you have questions about this blog or other things, please email me at rick@SaleFishSoftware.com

“Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler,” is a famous quote that has been attributed to Albert Einstein. It’s generally believed, however, that he never actually said this; in fact, it was paraphrased by an interviewer in 1950.

I won’t delve into the actual wording that Einstein used, but the concept is that the fewest amount of details should be used to solve a problem, excluding everything that doesn’t expedite the process.

I learned this lesson many years ago in my architectural career. I learned that it was better to provide only the bare minimum of details when submitting a site plan or design for approval. Less detail, less for the reviewer to make comments on; also, the reviewer will ask for what they’re missing, all you have to do is provide it and you’re done. No guessing, no muss, no fuss.

We use this same approach when adding features to our software. We provide the basic requirements and we put it in our customers’ hands. They’re not shy about telling us how it could be better, so we do another iteration; we go from having parking, locker and storage, to customized items with an inventory component— problem solved.

I quote the “simple as possible” saying often, as a constant reminder to always strive towards an elegant solution, one that’s as simple as possible at the time, but dynamic enough to expand as requirements change. It’s generally in our nature to over complicate things, so this is not an easy task.

Simplicity is our mission and it’s what we strive for every day.

If you have questions about this blog or other things, please email me at rick@SaleFishSoftware.com

SaleFish Software can transform your business. The software is designed to streamline the new home and condo sales process and to help you sell real estate 24/7 from anywhere in the world.

SaleFish Software is known to be the best in the business. It’s efficient, accurate, trusted, integrated and easy. Want to learn more? Let’s break it down.

Efficient: Improve your sales efficiency by 75%

What if you could cut a 45-minute process down to 5 minutes? With SaleFish Software, you can.

Move through the sales process smoothly and improve efficiency by 75% with a fully-automated work flow. Have the pertinent details for a specific unit or lot, architectural controls, add-ons and sold vs. available automatically available at your fingertips. A sales agent can easily assist buyers when selecting lots, models and add-ons through the carefully streamlined, fully digital sales process.

Accurate: Turn chaos into smooth sailing with a real-time solution

SaleFish’s real-time, live inventory software ensures smooth sailing when it comes to selling new homes. New homes’ siting, architectural controls, add-ons, what’s sold vs. available and more – all of the pertinent details are at hand for a specific unit or home, and they’re all guaranteed to be accurate. Goodbye, human error!

SaleFish Software puts the power in your hands. Make sweeping changes to pricing, lot availability and unit allocation at the press of a button. Make informed decisions with easy access to real-time, up-to-the-minute analytics and sales data so you can have a quick, accurate overview of all your sales processes and never leave money on the table again.

You can also move through the sales process smoothly with fully-automated document and paperwork production. Centralize all your closing documents and capture electronic signatures. Scan purchaser IDs for 100% accuracy of purchaser data. And because all documents within the software are automated, know that they’re guaranteed to be completed with 100% consistency.

Trusted: A name backed by years of experience and billions in sales

With over $55 billion in worldwide real estate transactions to date (and counting exponentially by the day), 100+ glowing testimonials and 15+ years experience, SaleFish is a name you can trust.

SaleFish remains the world leader in real estate sales software, just as it has been for over a decade. SaleFish truly is a trusted global solution. We have clients in North America, Europe, Australia and beyond.

Integrated: Seamless integration with your CRM, ERP and interactive platforms

SaleFish Software integrates smoothly with the construction, builder, operations, property management, customer relationship management and enterprise resource planning tech you already have to make life easier. It also integrates seamlessly with your website!

Sage, Yardi, Builder Lynx, Builder Software Tools, SmartTouch Interactive, Lasso, NEWSTAR Constellation HomeBuilder and so many more – you name the CRM or ERP platform and SaleFish pairs seamlessly to make the entire sales management process a complete and easy journey. Transitioning a prospect to a purchaser and beyond has never been simpler.

Marketing integrations are a breeze, too. SaleFish Software integrates smoothly and easily with NEEZO Studios’ and Pureblink’s – and others’ – 3D animation (VR/AR) to give customers an interactive experience.

SaleFish can also power builders’ and developers’ websites, creating a consistent experience from platform to platform and bringing all the power of SaleFish Software to your very own website. Builder websites that are powered by SaleFish Software include Lindvest and Lakeview Homes. No integration is too big or too small!

Have something custom that you would like to integrate? Get in touch!

Easy: Education, training and around-the-clock assistance at your fingertips

SaleFish Software is designed to make the lives of our clients and their customers easy and carefree. After all, our clients’ success is our success! We strive to serve.

SaleFish offers in-person and online demonstrations, education and training, sales team tutorials and around-the-clock assistance.

Learn how SaleFish can work for you. Contact us today to book your free demo! And make sure to follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn for more news and tips.