Real Estate PPM Solution (City of Toronto)

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How the City of Toronto Can Build a Real Estate Portfolio Management Solution on the Atlassian Platform

Real estate portfolio management in the public sector is uniquely complex. Cities must balance infrastructure investment, civic services, community needs, financial stewardship, compliance, and long-term planning — all while operating with transparency and accountability.

For municipalities like the City of Toronto, these challenges span hundreds of buildings, properties, service operations, capital projects, and stakeholders. Traditional systems for managing this data are often siloed and difficult to integrate, limiting visibility and slowing decision-making.

Atlassian’s flexible, scalable platform — built on Jira Software, Jira Service Management, Confluence, and proven marketplace tools — provides a modern way to unify real estate portfolio management into a single, transparent ecosystem.

This article explores how the City of Toronto (or any municipal organization) can leverage Atlassian to manage portfolio planning, operations, service delivery, and analytics in a centralized and collaborative environment.

Here is the video link to the Real Estate PPM Concept for the City of Toronto:

Why Atlassian for Municipal Real Estate Portfolio Management?

Most municipalities already use multiple systems to capture asset inventory, capital planning, service requests, maintenance history, and financial data. The problem is not the lack of data — it’s the lack of connection.

Atlassian’s value lies in its ability to bring people, processes, and information together through configurable workflows, integrated projects, and shared reporting.

When applied to municipal real estate, the platform supports:

• City-wide asset and facility inventories
• Capital project intake, approvals, execution, and lifecycle management
• Maintenance and service request operations
• Tenant, staff, and public-facing service intake portals
• Financial planning and cost tracking
• Data analytics for transparency and reporting

And, critically, it does all of this in a single platform.

How the Solution Comes Together

1. Jira Software: City-Wide Project and Portfolio Control

Jira Software provides structure and governance across capital projects, approvals, and long-term planning.

Key municipal use cases:

• Tracking capital projects across the city (renovations, accessibility upgrades, community center improvements, sustainability projects)
• Maintaining an asset master record for properties, facilities, and infrastructure
• Standardizing planning & approval workflows (business case → prioritization → funding → delivery)
• Managing dependencies and cross-department initiatives

2. Jira Service Management: Enhanced Customer and Resident Experience

Residents, tenants in city facilities, and internal departments all require timely service.

Jira Service Management provides:

• User-friendly portals for facility issues, maintenance requests, and operational needs
• SLA-based triage and prioritization
• Automated workflows for faster response and resolution
• Integration with city asset data for accurate service history

Public and internal service teams can deliver faster, more transparent responses — a critical factor in citizen satisfaction.

Why it matters for municipalities:

• Quick responses lead to higher trust and fewer escalations
• Transparent request handling supports accountability
• Maintenance and incident patterns become visible for proactive planning

3. Confluence: Institutional Knowledge for a Large Municipality

With so many departments involved in asset management, documentation becomes essential.

Confluence provides:

• Asset and facility profiles
• Historical records and compliance documentation
• Standard operating procedures for city staff
• Capital project charters and investment rationales
• Public or internal knowledge bases

By linking pages to Jira issues, teams gain immediate context without switching systems — perfect for large organizations with high onboarding turnover.

4. Key Marketplace Tools That Complete the City of Toronto Use Case

BigPicture

Brings portfolio-level oversight:

• Gantt charts for citywide project timelines
• Resource and capacity planning
• Portfolio hierarchy (divisions, asset classes, districts)
• Scenario planning to maximize investment impact

This enables true centralized project management control across divisions.

Tempo Financial Manager

Supports the financial governance expected in a municipal environment:

• Budget allocation and tracking
• Forecasting for capital and operating spending
• Linking actuals to assets and projects
• Integration with ERP/financial systems

This ensures investments stay aligned with city priorities and funding constraints.

Rich Filters

Allows city teams to build interactive dashboards showing:

• Real-time project and maintenance status
• Portfolio breakdowns by district, asset type, risk, or department
• KPI scorecards for executive oversight

Ideal for operations teams and directors who need clarity at a glance.

eazyBI

Unlocks advanced analytics for:

• Citywide performance dashboards
• Trend analysis (maintenance frequency, project delays, cost overruns)
• Predictive insights for long-term planning
• Public transparency reports

eazyBI enables reporting that supports city-level transparency and informed decision-making.

Three Core Benefits for the City of Toronto

1. Centralized Project Management Control

With Atlassian, the city can manage planning, delivery, maintenance, and documentation in a unified platform:

• One place to view the entire portfolio
• Standardized workflows across divisions
• Clear visibility into priorities, risks, and dependencies
• Reduced duplication between departments

This leads to better coordination, governance, and strategic clarity.

2. Enhanced Customer Experience

Whether the customer is a resident, a tenant, or an internal employee, Jira Service Management provides:

• Faster responses
• Automated routing
• Clear communication
• Transparent progress tracking

The result: a more responsive city, improved service satisfaction, and reduced frustration.

3. Data-Driven Decisions & Transparency

With integrated data from across the portfolio:

• Leaders can make evidence-based investment decisions
• Maintenance and capital planning becomes proactive
• Public-facing reporting becomes easier and more accurate
• Council and executive teams get instant visibility into city assets

This supports a governance model rooted in openness, accountability, and long-term value creation.

Conclusion: A Modern, Integrated Approach for Municipal Portfolio Management

For the City of Toronto — and municipalities everywhere — Atlassian offers a compelling path toward more efficient, transparent, and citizen-centered real estate portfolio management.

By integrating Jira Software, Jira Service Management, Confluence, BigPicture, Tempo Financial, Rich Filters, and eazyBI, cities can create a unified ecosystem for planning, delivering, maintaining, and analyzing their infrastructure investments.

The result is a platform that not only supports today’s operational needs but also empowers cities to make smarter, more strategic decisions for the future.

Please share your comments and thoughts regarding the Real Estate PPM Solution.

[Huwen Arnone _Deiser_]

Hola @Fabian Lim this looks like an interesting PPM packaged solution. Do you always implement it as such a package? Or do you vary plugins and adapt them according to customer needs? This seems to be an enterprise-grade level. Very tight.

Very interesting!! Thank you for sharing.

[Fabian Lim]

Hi @Huwen Arnone _Deiser_ ,

Thanks for the feedback. Depending on the client requirements and budget. we can adapt the different plugins as needed. The whole concept is to showcase that Atlassian's platform can replace other Enterprise level PPM solutions.

Regards,

Fabian