Brookfield Residential CIO Brandon Sharp emphasized the critical role of robust data governance as a prerequisite for successful AI implementation in the homebuilding industry. The company has spent eight years transforming its data infrastructure, investing significant internal hours and resources to establish a single source of truth. This foundational work enables better internal decision-making and enhances customer transparency.
For homebuilders facing market headwinds, establishing reliable data is crucial for making informed decisions and preparing for technological advancements like AI. Brookfield's approach demonstrates that foundational data quality is essential for both operational efficiency and a trustworthy customer experience.
Brookfield Residential is prioritizing data governance as a foundational step for adopting artificial intelligence, according to CIO Brandon Sharp. He noted that despite significant investments in enterprise software, many large homebuilders still struggle to establish a single, trustworthy source of truth for their data.
Sharp explained that achieving this requires genuine leadership belief, clear understanding of goals, and financial capital, alongside the dedicated time of team members managing daily operations. Brookfield embarked on a company-wide transformation in 2018, implementing an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system, a unified data schema, and an enterprise data warehouse. This effort, which continued through the pandemic, involved over 250,000 internal hours across 20 business groups and the implementation of seven major business systems.
The company's investment has yielded tangible benefits, starting with improved reporting on lot inventory, sales, and closings. As trust in the data grew, it became a tool for accountability, allowing for near real-time distribution of pricing and gross margin information to management teams. This ensures that individuals closest to transactions own the quality of the data.
Beyond internal efficiencies, Brookfield has leveraged its trusted data to enhance customer transparency. Public-facing systems now display available lots, pricing, options, and anticipated move-in timing, all derived from the same core data source. This consistency aims to improve the customer experience by ensuring that information presented internally, to sales counselors, and to customers is aligned.
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