At the 2023 Yardi Advanced Solutions Conference, Director of Sales Nima Farkhak led a panel with leading multifamily figures about trends impacting the industry — and the tech they’re using to get ahead. The conversation revolved around automation, fraud prevention and training. Particularly, how can multifamily organizations receive more employee buy-in when implementing new technology, and leverage that technology to maximize support for their employees? Panelists (pictured, right) included Leslie Henry, SVP of strategic solutions and development at Towne Properties and Josh Draughn, head of marketing at Weidner Apartment Homes. Read on for key takeaways. Automating early touchpoints significantly reduces site teams’ workloads Most multifamily operators agree that strategic automation is key to efficiency, resulting in streamlined workloads, satisfied employees and happier residents. “Automation is all about how we can give back valuable time to our associates, and we’ve found Chat IQ to be extremely helpful with that,” said Draughn. “Instant gratification is now expected, so our first automated engagement starts just five minutes after an initial contact. Then Chat IQ transitions the interaction to texting, which results in a faster response time.” Since implementing automation and Chat IQ, Draughn says that Weidner experienced a 15 percent reduction in advertising costs year over year. Transparent communication is key to achieving employee buy-in But there are challenges with implementing automation, artificial intelligence and new technology in general — especially when it comes to employee buy-in. Henry noted that most of Towne’s employees have been with the company for a long time and were opposed to change — until they saw its benefits firsthand. “After we implemented Chat IQ,” Henry said, “Our site teams quickly realized how useful it was in gaining back time. They love how it filtered out less promising leads in the beginning. But we also took their feedback if they didn’t like the way the bot was responding. We let them customize some aspects of the responses so there was more of a personal human touch.” Draughn agreed. “Getting buy-in at first will always be challenging,” he said. “But it’s all about how you communicate new changes and listen to their feedback. The human element in multifamily is always going to stay.” Deterring fraud with automation Multifamily organizations are also relying on technology to vet applicants more than ever. ID Verify uses facial recognition technology to confirm applicant identities. To do this, applicants take a selfie during the screening process, which is then matched with the official documents they submit. “Accuracy is one of the biggest benefits of automating the identity and income verification process,” Henry said, adding that automated technology has acted as a fraud deterrent, saving Towne thousands of dollars in the process. “In the beginning, I thought we were losing rentals,” Henry said. “But when we looked closer, it was because some IDs were so clearly fraudulent that the system weeded them out instantly. It saved us from dealing with them, them potentially living with us and us incurring bad debt.” Draughn agreed, noting that while there may be steps like taking selfies, genuine prospects will still follow through with the application. This allows leasing teams to avoid guesswork or repetitive communications. Streamlining online training As the pandemic shifted training methods from in-person to online, Towne Properties also turned to the learning management system Aspire for online training. “We’re learning about the product faster and it’s easier for us to train new employees,” Henry said, highlighting the ease brought by Aspire’s full integration with Towne’s solutions. “It feels good knowing that anyone can learn at their own pace with Aspire.” See it in action A connected solution can help you drive efficiency at every stage of your workflow, enhancing data connectivity and eliminating gaps. Want to see what this looks like in action? Watch a webinar to see how Yardi helps you streamline workflows, reduce fraud and enhance...

Yardi’s Advanced Solutions Conference kicked off Wednesday morning with over 4,000 attendees – making it the largest YASC ever – in attendance at the San Diego Convention Center. “We have 4,000 of the best minds in real estate in San Diego this week,” observed Esther Bonardi, a vice president at Yardi, as a packed room eagerly anticipated remarks from Anant Yardi, the company’s founder and CEO; as well as executives Rob Teel, Akshai Rao and Kevin Yardi. Anant Yardi, founder and CEO of Yardi, speaks at YASC in San Diego on Sept. 6, 2023. Photo credit: Julian Thomas, Yardi staff. The YASC opening session always offers an overview of real estate technology trends and insight into how they might play out within Yardi’s single connected solution for real estate companies. This year brought an especially exciting reveal: Voyager 8 is currently in limited release to clients and will be widely available beginning in January 2024. “The biggest thing with Voyager 8 to get excited about is the user experience. The user interface is completely different. It’s a big leap from Voyager 7S. It’s not a leap in terms of the upgrade process, though,” said Rob Teel, president of global solutions. “We are really excited about the upgrade process. This is going to be an opportunity for you to decide which users you want to start using Voyager 8. They can use 7S or 8, so you don’t have to choose. You can allow your users to get comfortable with Voyager 8 as you start to roll this out,” said Akshai Rao, president of residential. Clients were able to get detailed demos and highlights of the forthcoming release in spotlight sessions unique to their real estate verticals on Wednesday morning. In addition to the new user experience and simple upgrade process, Voyager 8 is built for compatibility with artificial intelligence (AI), promising a continual opportunity for real estate companies to use the new technology for efficiency and smoother operations. AI and real estate AI’s implications for business functions like marketing are evident across industries, but what about specific uses for real estate? That question was at the heart of Anant Yardi’s remarks on Wednesday morning. Noting that Yardi is fully committed to making use of AI in the most constructive and beneficial ways possible, Mr. Yardi said that he sees the incorporation of the technology as a gradual one. “The future of AI in real estate is not going to be some big bang type of change, that’s not going to happen,” Mr. Yardi said. He noted that Yardi has already made infrastructure investments that will provide processing bandwidth required for AI systems. Teel and Rao provided a look at Yardi products where AI is already incorporated and will have a growing role moving forward. They include chatbots, which already provide automated answers to prospect questions from multifamily clients; maintenance requests, which could be assigned prioritization and dispatch by AI; and a virtual Voyager assistant who will answer software questions, thanks to AI. “We are fully committed to this change and look at this as an opportunity to grow,” Mr. Yardi said. “Anytime there’s an opportunity to embrace and acknowledge change, I think lurking behind it, you’ll see an opportunity for growth.” Spotlight on corporate philanthropy The general session concluded with a look at Yardi’s corporate focus on philanthropy, which has been a longtime priority for the company. “Our guiding principles over the last 40 years and for the next 40 years are to take care of our clients, employees and communities, and candidly, we don’t often talk about what it means to take care of our communities, so I wanted to take this opportunity to spend a few minutes on it,” said Kevin Yardi, vice president. “We provide funding to our 40 offices around the world and our 9,000 employees help guide funding to nonprofits that are meaningful to...

Next month, thousands of Yardi clients from around the world will join together in learning, fellowship and fun. The occasion is YASC Global, the fourth annual virtual Yardi Advanced Solutions Conference, which happens March 1-2. The conference, which is offered free with automatic registration for all Yardi clients, will showcase the company’s latest technology innovation updates through hundreds of new on-demand classes and spotlight sessions delivered on the company’s Yardi® Aspire platform.. Commercial, multifamily, senior living, affordable and real estate investment management are just some of the areas covered in the 250-plus class offerings. And, and always, YASC Global isn’t just about work – it also lets participants catch up with their industry peers, interact with Yardi solution specialists, and win daily prizes and big grand prizes at the end of the conference. In short, it’s a lot of fun! “YASC Global helps our clients enhance the value they gain from their software, discover new solutions they might not be aware of, and connect with their fellow software users and our product experts – all of which move their business forward,” said Kevin Yardi, the company’s vice president of global solutions. The most recent YASC Global in March 2022 drew more than 15,000 clients who collectively attended more than 100,000 classes over three days. Two other online events in 2020 and 2021 also drew tens of thousands of participants. After YASC Global, Yardi will continue its series of popular in-person YASCs in Asia, the Middle East, North America and Australia/New Zealand this year. See the...

The Yardi Advanced Solutions Conference (YASC) returned in person for the first time in three years. The sold-out event welcomes 3,000 Yardi clients in San Diego, Calif. for three days of learning, networking, exposure to exciting new technologies, and fun. Yardi president and founder Anant Yardi addressed attendees at the San Diego Convention Center, the first time YASC has utilized such a large venue for its general session gatherings. The host hotel for the event is the Manchester Grand Hyatt, where classes and Knowledge Center, a technology resource lab, are taking place. “It is just so exciting to have this conference in person once again after almost a three-year hiatus. Thank you for making the time to be here and to enjoy the atmosphere, the educational sessions and to network with each other,” Mr. Yardi said. Marking the company’s 40th anniversary, Mr. Yardi shared his perspective on the changes that the pandemic will bring to real estate holistically. The last two and a half years have been transformative for the industry. “For me, change is not a setback. It’s an opportunity to figure out how to respond to a theme such as the pandemic and the things that we see occurring around us,” Mr. Yardi said. Anticipating a coworking boom Those pandemic-prompted changes include the vast numbers of knowledge workers no longer working in offices full time, and residential shifts that have taken place as the result of increased workplace flexibility. Mr. Yardi cited a recent CoreNet study that found that 29 percent of knowledge workers are not required to be in the office unless requested by a manager, and close to 60 percent are required to be there less than four days a week. This shift has been buoyed by employers finding that employees are just as productive at home as they are at the office – 83 percent of CoreNet corporate respondents stated this was the case. This change in where people are working portends a significant shift for the commercial office space market. “Corporate real estate agencies or employers are beginning to shed office space. They’re reducing their footprints,” he said, citing national average office vacancy rates that are averaging 16 percent, but are 20 percent in some major markets. Mr. Yardi expects that the shift in space utilization will create a boom for coworking spaces and services. He forecast that coworking space – places where traveling or fully remote employees can use temporarily to have meetings, use the Internet, answer emails or accomplish tasks – will become prolific in the next few years. “Today there are 6,000 coworking locations (nationally). And the expectation is that in three to five years, it will be close to 30 times that number, and every large building will end up with a coworking location,” Mr. Yardi said. “My suspicion is that in course of time, coworking will get to a point where sites such as Expedia will allow you to book your hotel, your airline and your coworking conference space.” Marking 40 years of real estate technology After sharing some of the highlights for other real estate sectors – including rising rents in the multifamily space, an increased focus on built-to-rent single family developments, and a need for more affordable housing nationwide – Mr. Yardi reflected on the journey Yardi has taken as a company over the last four decades. Sharing a photo of the Apple II, an 8-bit home computer on which he wrote the first basic program that became the start line for Yardi’s software, Mr. Yardi contrasted the laborious process of manually programming the original code with today’s AI algorithms, which enable the production of code via machine learning. “The reason I wanted to show this to you is that innovation is one thing, but when the markets change, technology changes,” Mr. Yardi said. “We all have to learn new things.” Yardi continues to innovate technology solutions...

Yardi is excited to welcome clients back in-person to the Yardi Advanced Solutions Conference (YASC) beginning Aug. 31, marking a return to real time after successful interactive virtual events over the last two years. The event is sold out with more than 3,000 clients expected to attend. Social media hashtag for the event will be #YASC2022. Be sure to download the conference app for fun games, interactive features and the full course schedule. Registered attendees have received a direct link to app via email. Attendees can also use the class list, course descriptions and agenda to prepare for their time in San Diego. YASC combines classroom learning with social activities in a beautiful seaside setting. The event will feature more than 280 unique classes presented in 300-plus sessions, with some classes offered multiple times. The classes and dozens of product experts will give thousands of real estate professionals in attendance insight into Yardi software solutions that improve efficiency in marketing, leasing, acquisition, energy management, investing and other operations. Yardi experts will provide personalized consultations and panel sessions will examine key industry trends. Exclusive live outdoor entertainment and fun social activities comprise other elements of a memorable experience at the Manchester Grand Hyatt San Diego, the new host resort on San Diego’s waterfront. You don’t want to miss it! During the pandemic, YASC was held as successful interactive virtual events in May and October 2020, May 2021 and March 2022. The events drew tens of thousands of attendees from more than 60 countries. Virtual YASC events will continue on an annual basis, with dates for 2023 to be announced soon. “We’re proud that our clients continued to gain value from virtual gatherings but there’s nothing like meeting face-to-face with colleagues. Our software is designed to connect people and communities, and we look forward to continuing that effort in San Diego,” said Kevin Yardi, the company’s vice president of global solutions. International clients can see what’s planned for regional in-person YASCs around the world in 2022. YASC Sydney is set for Sept. 20-21. YASC London is planned for Nov. 8-9. YASC Asia will return in Spring 2023, with a location to be announced...

The Yardi Advanced Solutions Conference, which began as two annual events in the U.S. and expanded to encompass six events on four continents, will soon continue its two-decade tradition of helping clients maximize the value of their Yardi software. ”The reason I enjoy YASC is to see new product developments and to understand how other corporations are using the platform,” said Katerina Urquhart of London-based M&G Real Estate, who attended YASC Europe in 2019. “I was able to take classes on the newest products, ask questions on topics I didn’t fully understand and dig into things that interest me,” Marcie Trivette of Fore Property in Las Vegas said last year. “No matter how big or small, every client has a voice with Yardi, and these sessions are great ways to reinforce that,” an executive director with Laramar Communities LLC of Greenwood Village, Colo., noted back in 2010. Last year’s presentations were different, of course. All YASC events were combined into YASC Digital and YASC Global, virtual experiences with a full slate of free on-demand classes, social activities and gala entertainment. YASC Global in October drew more than 20,000 attendees and featured an exclusive performance from internationally acclaimed Icelandic band Of Monsters And Men. With every view triggering a donation from Yardi, the event earned $75,000 for charities. A two-time Grammy Award-winning performer is on tap for the May conference and Yardi again will make a donation for every attendee viewing the show. The next edition of YASC Global happens May 18-20, with 280-plus classes on the latest software innovations for property owners, asset managers, real estate investment managers and others working in commercial, residential, PHA, senior living and other real estate markets. Live chat support will also be available. YASC Global participants can also look forward to social media interaction, daily giveaways, networking opportunities and entertainment. All Yardi clients are automatically enrolled in the conference. “This is the era of continuous connection. But in the world of business, continuous connection hasn’t fully come to fruition. Our goal is to make that happen and provide the tools and technologies that you need,” company president and founder Anant Yardi told 2,500 Yardi clients and staff members who gathered in San Diego for YASC in 2019. Two years later, in vastly different circumstances, that remains the purpose of YASC. Learn more about the benefits Yardi’s global client base gains from this...

October 20-22, Yardi provided three days of education, training, inspiration and support to clients during the YASC Global conference. The expansion of the online event to attendees worldwide, building on a U.S.-focused event held in May, was well received. Over 20,000 attendees, representing more than 2,500 companies from 58 countries, took 45,000 courses over 72 hours. The event was hosted on the Yardi Aspire learning platform. Anant Yardi, founder and president of Yardi, delivered an introduction to the event and remarked on the rapid adaptations real estate professionals have made worldwide. “Last year we had six different conferences: Washington, D.C., San Diego, London, Dubai, Singapore and Sydney. They were festive occasions where we had the opportunity to meet and greet you. Today, things have changed,” Mr. Yardi said. “We now work from home. We no longer meet face to face, but through digital media. And as all of this is going on, we yearn for those good old days. I don’t know about you, but it sure is nice to meet face to face. And we look forward to the day when we can do that.” But to help deal with the “new normal” that the real estate industry now faces, Yardi has continued to expand its product suites to assist with remote business management, data transparency, social distancing, working from home and much more. These features augment the business and accounting features that have made Yardi the go-to technology provider for real estate over the last 40 years. Product spotlights During YASC Spotlight sessions, clients heard from Yardi executives about the development and progress of product suites, including Affordable Housing, Commercial, Investment Management, Multifamily, Senior Living, and Public Housing. There were also regional updates for international clients from Asia, Australia/New Zealand, Europe and the Middle East. “Through a single connected solution, we remain focused on providing a set of products and services that have a real impact on your property operations and property performance. These products help to create transparency and efficiencies in the interest of reducing risk, reducing expenses, increasing revenues and increasing property values,“ said John Pendergast, senior vice president at Yardi. Products highlighted for multifamily operators were RENTCafé Reach search marketing;  Marketing IQ, a new marketing analytics product; RENTCafé  Self-Guided Tours, which allows socially distanced property tours; RENTCafé Chat IQ, an automated marketing assistant using AI and machine learning; Maintenance IQ; Asset IQ; and the Procure to Pay suite. “There have been some dramatic changes. Remote working, asset distress, residents and tenants’ ability to pay rent, and a real focus on data have been part of our conversations with clients both big and small, operational or institutional ownership. The challenges are common across the different platforms and client perspectives,” shared Richard Malpica, vice president and general manager, Eastern region for Yardi, in the investment management spotlight. While different commercial real estate sectors have been affected uniquely, data visibility and the ability to access operational data have been especially important to investors and operators alike. The Investment Management product suite provides tools to deliver data transparency, risk exposure analysis and real time reporting that investors are seeking now. “Though we have incredible optimism about the next 18 months, it is important that we acknowledge the hardship that many of you have faced in a personal and professional manner,” said Rob Teel, senior vice president at Yardi, in the commercial product spotlight. “I want to assure you that Yardi has passionately contributed philanthropically and to professional trade organizations to help with a global rebound from this crisis.” Commercial clients learned about the latest updates to the Yardi Commercial Suite, including Yardi Elevate, which sits on top of Yardi Voyager and provides operational tools to drive performance and gain operational visibility. Leasing, forecasting, deals, retail tenants and construction projects all have specialized management modules and reporting oversight within Yardi Elevate. Its real time informational visibility has been especially beneficial...

Yardi is closely monitoring recommendations from national and international organizations including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization and taking the following measures to protect and support its clients, employees and communities during the COVID-19 outbreak: Client Support Property managers’ obligations to tenants, residents, employees and communities continue even in this period of extreme disruption. The Yardi team is actively working on tools and training to help clients ensure business continuity, safety and productivity in this new near-term reality of far more remote work and social distancing. The company will offer free online training courses to help its clients continue to work as productively, efficiently and securely as possible. Yardi is following its own business continuity protocols to ensure uninterrupted client services and encourages clients to contact their client services representatives for help during this difficult time. Employee Support Most of the Yardi team has transitioned to a remote work environment. Healthcare and nursing resources are available to all employees, as are counseling and therapy resources. The company has heightened office hygiene and cleaning protocols for those who remain onsite to deliver essential services. In addition, Yardi postponed or canceled all near-term in-person events and ceased travel in favor of online alternatives. The spring Yardi Advanced Solutions Conference (YASC) has transitioned to a free online presentation for Yardi clients. Industry events that the company normally participates in have been postponed or canceled by their sponsoring organizations. Community Support In addition to the time, energy and financial support that Yardi traditionally donates to philanthropic organizations, we have committed $2 million to food banks and other nonprofits on the front lines of their communities’ fight against COVID-19. “Our team is navigating the COVID-19 crisis with the same philosophy that has guided us for more than three decades: take care of our clients, our employees and our communities. We are confident that all of us will unite to subdue COVID-19, and we’ll emerge from this challenge stronger than ever,” said Anant Yardi, the company’s president and founder. Read a letter from Mr. Yardi on our support resources page. ** Everyone should conduct their own planning based on their specific location and circumstances. While we are dedicated to providing general information to our clients, it is not intended to be healthcare or legal advice. Please consult appropriate government agencies and authorities, as well as healthcare and legal...

A special anniversary Yardi Advanced Solutions Conference (YASC) kicked off this morning in beautiful San Diego, with 2,500 Yardi clients and staff members in attendance for the 20th edition of the event. Yardi president and founder Anant Yardi reflected on the early years of the conference in his opening remarks. “About 200 people attended the first YASC, and we were thinking, how will we cope with 200 guests?” Mr. Yardi reminisced. “Those 200 people would only fill the first two rows of seats here today.” Mr. Yardi then invited two clients who have been to almost every YASC event, Alex Ruiz of Picerne and Carol Kelly Ball of Sierra Properties, to join him on the stage. Yardi employees Nancy Bogg and Anna Markmann, who have worked on the production of every YASC conference, were also honored. YASC is now a global event, with six conferences annually around the world. In addition to the two U.S. based events, there are conferences in the United Arab Emirates, Australia, Singapore and England. Meanwhile, Yardi has grown to a company size of almost 7,000 employees at 45 offices around the world. Two decades on, Yardi’s corporate focus and mission statement remains the same: focused on client and employee success, stellar customer service, innovating new products and platforms and assisting local communities with philanthropy and volunteerism. At the heart of each of those items is the importance of relationships. One of the most valuable aspects of the YASC events is the chance for Yardi to receive feedback and suggestions from clients, and for clients to learn about new products and solve business challenges. In his remarks, Mr. Yardi offered a compelling history of technological innovation over the last 20 years, summarizing the transition from the early days of dot com, to the mobile and social media revolution, to today’s era of big data, artificial intelligence, and the Internet of Things. “This is the era of continuous connection. But in the world of business, continuous connection hasn’t fully come to fruition. Our goal is to make that happen and provide the tools and technologies that you need,” Mr. Yardi said. Yardi clients look forward to hearing about forthcoming advances in products and innovation at YASC, and Wednesday’s general session offered a breadth of such insight. Following Mr. Yardi’s presentation, Rob Teel, senior vice president, and Kevin Yardi, vice president, consulting practices, offered a detailed look at the Yardi Elevate suite for operational performance, Yardi Energy Suite for energy management, and Yardi Kube for coworking management. “We’re not just chasing dreams,” Mr. Teel said. “Most of the things that Anant mentioned, there are solutions at the end of it that will help your business.” Attendees at YASC will explore those solutions over the next two and a half days and also have a little fun. A special #YASCTurns20 party is planned for Thursday night on the U.S.S. Midway, near the conference venue on the San Diego waterfront. Find a full lineup of YASC highlights and information. To follow along with the event, use the hashtag #YASCTurns20 and follow Yardi on your favorite social media channel:...

The 20th Yardi Advanced Solutions Conference (YASC) returns to San Diego, Calif., this Wednesday to Friday, October 16-18. The annual user conference will offer in-depth training, networking and fun for Yardi clients, including a special milestone anniversary celebration. We can’t reveal all the surprises in store, but this is one event you won’t want to miss. “We’re excited to welcome our valued clients to the 20th edition YASC in San Diego. From its early days as a small gathering in Santa Barbara, this special event has grown to be one of the largest and most enjoyable user conferences around. We hope you enjoy the special surprises in store for this year – they’re our way of saying thank you for your support and participation.” Get a preview of YASC San Diego: Yardi Events app Get connected at YASC with the Yardi Events app on your smartphone. Attendees can access all conference information, venue maps, class materials, social networking, in-app messaging and more. Customize your daily schedule with classes, demos, panels and roundtables, and set up one-on-one meetings with Yardi staff. The Yardi Events app is available for download in the Google Play Store and Apple App Store. A browser-based version, synced to the mobile app, will also be available, so attendees can access the app features from their desktop. User log-in details have been emailed to all registered YASC attendees. Questions? Email our team at [email protected]. Get personal attention Did you know our Knowledge Central experts have an average Yardi tenure of nearly 5 years? We’ve brought together a friendly group of experts that includes team leads, consultants, and senior account managers to answer your toughest questions, solve your trickiest challenges, and guide you through our newest software solutions. Find Knowledge Central operating hours in the Yardi Events app and be sure to visit our team on the Hilton San Diego Bayfront Indigo Level. Connect with others How many industry connections can you make in three days? There will be over 1,500 attendees representing nearly every segment of the real estate sector at YASC. The conference will offer expanded opportunities to connect with peers in your industry, including morning wellness activities, scheduled breaks and networking receptions. For all conference activities and receptions, bring your conference name badge and get ready to network! Visit the Networking Lounge, located on the Aqua Level, to network with others in your market, check in at the office and recharge your devices. Celebrate with us Learning is first and foremost at YASC, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have a good time too! Join us at the Networking Reception on Wednesday evening for cocktails and appetizers. It’s a fun way to wind down and get to know Yardi staff and other YASC attendees. On Thursday night, it’s time to party! The Yardi Party is always packed with music and fun with your new friends from the conference, and we’ve got big plans for our 20th anniversary, so you won’t want to miss this. Don’t forget that your conference name badge is your all-access pass for conference activities and receptions. Please be sure to wear it at all times. New this year: fitness activities on Thursday morning If you enjoy getting a workout in before the day begins, you’ll love our new yoga and running opportunities, set for Thursday morning from 6:45-7:45am at the Bayfront Park (outside the Hilton). Follow the signs to the yoga class or join us for a variety of run distance options! It’s a wonderful time of year to exercise outside in beautiful San Diego. Get social Share your conference experience on social media using the event hashtag #YASCTurns20. Follow Yardi on your favorite social networks for conference news, prizes and more. Connect with Yardi on our corporate blog, LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Interested in joining us at the 20th annual YASC event in San Diego? Add your name to the...

The first Yardi Advanced Solutions Conference (YASC) of 2019 kicked off this morning in Washington, D.C., where over 2100 attendees are gathered to improve their knowledge of Yardi’s products and services, network with peers, and have a little fun. “What do you say this week we turn Washington, D.C. into our nation’s real estate technology capital?” said Esther Bonardi, Yardi vice president of marketing, as the general session kicked off. The conference is the largest YASC to date. With a focus on sharing information, educating users on how to get the most out of their Yardi platform, learning about new products and features, and connecting with fellow real estate professionals, YASC is also a place where attendees answer important questions. “How do you elevate your company to that next level? You do it by gaining information,” said Bonardi, introducing Anant Yardi, company founder and president, during the general session. Continuous communication Mr. Yardi focused his remarks on the theme of continuous connection and how it can be beneficial for business relationships. “This day and age of continuous connection doesn’t necessarily mean we are communicating all the time. But it does mean that we are available, and we respond.” While displaying an image of a group of people around a dinner table, all intently staring at their smartphones, Mr. Yardi suggested that perhaps the group all had various roles in the real estate industry, as well as the capability to respond to customer and client requests, anytime and anywhere. Yardi’s technology platform already allows real estate professionals to accommodate such requests, but as Mr. Yardi and the executives who presented after him Tuesday morning demonstrated, the company is poised to deliver even more innovation. “Our goal is to provide a connection between the business, the consumer and the property,” said Mr. Yardi, introducing the concept of “business to property” transactions. “As we think about continuous communication, the basic way we do real estate doesn’t change. But the way we transact business may change.” Yardi has positioned its platform to facilitate that change with solutions like Yardi Elevate for improving asset performance and Yardi Kube for coworking management, a potential way for property managers to capitalize on unused space, and the Yardi Pulse platform, which can monitor energy use and automate energy management, leading to waste reduction. Future-focused product development YASC attendees also got a sneak preview of Yardi’s forthcoming smart home technology solution which will allow property managers and residents to easily manage connected services like utilities and door locks, all from an app-based interface. “Using a single app, a resident should be able to make payments, enter service requests, request concierge services, but also make sure that the door is locked,” Mr. Yardi said. Such a hub will also have advantages for property managers, who will be able to manage the utilities and locks of vacant units all from a centralized dashboard. John Pendergast, Yardi senior vice president, multifamily services, went into more details on the convenience, security, comfort and automation that Yardi’s new smart home technology solution will provide. The morning presentation concluded with remarks from Rob Teel, Yardi senior vice president, global solutions, and Akshai Rao, Yardi vice president of energy and procurement. Teel introduced the Yardi Elevate platform, which is powered by big data, market data from Yardi Matrix and uses predictive analytics and prescriptive actions to increase revenue, decrease expenses, increase asset value and reduce risk. “Yardi Elevate will help you answer forward-thinking questions, like how much should I spend on marketing next month. These are not the accounting questions you’d be answering with Yardi Voyager. The goal is to help you make better business decisions,” Teel said. Yardi Elevate provides next-level insight into asset performance, budgeting and forecasting, construction and facility management, and more. Community connections Rao concluded the general session with a look at Yardi’s corporate philanthropy programs, which offer employees in each...