Voyager Suite
Virtuoso
Investment Suite
RentCafe Suite
REACH by RentCafe
CommercialCafe Suite
Elevate Suite
Procure to Pay Suite
Aspire
Yardi Kube Suite
Yardi Corom
This year, international proptech specialist and software developer Yardi, was once again represented with a large stand at EXPO REAL in Munich. Senior Director of sales for Europe, Richard Gerritsen, spoke to HI HEUTE editor-in-chief, Thorsten Müller, about current developments in retail real estate and how the HI industry deals with the topics of digitalisation and AI.
HI TODAY: Where do you see the proptech industry and Yardi at the moment?
Richard Gerritsen: The proptech industry is continuing to grow as businesses see the benefits and true ROI of proptech. As I’ve said before, 70% of businesses recognise the adoption of technology as a business topic. They’re starting to accept how it is instrumental in helping them with their every day as well as their plans for growth.
The real estate industry is focused on the growing concerns of cost savings and sustainability. Proptechs need to be able to evolve with the real estate owners, managers and operators and with the changing market demands. Hybrid working is here to stay and businesses are looking at downsizing their offices. Especially as tenants look for more sustainable buildings. In a recent article, it highlighted how HSBC is showing foresight by moving to a smaller, greener, more flexible headquarters that is more convenient for employees.
Yardi prides itself on its innovative solutions that help streamline property, asset and accounting management. In the last 15 years, we have evolved from a property management software provider to a cloud services company for real estate investment and asset management. We work closely with our clients to ensure our solutions can support their requirements. As the market changes, the business requirements change, so our solutions need to be flexible and adapt to any changes in business processes and business operations.
To what extent have ESG issues, which are increasingly becoming the focus of many companies, changed your business?
At Yardi, we pride ourselves on our commitment to our customers and employees, giving back to communities and continuing to invest in innovation. To help our clients, we will soon introduce Yardi Pulse Energy Management. This recognises the importance of energy efficiency for all property managers.
Yardi Pulse allows clients to explore methods of reducing their property’s energy consumption, enhancing resident comfort and simplifying analysis and reporting with automated energy management solutions.
What is the current state of interest and readiness for digitalisation among companies involved in retail? Are there any significant changes compared to the previous year?
Many companies were required to reevaluate their strategies in recent years and this transformation continues. As previously mentioned, 70% of businesses now acknowledge technology is a business topic. This shows how companies are realising technology is essential for enhancing their operations.
However, although industry professionals may recognise the role of technology, it is still not always seen as a priority. There is hesitation to embrace digitalisation as companies want to know what their return on investment will be. The question still is, what will be the cost of not investing in technology?
Digitalisation represents a strategic business decision that drives the future of an organisation. Our Asset Management Suite has already helped clients save many hours of data gathering and strategic planning, reduced the leasing planning cycle by 40% and saved 50% of time from automatic reporting. The end-to-end solution helps to easily evaluate current and future occupancy with visual floor plans, helps attract prospects, improves customer experience and provides better analytical insights with a click of a button.
ChatGPT and AI in general are more popular than ever before. What influence does this have at Yardi?
We introduced Yardi Voyager 8 in September, which is scheduled for introduction in Europe in Q4 2024 and has powerful AI functions. This is expected to expand in the years to come. These asset management solutions delve deep into operational data, going beyond mere presentation by providing predictive insights and prescriptive recommendations. These intuitive solutions play a pivotal role in enhancing portfolio performance by effectively cutting costs, mitigating risks and boosting revenue.
Every process in real estate, whether it’s residential, retail, commercial or even coworking, is digitalised in our platform. In the industry, it’s evident that clients and customers often gather data from disparate sources, overlooking the importance of establishing a robust data foundation. This foundational data can be harnessed for AI applications, predictive analysis and future-proofing their business.
The KPIs and predictive analysis generated by AI empower us to make informed decisions. With a strong data foundation and aggregating this data, companies can operate more efficiently and make better business decisions.
What are your business goals until the end of the year?
Compared to other European countries, Germany is still behind in adopting new and modern technologies. It is my goal for the next 18-24 months to speed up this adoption process.
Data and technology are business-crucial factors in real estate – especially as more businesses venture into mixed-use portfolios. Real estate shouldn’t be relying on outdated software such as spreadsheets that require extensive manual input. Technology helps to lower costs, save money, streamline processes and automate complexities. Proptech can save 50% of your time through automation alone. It’s no longer a viable option to not invest in technology, especially when planning for growth.
Yardi will continue to help real estate businesses thrive with the use of a connected solution and one source of truth. By investing in the right technology and understanding the true ROI, real estate owners and operators can transform the way their business operates.
Originally posted on HIH 10/12/2023, “Technology paths enjoy recognition, but are not yet a priority” – Photo: HI HEUTE/Bettina Meirose
