YASC DC 2013

New frontier of mobile technology

By Erica Rascón on May 21, 2013 in News | 1 Comment

Today marks the kickoff of Yardi’s semiannual Advanced Solutions Conference (YASC) in Washington, D.C. Over 1,200 clients have gathered at the Washington Hilton for three days of intensive classes and labs facilitated by Yardi’s software experts.

This morning, founder and president Anant Yardi issued the welcoming address. After more than 30 years in business, Mr. Yardi acknowledged that there are a few things that have not and will not change: Yardi’s focus on customer satisfaction, innovation, integrity, respect, open communication and an atmosphere of camaraderie remain at the heart of company operations.

With those strong values as a foundation, Yardi approaches the coming years with a series of new products and mobile advancements. A few highlights include:

HOUSINGCafé, a new tool for the affordable housing community that assists clients and housing professionals from start to finish. The software serves as an affordable real estate ILS, connecting potential tenants to available listings with ease. Housing providers can advertise properties and then direct interested parties to apply online. Housing providers also gain access to a customizable system that configures to the unique needs of various levels of compliance.

For tenants, the software serves as a step-by-step guide for submitting housing applications and supporting documentation online. As a result of HOUSINGCafé, both clients and housing providers receive the gift of time: fewer meetings, fewer trips to the bank and post office, and much more.  Concord, which collaborated with Yardi on the software’s development, recorded a 50% drop in the time required to complete an income certification.

Mobile technology innovation continues to be a major focus for the company. Tablet usage in corporate America is expected to grow 48% in coming years. To meet the demand, Yardi is introducing a line of products that is compatible with tablets and other mobile devices. Voyager, Yardi’s premiere web-based enterprise management system, has gone mobile. Voyager 7S brings the fully integrated real estate software to the complete spectrum of mobile devices worldwide. Clients can operate Voyager 7S on any mobile device with any browser, anywhere. Mobile access to Yardi Leasing Pad and Yardi PopCard via Voyager will continue as well, giving leasing professionals full access to property and tenant information on the go.

Maintenance technicians will soon have access to the Mobile Maintenance Manager, an expanded mobile solution for accessing, scheduling and logging maintenance requests. This new tool helps property managers fill tenants needs more efficiently, facilitating a property that is responsive and proactive.

Additional new product improvements include updates to RentCafé and Yardi Orion for SharePoint.

RENTCafé, Yardi’s web-based leasing marketing solution, has enhanced its offerings to include reputation management capabilities in addition to social media management. Facebook pages can now include lists of property amenities and floor plans in addition to ILS syndication tools, and tenant portals for online rent payments and service request.

As the go-to source for business intelligence and collaboration, Yardi Orion for SharePoint now furnishes users with enhanced reporting tools that make accessing, sharing, and reporting management data easier than ever.

These product developments come in response to the dynamic housing industry and feedback from Yardi clients across the globe. Yardi strives to create products that meet the changing needs of clients. Mr. Yardi quoted Thomas Edison: “Anything that won’t sell, I don’t want to invent,” noting the innovative technology must be useful to be successful.

By equipping clients with practical, helpful resources, Yardi positions clients with the tools needed to be industry leaders, offering software products that promote objective assessment for effective decision marking and goal setting. Additionally, the products allow company leadership and stakeholders to share information, creating a united vision for the future.

Moving forward, Yardi has committed to staying abreast of the latest technology trends while paving the way for the future with insightful innovations. Our team in Washington looks forward to sharing more details about those innovations with you today and over the next two days.

Day One Recap: Customization is Key

Yardi prides itself on creating products that cater to the unique needs of our clients. The flexible nature of Yardi software proved to be a reoccurring theme in today’s sessions. Clients discovered the numerous ways that Yardi’s customizes the user experience; in turn, Yardi representatives received excellent feedback on how we can improve our services.

Technology Roundtable

Voyager 7S caught tons of buzz today, particularly among the New Technology Roundtable group. Many clients are experimenting with tablet usage at various levels. Voyager 7S allows clients with BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) offices to access the Voyager suite on any tablet using any browser.

The Mobile Maintenance Manager module, which will be compatible with Voyager 7S, has gained plenty of momentum before its release. The Mobile Maintenance Manager will allow clients to streamline their products and create consistency between properties and departments.

One Class A residential client has already switched to a tablet-dependent office. Without laptops or computers, lasing agents and office staff rely on their tablets for day-to-day tasks. It has been a huge success. By simply docking their tablets (which operate on Windows 8) users gain access to their company’s Yardi products with the added flexibility of a mobile device that they can carry with them around the property. Voyager 7S fits the client’s vision for computer-free offices throughout their portfolio.

Student Housing

Student housing specialists were excited to learn that Voyager7 and 7S will be compatible with a new module that is slated to release June 2013. The Voyager for Student Housing session introduced clients to basic features of the program that are customized specifically for student renters.

-More precise organization of items, such as building, floor, unit, room and bed-specific distinctions
-Accommodates various academic term lengths and variations in rental agreements between individual inhabitants of any units
-Users can create waitlists for students
-A completely customizable roommate survey to promote tenant compatibility
-Compatible with Resident Screening modules
-Extended forecasting, expanding the scope of the current Yardi Voyager Residential
-An ILS for student housing that also allows students to apply for housing online and fill out roommate questionnaire
-Property owners and managers can take advantage of reputation management tools, online application and document processing

After the product introduction, the team opened the floor for questions and comments; it was an engaging and insightful session. Developers were on hand to take note of recommended changes and adjustments to create a product that  reflects of what matters to student housing clients.

Canadian Residential Services

Yardi has made numerous enhancements to improve residential operations software for our clients in Manitoba, British Columbia, and Ontario clients.

-Easier form submission via XML format for the Manitoba property registry
-Accommodations for new MPAC regulations in Ontario
-Enhancements to general ledger posting utilities
-The full selection of Yardi cloud computing— General Cloud, Private Cloud and SaaS Select—should be available next year
-Manitoba clients can enjoy easier application of variable security deposits and interest rates with Voyager 7 and 7S
-The new Social Housing Café, slated for 2014, will be customized for nonprofit and co-op properties

In Their Own Words

After a whirlwind of classes and information, Yardi clients ended the day with a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment. Hear what they had to say:

“There are so many class options, so much to learn—yet only one me. I can’t be everywhere that I want to be and learn everything at once. Oh well, it gives me a reason to go to Anaheim this fall!”

“The sessions have been informative and the instructors are very knowledgeable. I think the financial reporting panel was the best so far, covering several topics that interested me. It also gave me an idea of other classes that I want to attend.”

“We’ve only used Yardi [Voyager] for eight months. This conference is opening my eyes to lots of new features and existing features that I just didn’t know about. We’re already planning to bring more staff out next year so we can get the most out of the product.”

“I really appreciate that there are software developers in many of these meetings. They are actually listening, taking note, and planning to make the changes that we need to do our jobs better.”

YASC participants are encouraged to participate in the YASC VIP Giveaway. Simply follow Yardi’s LinkedIn page and submit your email address on The Balance Sheet, Yardi’s corporate blog. Participants will be entered for a chance to win free attendance to Yardi’s Fall 2013 YASC event in Santa Barbara or YASC Spring 2014 in Washington, D.C.—a $995 value. The winner will also receive $500 VISA giftcard