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The Journey Continues
By Katrina McDowell on Aug 27, 2024 in Events
It’s a milestone year for Yardi, and the air was buzzing with excitement as nearly 4,500 real estate technology leaders gathered in San Diego this morning to kick off the 2024 Yardi Advanced Solutions Conference (YASC). The theme of this year’s event is “the journey continues,” and it promises to be an exhilarating and insightful three-day experience for all YASC attendees.
Kicking off the General Session, Esther Bonardi, vice president of corporate marketing and REACH by RentCafe, reflected on the company’s innovative past and exciting present.
“The journey does not stop here and goes into the future, and maybe (this week), you will share something with us that goes into our future,” Bonardi said. YASC attendees received a commemorative silver coin marking a “moment in time, and we hope you go back home and remember you were here when Yardi hit 40 years.”
Guiding principles and great determination
Yardi founder and CEO, Anant Yardi, shared his personal memories of starting Yardi on his Apple II computer in Santa Barbara, Calif. Later in the opener, his son Kevin Yardi, today the company’s vice president, recalled falling asleep to the sound of his father’s keystrokes as he programmed late into the night.
In the early 1980s, Mr. Yardi shared that his claim to fame was that those using Yardi software only needed one floppy disk for the program, instead of the more common three or four. The Apple II Mr. Yardi worked on made the trip to San Diego for the 40-year anniversary, demurely sharing the stage with all speakers.
“At any point of time throughout the 40 years at Yardi, there was always a vision and a goal,” Mr. Yardi said. Despite early setbacks, he relied on “tenacity and a degree of stubbornness to keep at it, accompanied by optimism and clarity.”
“Any growth must be planned and orchestrated with rapid learning and execution,” Mr. Yardi noted. He shared a poignant personal story – in the late 1990s, his late father encouraged him to quit while he was ahead, suggesting that as the business grew larger, the more complaints and challenges he would encounter. Mr. Yardi politely declined to follow the advice. Since then, the company has grown from around 300 staff members to over 9,500.
“Behind every challenge lurks an opportunity, so when you’re challenged, recognize there is an opportunity lurking behind it. I would like to see the journey continue with all these traditions and guiding principles. At the end of these 40 years, there’s humility and gratitude. In terms of gratitude, without our clients and employees, this wouldn’t have happened,” Mr. Yardi said.
Cutting edge technology and artificial intelligence
Rob Teel, president of global solutions, and Akshai Rao, president of residential, took the stage to share exciting news about Yardi Voyager 8 and Virtuoso.
Introduced at last year’s YASC and now adopted by over 1,500 Yardi clients, Voyager 8 features engaging dashboards, seamless and easy data, and offers business insights not just for accounting. It’s an ideal platform for even the most tech-skeptical executive or portfolio owner.
The upgrade to Voyager 8 is simple and scalable. “You can go at your own pace,” Rao noted. Voyager 8 can be rolled out to some teams or properties first, rather than to the entire company at once. “Let us help you, we are here to help.”
Virtuoso, Yardi’s artificial intelligence solution, continues to evolve with a mobile app set to launch in Q1 2025. Virtuoso features include a chatbot, smart AP and leasing features, and a virtual assistant, which will improve decision-making, task management and efficiency.
Another neat Virtuoso feature will include Marketplace ordering, which is like Google Lens and will allow team members to take a photo of a product and source it immediately. For those who might still be iffy about using AI, Rao said: “We will always back up AI with human intelligence, our teams’ knowledge and support, and we will always be here to support you.”
Defining Yardi: Family, friendly and fun
Kevin Yardi closed out the general session with a look at Yardi’s keystone principles, global philanthropic efforts and a very exciting announcement about Tuesday night’s entertainment for event attendees.
At the heart of it all is relationships. Mr. (Kevin) Yardi shared that Yardi staff members attending YASC this week average more than 10 years with the company, as do more than 1,000 of the client companies in attendance.
“We know that as with any relationship, it takes work, it takes maintenance, but know we have your long-term best interests at heart,” he said. The support of Yardi clients allows the company to support hundreds of philanthropic organizations globally each year, many selected by employees at the company’s 40 offices. Other donations are made to support communities in crisis, such as wildfires, hurricanes, tsunamis and other natural disasters.
A poignant video introduced attendees to the Yardi scholarship program, which is new in the last two years to the company’s philanthropic portfolio and is expanding, with 125 students and 28 universities supported for the 2024-2025 school year.
“Finding out I was awarded this scholarship my sophomore year removed the doubt from my mind of whether or not I was going to be able to continue my education here at Morehouse College,” said one of the Yardi scholarship recipients featured in the video.
“I just felt incredibly blessed that a scholarship program has recognized me. The Yardi scholarship has been the key to achieving my dreams and progressing my self-development,” said another. The scholarship program focuses on students who are the first generation of their families to attend college. Learn more at yardi.org.
To close out his remarks, Kevin Yardi shared a big surprise – Tuesday night’s exclusive concert for attendees at the Rady Shell will feature none other than legendary rock band Journey.
“To those who have been closely watching and listening to the general session, you may have heard us use the word journey a few times. We are over the moon to share that Journey is playing tonight,” he said.
Don’t stop believing – there’s a reason the #YardiParty has become a signature draw for every YASC event.
The journey continues – this week and beyond
The YASC journey continues through Thursday with a stimulating combination of classroom instruction, real-time consultations with Yardi solution experts and interaction with industry peers. Networking receptions and the Yardi party make YASC an event to look forward to year after year.
For social media coverage, find frequent updates on Instagram @yardisystems, on Facebook and LinkedIn @Yardi, and use the hashtag #YASC2024.
