YASC 2018

Change is incremental – and good

By Leah Etling on May 30, 2018 in News

Washington, D.C. (May 30, 2018) – Kicking off Yardi’s Advanced Solutions Conference (YASC) at the Washington Hilton, Yardi president and founder Anant Yardi shared his perspective on change.

“For me, change is incremental. It’s not disruptive. Change is something we have to count on. If you are successful in making small steps over the course of time, you will be successful,” Mr. Yardi stated before more than 2,000 Yardi clients and employees gathered for the East Coast education and networking event. A West Coast YASC will be held in San Diego in September.

In a 45-minute talk reflecting on the company’s development history and looking toward the future, the focus was on new lines of product development that Yardi has underway to help its clients meet their real estate and investment goals. The technology company’s goal is to help clients increase revenues and asset values while reducing costs and risk. Energy solutions, coworking management, and a full asset management suite were presented as ways to help achieve those goals.

Mr. Yardi offered attendees a sneak preview of the Yardi Elevate Suite, an operational performance solution that includes in-depth operations data, deal management, market insight, predictive insights, budgeting, business intelligence and revenue forecasting. The product builds on the proven Deal Manager solution and will incorporate additional new tools, including Forecast Manager, Construction Manager, Retail Manager and Facility Manager.

Another area of focus was Yardi’s growing commitment to coworking, including the leasing of vacant space for shared and temporary workers. The company has made two recent acquisitions in the area, including Wun Systems and most recently Phoenix Broadband, a Scottish company that created a platform for managing technology resources in a shared workspace.

“It seems to us that this is a new category of asset type. The number of coworking locations will double or triple within the next five years,” Mr. Yardi shared. Using Yardi’s coworking platform, commercial real estate companies will be able to convert vacant space into a revenue generator.

Utility management was another area of focus. Yardi has also made significant investment in the energy space over recent years, and has combined its acquisitions to create the Yardi Smart Energy Suite. The suite provides enhanced visibility of daily energy use and advanced fault detection. Mr. Yardi shared that the company used the system to reduce spending on energy at its corporate office by 20 percent.

With so many new and exciting directions for the company – which now has more than 6,000 employees worldwide – Mr. Yardi shared that sometimes it “feels like a collection of startups” working on future focused initiatives. But above all, Yardi maintains its commitment to listening to and responding its clients’ software needs.

“We want to maintain our culture of dialogue and candor, and we appreciate you responding in a similar way,” Mr. Yardi said.

The bi-annual YASC events are great for client education, networking, exposure to new products, and more. As vice president of marketing Esther Bonardi said Wednesday morning: “This is your event. It’s not for us. It’s all about you.” Clients especially enjoy a gala evening Thursday night with dinner, dancing and entertainment, known as the Yardi Party.

To follow along with the event, use the hashtag #YASC2018 on social media or visit the conference social media feed. Want to join the fun at YASC in San Diego? Register here.