Celebrating 20 years, Yardi Canada has come a long way. As a leading innovator that delivers technology solutions to move the Canadian real estate industry forward, Yardi Canada focuses on helping clients thrive through every change. We caught up with a few of Yardi Canada’s leaders to learn more about the company’s evolution. From DOS to Windows to Internet based web apps to mobile apps and now on to artificial intelligence, Yardi has always been there with a solution for its clients. Here are a few technological highlights from the past two decades. A Unique Market Mobility and the cloud might reign now, but it all began with DOS. Introducing real estate companies to new technologies to improve business operations has never been an easy task. As Canadians, we tend to be a little more conservative when it comes to change. However, Peter Altobelli, general manager and vice president of sales for Yardi Canada, found it was easy to bring Yardi’s three DOS products to market: Yardi Basic, Yardi Deluxe and Yardi Premier. “DOS was a great product to implement since it was reliable, simple and easy to use. It was a technology that property managers understood. Plus, it had all these great shortcuts, because we didn’t have a mouse back then,” recalls Altobelli. Altobelli set up Yardi’s first office in Canada in 1998, which started with four people and now has grown to a staff of over 200. Today’s multitasking generation, accustomed to multiple windows and screens, would feel restricted with a DOS platform. But back then, users could accomplish single functions at a time quickly and efficiently. It was exactly what the industry needed as a catalyst towards more technology and innovation. Moving to the Internet At every innovative milestone, Yardi Canada...

Peter Altobelli is the Vice President of Sales and General Manager at Yardi Canada Ltd., a passionate mentor for many employees, as well as a husband and father. Arriving at this point in his career has entailed 30 years of dedication, innovation and focus on the company’s clients. He began his career in the 1980s with a background in software development in the healthcare sector. “You all have it so easy these days,” chuckles Altobelli. “Back then everything was in DOS. Shortcut keys were a major breakthrough for users. These days, people don’t think that that could even be a feature worth mentioning given that everything is done with a mouse, even intuitive touch screen or by voice activation.” In the 1990s, Altobelli became an entrepreneur, developing software products for the home building, property management and real estate brokerage industries. Through software design, development, sales and implementation, the company created a strong presence in the market and was instrumental in promoting technology to support new ways of doing business. It was during this period that Yardi began collaborating with Altobelli and his company to establish a footprint in Canada. By 2000, Altobelli became an integral part of the staff at Yardi. His thorough understanding of the Canadian market and industry standards have been crucial elements for the growth of Yardi Canada as it offers comprehensive support, implementation, sales and marketing for real estate businesses. Innovation + Growth with Yardi Altobelli was responsible for establishing the first Yardi office in Canada and has grown Yardi’s market penetration to be the leading software supplier in the country. “I was excited to work with Yardi because it’s such an innovative company,” says Altobelli. “I also appreciate that the culture is very inclusive. There is diversity of experience...

Commercial real estate education and event organization the Realcomm Conference Group LLC (Realcomm) celebrated its two-decade milestone by honoring 20 visionaries at its annual conference in Las Vegas. The prestigious group of honorees included Yardi founder and president Anant Yardi, who received a Lifetime Achievement Award recognizing his career-long accomplishments in real estate and technology. Realcomm also recognized the following industry leaders: Jesse Carrillo, SVP and CIO, Hines; Dave Clute, Chief Marketing Officer, ESD; Maureen Ehrenberg, President, Global Integrated Facilities Management, JLL; Robert Entin, EVP and CIO, Vornado Realty Trust; John Gilbert, EVP, COO and CTO of Rudin Management; Mark Golan, VP of Real Estate and Workplace Services, Google; Don Goldstein, former SVP and CISO, Digital Technology, CBRE; Hari Gunasingham, Founder, Sigma Sustainability Institute; Tama Huang, Principal and Global Real Estate Advisory Services Leader, NOI Strategies; Sandy Jacolow, CIO, Silverstein Properties; Ted Maulucci, President, SmartONE Solutions; Scott Morey, Executive Director of GPG Advisers; Paul Oswald, Managing Director, CBRE; John Petze, Principal, SkyFoundry; Wayne Pryor, Principal, 2Five1 Consulting; Joseph Rich, SVP and CIO, Related Companies;  Darrell Smith, Director, Central Facilities Operation of Google; James Whalen, SVP and CIO, Boston Properties; Scott Zimmerman, CIO, CenterPoint Properties. The award criteria included consistent focus on real estate innovation and contributions to the industry for more than 20 years. Mr. Yardi founded his company in 1984 in Santa Barbara, Calif. Since then, it has become a global real estate software leader, and now has over 6,000 employees in 40 offices worldwide. “Anant is a constant supporter of Realcomm’s vision for uniting technology, innovation and real estate operations. His thought leadership, service to the industry and technology innovation over the years have been profoundly impactful,” said Jim Young, co-founder and CEO of Realcomm. “Realcomm has done a remarkable job enhancing...