What are the biggest, boldest questions that everyone in real estate needs to answer? Last year, guests on Yardi’s Proptech Insights program shared their secrets to navigating the complex proptech ecosystem. Bernie Devine, Yardi’s Senior Regional Director, asked a lot of questions – and our guests offered many insightful answers. But to kick off 2022, Bernie and guest Adam Beck turned the tables by posing four provocative questions for the region’s property leaders to ponder over the year ahead. It’s a unique idea. But Devine and smart cities champion Adam Beck are unique thinkers. Beck, an urbanist who has championed smart and sustainable cities for more than 25 years, was most recently the Executive Director of the Smart Cities Council for Australia and New Zealand. He was also the architect of the Green Building Council of Australia’s Green Star Communities rating tool and has just launched a new platform, Urbanism.Live, which explores the edges of digital, data and urbanism. The edge of digital, data and urbanism are exciting. But Yardi’s latest research report, developed in partnership with the Property Council of Australia, found around half of Australia’s property companies are still reliant on spreadsheets to assess the performance of their portfolios. What is the barrier stopping these companies from moving beyond Excel? “Tech and data are not the challenge or the barrier. It is the people behind the tech and data,” Beck told Devine. Some quarters of the property industry are stubbornly resistant to change, but Beck – “the eternal optimist” – said big obstacles have been overcome before. Take the built environment’s response to sustainability. “It was considered too costly, too risky.” Fast forward 20 years, and markets now place a premium on green buildings. But this time, we don’t have 20 years,...