At this year’s Real Estate Strategy and Leasing Conference that took place on October 6th in Toronto, Peter Altobelli, vice president and general manager for Yardi Canada, joined a panel of experts for a session titled “New Technologies Across the Spectrum That Can Help Drive Your Business Forward and Provide Competition to the Landscape.” Altobelli and his co-panelists shared insights on new products coming to market and how breakthrough technologies are changing the industry and revolutionizing asset management. Also discussed were trends and opportunities for Canadian businesses to take into serious consideration. The session was moderated by Michael Scace, partner at Ashlan Urban Realty, and joining Altobelli on the panel were Maggie Burns, vice president of real estate at Breather, Nick Romito, CEO and founder at VTS, and Brandon Weber, CEO and founder at Hightower. On the topic of current technology innovation, Altobelli elaborated that in the last 10-15 years we have seen the launch of the smartphone and tablets, and with increasing reliance on those platforms, many businesses have responded to shifts in consumer demand and are adopting these impactful technologies to keep pace. Consumer demand is without a doubt driving innovation at the corporate level, and Canadian companies need to take note of this demand and make sure they are responding to their customers with the right tools and services. However, Canadian businesses are known to be resistant to taking risks and are unlikely to be early adopters of any new technology, no matter how promising. But with an increase of American companies investing in and merging with Canadian companies, the business culture is changing. In the meantime, Altobelli sees the need for thought leaders to educate the industry, so Canadian companies can perform better and thrive by taking advantage of the...