Yardi Canada Ltd. marked its 25-year anniversary in 2023 with a series of client events that celebrated the company’s growth, philanthropic efforts, and diverse staff in Canada. “It was wonderful to spend time with our valued clients in a social setting for the first time since the pandemic,” said Peter Altobelli, Vice President, and General Manager of Yardi Canada Ltd. “During our gathering, we had the pleasure of unveiling the forthcoming generation of Yardi products, which includes the highly anticipated Yardi Voyager 8 and Virtuoso. Additionally, we took this opportunity to provide an insightful update on the progress of our philanthropic endeavors in Canada. Altobelli has helmed Yardi Canada since the beginning and simultaneously celebrated his own silver jubilee anniversary at the company. In 1998, he could not have predicted where Yardi Canada would be today. “When we opened our Mississauga (Toronto) office in August 1998, we established a presence in Canada. The first set of employees were hired in October of that year. I could not have foreseen the remarkable journey from our humble beginnings to our current status as a market leader. It is truly beyond what I had ever dreamed possible,” Altobelli said. An expanded presence Today, Yardi Canada has approximately 500 staff members in three regional offices: Saskatoon, Vancouver, and Toronto. The Saskatoon and Vancouver offices were established as part of Yardi’s corporate acquisitions – of Point2 Technologies Inc. in 2010 (Saskatoon) and a division of EnerNOC in 2016 (Vancouver). Toronto-based Planimetron was also acquired in 2022. Each of our offices has dedicated teams that concentrate on different aspects of Yardi’s global real estate product and support functions. These are just a few examples of the diverse roles and responsibilities within our organization. We have much more to offer. ·Vancouver: Provides support for Yardi Pulse, Canadian residential and commercial clients along with product development for Yardi’s Home IQ ·Saskatoon: Focuses on product development for Yardi’s Home IQ, Matrix platform, Pulse and Machine Learning/AI initiatives as well as customer service for Yardi Breeze Premier and assistance with the management of our Cloud Services infrastructure. ·Toronto: Offers product support and sales for Canadian Breeze Premier and Voyager residential, condo/strata, social housing, commercial, senior living, and investment management clients. Yardi holds the majority of market share for both residential and commercial real estate software in Canada. Over the years, Yardi Canada has expanded its presence beyond being a preeminent tech supplier, becoming a true partner to many Canadian real estate organizations. Today, Yardi Canada continues to develop solutions that are utilized by Yardi clients worldwide. “We are now recognized as the leading expert. Our teams have the knowledge and experience to anticipate trends in the Canadian market,” Altobelli said. That includes the recently launched Canadian National Multifamily report, introduced in 2022. “It has become a prevalent report that the industry uses to understand the current state of the multifamily market, and to gain insights into each regional market across the country,” Altobelli said. (For additional information, download the report here.) Philanthropic contributions Caring for the communities in which our offices are located has been a part of Yardi’s corporate mission from the beginning, and that’s true for Yardi Canada as well. Dozens of non-profit organizations receive support through donations each year, and employees regularly gather for team volunteer outings. Canadian support is prioritized for organizations that combat hunger and homelessness, with an emphasis on building long-term relationships. “Our end goal is to make a difference in someone’s life,” Altobelli said. “We are dedicated to aiding families and individuals emerge from their unique challenges, fostering their ability to thrive and make their individual and valuable impact on society.” The environment is another area of philanthropic emphasis. In 2022, Yardi contributed to and closed the most significant conservation project in Canadian history—the Boreal Wildlands in northern Ontario. With Yardi’s help, the Nature Conservancy of Canada acquired the 145,000-hectare/350,000-acre property to...

Yardi has again been named a winner of Glassdoor’s 16th Employees’ Choice Awards, honoring the Best Places to Work 2024. The Glassdoor Employees’ Choice Award is based solely on the input of employees, who voluntarily provide anonymous feedback by completing a review about their job, work environment and employer on Glassdoor, the worldwide leader on insights about jobs, work environments and companies. “We are humbled to be included with so many great organizations and by the consistent, positive support of our global employees, which resulted in this honor,” said Kevin Yardi, vice president at Yardi. “For over 40 years, we have achieved steady growth by taking care of our customers, employees and communities. If you are looking for a great place to grow your career, Yardi is hiring in many offices worldwide.” Find career opportunities at careers.yardi.com. Yardi is the only software company focused on real estate on the 2024 list. The company was previously honored in 2023, 2020 and 2018. “Work life is rapidly changing, and professionals are turning to Glassdoor to share their experiences about working for some of the most competitive employers in the world,” said Christian Sutherland-Wong, Glassdoor Chief Executive Officer. “The Best Places to Work award is a stark reminder of the power of Glassdoor, from arming professionals with career insights and real-time conversations about all things work and life, to providing employers with feedback to improve.” Employees’ Choice Award winners for the Best Places to Work 2024 were determined based on Glassdoor-approved company reviews submitted by U.S.-based employees between October 18, 2022, and October 16, 2023. During the year-long eligibility period, employers considered for the large list must have received at least 75 ratings for each of nine workplace attributes (overall company rating, career opportunities, compensation and benefits, culture and values, diversity and inclusion, senior management, work-life balance, recommend to a friend, and six-month business outlook). The final list is compiled using Glassdoor’s proprietary algorithm, led by its Economic Research Team, and considers quantity, quality and consistency of reviews. For the complete list of the Glassdoor Best Places to Work winners in 2024, please...

As December comes to a close, it’s time to look back and reflect. 2023 was another remarkable year for Yardi offices and employees around the world. Here were a few of the highlights. Glassdoor Employees’ Choice Award In January, Yardi started off the year strong as we were honored with a Glassdoor Employees’ Choice Award for the third time as one of the Best Places to Work in 2023. The Glassdoor Employees’ Choice Award is based solely on the input of employees, who voluntarily provide anonymous feedback by completing a review about their job, work environment and employer on Glassdoor, the worldwide leader on insights about jobs and companies. “Taking care of our employees and offering opportunities to contribute to our clients’ success are guiding principles at Yardi,” said Anant Yardi, the company’s CEO and founder. “We are honored to receive this prestigious award again from Glassdoor, and we are grateful for the supportive culture that has been fostered at all levels within our organization.” Voyager 8 Unveiled The latest edition of Yardi’s flagship property management and accounting software has much anticipated user-friendly upgrades and features. Voyager 8 will be widely available to clients beginning in January 2024. “The biggest thing with Voyager 8 to get excited about is the user experience. The user interface is completely different. It’s a big leap from Voyager 7S. It’s not a leap in terms of the upgrade process, though,” said Rob Teel, president of global solutions, in September at YASC in San Diego. In addition to the new user experience and simple upgrade process, Voyager 8 is built for compatibility with artificial intelligence (AI), promising a continual opportunity for real estate companies to use the new technology for efficiency and smoother operations. Want to learn more? Reach out to our sales team. Yardi Virtuoso brings AI to real estate This fall, Yardi released Yardi Virtuoso, a multifaceted platform built to shape the future of AI in real estate. Virtuoso delivers automation technology across various applications to expedite workflows, increase efficiency and augment teams for improved performance and better net operating income. “The AI platform automates repetitive workflows and routine tasks to help our clients reach new levels of efficiency. We look forward to seeing its positive impact through 2024 and beyond,” said Akshai Rao, president of residential at Yardi. Learn more about this human-centered approach to AI. Forbes Cloud 100 In August, Yardi was named again to the prestigious Forbes Cloud 100 list, the definitive ranking of the top 100 private cloud companies in the world, published by Forbes in partnership with Bessemer Venture Partners and Salesforce Ventures. Yardi was a member of the inaugural Cloud 100 in 2016 and is the only company focused on the real estate vertical this year. “We’re honored that Forbes continues to recognize Yardi for our cloud technology and services,” said Jay Shobe, senior vice president of cloud services at Yardi. “Since the inaugural list, this inclusion has reflected our employees’ continual efforts and our clients’ unfailing support worldwide.” Another major EPA honor In March, Yardi received the 2023 ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year Sustained Excellence Award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Energy after being named Partner of the Year for five consecutive years. The award celebrates companies that offer energy services and products in the commercial, institutional or industrial markets for successfully assisting clients with strategic energy management and building design. Partner of the Year award winners have committed long-term to fighting climate change and promoting public health through energy efficiency messaging.  Cloud VO acquired In June, Yardi announced the acquisition of CloudVO, the San Francisco-based online reseller of virtual offices, meeting rooms and other workplace services. Laurent Dhollande, CEO of CloudVO, commented: “We are thrilled that CloudVO is now part of Yardi. Our partners will benefit from the Yardi listing service with infinitely more reach and strength than CloudVO could provide...

Yardi’s Advanced Solutions Conference kicked off Wednesday morning with over 4,000 attendees – making it the largest YASC ever – in attendance at the San Diego Convention Center. “We have 4,000 of the best minds in real estate in San Diego this week,” observed Esther Bonardi, a vice president at Yardi, as a packed room eagerly anticipated remarks from Anant Yardi, the company’s founder and CEO; as well as executives Rob Teel, Akshai Rao and Kevin Yardi. Anant Yardi, founder and CEO of Yardi, speaks at YASC in San Diego on Sept. 6, 2023. Photo credit: Julian Thomas, Yardi staff. The YASC opening session always offers an overview of real estate technology trends and insight into how they might play out within Yardi’s single connected solution for real estate companies. This year brought an especially exciting reveal: Voyager 8 is currently in limited release to clients and will be widely available beginning in January 2024. “The biggest thing with Voyager 8 to get excited about is the user experience. The user interface is completely different. It’s a big leap from Voyager 7S. It’s not a leap in terms of the upgrade process, though,” said Rob Teel, president of global solutions. “We are really excited about the upgrade process. This is going to be an opportunity for you to decide which users you want to start using Voyager 8. They can use 7S or 8, so you don’t have to choose. You can allow your users to get comfortable with Voyager 8 as you start to roll this out,” said Akshai Rao, president of residential. Clients were able to get detailed demos and highlights of the forthcoming release in spotlight sessions unique to their real estate verticals on Wednesday morning. In addition to the new user experience and simple upgrade process, Voyager 8 is built for compatibility with artificial intelligence (AI), promising a continual opportunity for real estate companies to use the new technology for efficiency and smoother operations. AI and real estate AI’s implications for business functions like marketing are evident across industries, but what about specific uses for real estate? That question was at the heart of Anant Yardi’s remarks on Wednesday morning. Noting that Yardi is fully committed to making use of AI in the most constructive and beneficial ways possible, Mr. Yardi said that he sees the incorporation of the technology as a gradual one. “The future of AI in real estate is not going to be some big bang type of change, that’s not going to happen,” Mr. Yardi said. He noted that Yardi has already made infrastructure investments that will provide processing bandwidth required for AI systems. Teel and Rao provided a look at Yardi products where AI is already incorporated and will have a growing role moving forward. They include chatbots, which already provide automated answers to prospect questions from multifamily clients; maintenance requests, which could be assigned prioritization and dispatch by AI; and a virtual Voyager assistant who will answer software questions, thanks to AI. “We are fully committed to this change and look at this as an opportunity to grow,” Mr. Yardi said. “Anytime there’s an opportunity to embrace and acknowledge change, I think lurking behind it, you’ll see an opportunity for growth.” Spotlight on corporate philanthropy The general session concluded with a look at Yardi’s corporate focus on philanthropy, which has been a longtime priority for the company. “Our guiding principles over the last 40 years and for the next 40 years are to take care of our clients, employees and communities, and candidly, we don’t often talk about what it means to take care of our communities, so I wanted to take this opportunity to spend a few minutes on it,” said Kevin Yardi, vice president. “We provide funding to our 40 offices around the world and our 9,000 employees help guide funding to nonprofits that are meaningful to...

Yardi has been honored with a Glassdoor Employees’ Choice Award for the third time as one of the Best Places to Work in 2023. The Glassdoor Employees’ Choice Award is based solely on the input of employees, who voluntarily provide anonymous feedback by completing a review about their job, work environment and employer on Glassdoor, the worldwide leader on insights about jobs and companies. “Taking care of our employees and offering opportunities to contribute to our clients’ success are guiding principles at Yardi,” said Anant Yardi, the company’s president and founder. “We are honored to receive this prestigious award again from Glassdoor, and we are grateful for the supportive culture that has been fostered at all levels within our organization.” For 2023, Yardi is No. 76 out of 100 companies on Glassdoor’s Best Places to Work US Large list with a 4.4 rating. The company was previously honored in 2020 and 2018. Here are some of the comments current employees have made recently about Yardi on Glassdoor: “(Yardi is a) wonderful place to work. Flexibility, good pay & benefits, and caring, supportive team and leader. Privileged to work for such a philanthropic company that values both its clients and employees.” “The company has been incredible to work for throughout the pandemic and treats its employees and their families as good as I’ve ever seen.” “Management and team leads meet with you often to check in on how you are doing, career goals, questions, concerns. They do so in an authentic way, not obligatory. Leadership has not only asked these questions but has great follow through. They have helped guide me on a path based on my own career goals and they also encourage “out of the box” ideas and love when you take initiative.” Yardi is currently hiring, and you can find worldwide career opportunities on the Careers page. Glassdoor’s Best Places to Work winners were determined using company reviews shared by U.S.-based employees between October 19, 2021 and October 17, 2022. During the year-long eligibility period, employers considered for the large list must have received at least 75 ratings for each of Glassdoor’s nine workplace attributes (overall company rating, career opportunities, compensation and benefits, culture and values, diversity and inclusion, senior management, work-life balance, recommend to a friend and six-month business outlook). “It’s encouraging to see companies doubling down on employee mental health and wellbeing, diversity and inclusion, competitive benefits and flexible work environments as we head into 2023. I sincerely congratulate all of the Best Places to Work winners,” said Christian Sutherland-Wong, Glassdoor Chief Executive Officer. For the complete list of the Glassdoor Best Places to Work winners in 2023, please visit:...

Yardi announced today that it has acquired Planimetron to help meet the growing demand for efficient space management by office, retail and industrial real estate owners and operators. With an anticipated launch to market in 2023, Yardi will rebuild and rebrand Propidex, Planimetron’s market-leading space management platform, as Space Manager and incorporate it into the Yardi CommercialEdge platform, a full suite of revenue-focused solutions. Planimetron creates visual decision support solutions for commercial and corporate real estate professionals. Since 1983, Planimetron solutions have generated a rich graphical user experience by integrating real estate and spatial data. For more information, visit planimetron.com. Space Manager will allow commercial real estate owners and managers to store, edit and share floor plans and site plans from one centralized location. When combined with CommercialEdge and the Yardi Elevate suite of asset management solutions, Space Manager will provide unprecedented visibility for marketing, leasing, forecasting, facilities and construction operations. “We are excited to welcome the Planimetron team to Yardi,” said Arjun Rao, senior director of commercial for Yardi. “This team brings a wealth of knowledge and experience about commercial real estate, especially with regard to space management within properties. Space Manager will be an exceptional addition to the CommercialEdge suite.” For more information about the CommercialEdge suite, visit...

Yardi has been named to the Forbes 2022 Cloud 100, the definitive ranking of the top 100 private cloud companies in the world, published by Forbes in partnership with Bessemer Venture Partners and Salesforce Ventures. Yardi was a member of the inaugural Cloud 100 in 2016 and is No. 51 this year. “We’re honored that Forbes has again recognized Yardi for our cloud technology and services,” said Jay Shobe, senior vice president of cloud services at Yardi. “Congratulations to all the cloud technology leaders that made this year’s list. It reflects the efforts of our employees and the incredible support of our clients worldwide.” For the seventh straight year, the Cloud 100 reviewed submissions from hundreds of cloud startups and private companies. The Cloud 100 evaluation process involved ranking companies across four factors: market leadership (35%), estimated valuation (30%), operating metrics (20%), and people and culture (15%). For market leadership, the Cloud 100 enlists the help ofa judging panel of public cloud company CEOs who assist in evaluating and ranking their private company peers. “The companies of the Cloud 100 list represent the best and brightest private companies in this fast-growing sector,” said Alex Konrad, senior editor at Forbes. “Every year, it gets more difficult to make this list — meaning even more elite company for those who do. Congratulations to each of the 2022 Cloud 100 honorees.” “The public markets may be in turmoil, but the private valuations of the Cloud 100 continue to rise. All the 2022 Cloud 100 honorees, again, have reached the $1 billion valuation milestone, and the average Cloud 100 valuation has skyrocketed to $7.4 billion,” said Mary D’Onofrio, partner at Bessemer Venture Partners. “Despite the market correction in 2022, our confidence in the cloud economy continues to grow—today over 70% of the 2022 Cloud 100 Honorees have reached or exceeded $100 million in annual recurring revenue making them cloud Centaurs. An additional 10% of the list is expected to hit this milestone by the end of the year, furthering our conviction that this years’ honorees truly represent the best cloud companies globally.” “Great companies are born out of all environments, and it’s exciting to see the continued momentum in the cloud sector,” said Alex Kayyal, Managing Partner, Salesforce Ventures. “The companies on this list have gone through a rigorous selection process and join an esteemed alumni list of Cloud 100 companies. As the need for digital transformation continues to drive innovation and efficiencies across industries, we can look to these companies as the absolute best in cloud computing.” The Forbes 2022 Cloud 100 is published online at forbes.com/cloud100 and will appear in the August/September 2022 issue of Forbes magazine. About Yardi Yardi® develops and supports industry-leading investment and property management software for all types and sizes of real estate companies. With 8,000 employees, Yardi is working with our clients globally to drive significant innovation in the real estate industry. For more information on how Yardi is Energized for Tomorrow, visit yardi.com. Bessemer Venture Partners Bessemer Venture Partners helps entrepreneurs lay strong foundations to build and forge long-standing companies. With more than 135 IPOs and 200 portfolio companies in the enterprise, consumer and healthcare spaces, Bessemer supports founders and CEOs from their early days through every stage of growth. Bessemer’s global portfolio includes Pinterest, Shopify, Twilio, Yelp, LinkedIn, PagerDuty, DocuSign, Wix, Fiverr and Toast and has $19 billion of regulatory assets under management. Bessemer has teams of investors and partners located in Tel Aviv, Silicon Valley, San Francisco, New York, London, Boston, Beijing and Bangalore. Born from innovations in steel more than a century ago, Bessemer’s storied history has afforded its partners the opportunity to celebrate and scrutinize its best investment decisions (see Memos) and also learn from its mistakes (see Anti-Portfolio). About Forbes Forbes champions success by celebrating those who have made it, and those who aspire to make it. Forbes convenes and...

Apartmentalize, powered by NAA, is back! Starting June 22, multifamily leaders from around the nation will gather at the San Diego Convention Center. See the latest innovations and take part in conversations that will shape the future of multifamily. Find out where success happens at booth 815. We’re excited to share how our solutions are solving for industry trends at every stage of the resident lifecycle. Trusted solutions that fit your workflow We’re here to help you attract quality prospects, convert leads into leases, manage the resident experience and optimize your business. Here’s a preview of just some of what we can help you with:  Attract quality prospects with expert help Ready to attract more prospects that convert? Learn how to grow awareness, traffic and marketing ROI with help from REACH by RentCafe, a dedicated digital marketing agency for multifamily.Schedule a free consultation with our REACH by RentCafe experts during the show. In just 15 minutes, you’ll learn how to create a winning web presence, stand out in search and lower your cost per lease. Convert prospects with automated communication, nurturing & fraud prevention Your customer is more than just a renter. Create a seamless prospect-to-resident experience and assist your staff with these customer-centric solutions: Chat IQ is an automated attendant that responds to chat, text, email and voice. This solution saves our clients time and money, all while delivering superior customer experience 24/7. Yardi’s CRM is your site staff’s ultimate partner. It has online and in-person functionalities that engage with your prospects and residents, supporting your staff through the entire leasing lifecycle. ID Verifyand Income Verificationare mobile-friendly solutions that use AI and automation to quickly authenticate applicant identities and income. No more back-and-forth emails to manually verify applicants – just fast, simple, online leasing. Book a meeting at booth 815 to see these solutions in action! Manage residents with an industry-leading system In multifamily real estate, delivering the right customer experience means retaining residents and keeping them in the family. Make it easier for residents to stay by enabling them to pay rent online, renew their lease, submit a work order and more from a branded resident mobile app. Then, level up with Maintenance IQ, which reduces days from your unit-turn process – making every property hum with efficiency. Stop by booth 815 to see how Yardi software continues to put your customers first. Optimize asset performance with an elevated solution One of the smartest systems in the industry just got smarter. Yardi’s Elevate Suite, including Asset IQ, Revenue IQ and Forecast IQ, helps you optimize NOI and asset value with predictive analytics backed by data and benchmarking. Make more informed decisions with a 360-degree view into your business. Expense and revenue benchmarking allow you to understand the full performance picture, placing you at an advantage to optimize occupancy and increase asset value. That’s just the start. Reserve a private demo at booth 815 to see our solutions work. See more, do more, learn more Make the most of your time at Apartmentalize with sessions that will inspire you to take action. Yardi leaders will be there to share industry insights and more. Here’s a peek: Youth & Wisdom: Pairing Experienced Marketers with Fresh Perspectives – June 22, 12:30-1:30 p.m. What can seasoned marketers learn from new employees? A lot! Hear from KETTLER and The Management Group, two industry-leading brands that create marketing magic by combining proven strategy with innovative insights. Learn how to encourage mentorship and collaboration to drive measurable results. Hosted by Esther Bonardi, vice president of marketing at Yardi and REACH by RentCafe. Imploding Myths on Technology Advancement with Affordable Housing – June 23, 3-3:45 p.m. Explore potential affordable housing solutions and learn about the latest tech to advance your industry knowledge. Join Chris Voss, vice president at Yardi, in a conversation designed to address misunderstandings about barriers unique to affordable housing, including the recertification...

Demand for rental apartments through the first three quarters of 2021 was 28% higher than the U.S. single-year high in the same time frame in 2018. Asking rents were up 11.4% nationally year-over-year through September, with the occupancy rate of stabilized properties reaching 95.9% in August. Stats like these inspire observers to use words like “robust,” “red-hot” and “overheated” in discussing the state of the multifamily industry. Is this strong market built to last? Or is it too good to be true? What key trends will chart the industry’s direction in 2022 and beyond? A group of experts offered insight in a recent conversation with Richard Malpica, vice president and Eastern region general manager for Yardi. Online tech’s scope expands Social distancing mandates fueled expectations for increased online service and flexibilityamong renters and property teams. The desire for a frictionless digital experience extended to all aspects of property management, including marketing and leasing, electronic money orders, vendor payments, invoice processing, self-guided tours and more. Cincinnati-based Towne Properties and BH Management Services of Des Moines, Iowa, whose representatives joined the discussion with Malpica, are among the property management companies that have accelerated their technology adoption for these and other operations. Joanna Zabriskie, BH’s president and CEO, reported that nearly all residents at the company’s properties who were previously paying rent by check converted to electronic payments after the onset of COVID-19. Among other forward-thinking initiatives, BH is also rolling out leak detection technology that prevents costly water damage and enables instant maintenance services, she added. Fraud, staff shortages spur adoption With fraudulent digital transaction attempts against businesses on the rise, risk mitigation is another principal concern for property managers. The discussion participants predicted that artificial intelligence facial recognition technology will be increasingly incorporated into self-guided tours, online leasing, vendor access, income verification and other operations. The group noted a trend toward adopting virtual assistants that respond to all prospect and resident communications, including chatbots that can generate high-quality leads. Smart home tech for locks, thermostats, leak detection and other elements of multifamily housing is also moving up as a priority for residents and managers alike. On another front, the so-called “great resignation” across the economy has impacted the multifamily industry, making it harder for property managers to find and retain qualified staff. Some have responded by centralizing leasing, renewals, collections, maintenance and other operations, automating processes or instituting a combination of centralization and automation. “Centralizing some of our leasing and maintenance has helped us meet our prospects’ and residents’ demands while mitigating staffing shortages,” said Chad Munitz, vice president at Towne Properties. “We were able to move to a hybrid work environment. I think flexibility to work from home has become an essential perk in today’s tough labor market,” added Zabriskie, who noted that 13% of BH’s onsite positions have been open for several months. “It’s harder than ever to hire and retain valued employees,” prompting the BH recruitment team to place more emphasis on positive corporate culture  elements such as days off for mental health, bonuses and added benefits. Boston-based Berkshire Residential Investments also sharpened its focus on company culture issues, instituting monthly town hall meetings to address remote work challenges and other issues, according to Josh Glastein, its chief information and technology officer. ESG’s importance grows With 15% of emissions coming from real estate, sustainability continues to grow as a priority. Institutional clients are increasingly asking for sustainability to be included in property budgets, and ESG is growing in importance for residents as well, according to the discussion participants. Local and federal requirements to comply with ENERGY STAR® standards and other energy initiatives have spurred an interest in energy software capable of gathering and reporting consumption data to property owners and managers. The way forward The participants agreed that, as multifamily property managers and owners adapt to new expectations in the post-pandemic era, carefully chosen and properly utilized...

Chicago has reopened, and Apartmentalize powered by NAA will be there at McCormick Place from Aug. 31-Sept. 2 to bring forward-thinking multifamily operators from across the country and leading solution providers together. Yardi will return as a proud top tier partner, presenter and exhibitor. Read on for everything you need to know about this year’s event.  See our innovative proptech Don’t miss the chance to connect with Yardi in person at Apartmentalize 2021. Come to booth #1001 to see our latest protech innovations. We’re excited to show you how our single connected solution will help you visualize performance, reduce expenses, automate interactions and enhance operations to increase your NOI. We will be featuring: REACH by RentCafe: Improve marketing ROI with advanced digital marketing services including SEO, PPC, social media, reputation management and performance analytics. RentCafe: Drive leases and improve retention for higher rental revenue with self-guided tours, a chatbot and smart home services. Yardi Elevate Suite: Combine deep operational data, market intelligence, revenue forecasting and prescriptive analytics to optimize asset performance and increase NOI. Introducing Yardi Breeze Premier: Our intuitive and powerful property management software is making its industry debut at the show. Boost performance with an easy-to-use, all-in-one marketing, management and accounting system. Reserve a private demo to see any or all of our proptech innovations that will take your business forward. Learn with us Yardi leaders will be participating in four educational sessions to share insights on hot industry topics and trends. Take advantage of these opportunities to deepen your industry knowledge and improve your operational strategies. Meet Gen Z: Understanding the Next Generation of Renters | Aug. 31, noon-12:45 p.m. Join Esther Bonardi, vice president at Yardi, as she leads a panel on Gen Z renter preferences with Garin Hamburger, senior director of national property marketing at Cushman & Wakefield, and Brooke Atsalis, marketing and training manager at The Management Group, LLC. Over 40,000 survey responses will help you get to know Gen Z through the data. Review shifting search trends, examine touring preferences and discover five tech must-haves. Learn how to adapt your property marketing strategy and shape your future success as we prepare to welcome a new generation home. Emerging Issues: Inflation and Its Effect on the Industry | Aug. 31, 1:15-2 p.m. NAA’s AVP of research, Paula Munger, joins industry experts, Jeff Adler of Yardi Matrix and Jay Parsons of RealPage, to discuss price trends, their impact on the economy and the industry, and what we can expect for the remainder of another very strange year. How will it affect the industry and how much sleep should you be losing over it? How Universities’ COVID-19 Decisions Impact the Student Housing Industry | Sept. 1, 3:45-4:30 p.m. Join Jeff Adler and Chris Nebenzahl of Yardi Matrix for a discussion on fall 2021 pre-leasing and how it compares to prior years. They’ll discuss rent growth in a post-COVID world, new development of purpose-built student housing, how universities have handled the pandemic from operational and housing perspectives and future plans for the industry. Myth Busting: Case Studies Debunking Affordable Housing Online Application Process | Sept. 1, 3:45-4:30 p.m. Geared towards affordable housing operators, Yardi vice president Christopher Voss joins Dawn Ford of Smart Apartment Solutions and Smart Moves, Phyllis Garcia of Ovation and Shay Dugan of TM Associates as they talk about the need for conducting business online and the perceived barriers considered unique to the affordable housing market. Pick up tools and possible solutions, such as low cost/no cost and easily accessible platforms that smash the myths that technology cannot exist in the application processes. See the complete Apartmentalize schedule for more information. Can’t make it this year? Not attending Apartmentalize 2021 but want to learn more about our solutions? Check out the Yardi Multifamily Suite, join a webinar or contact us with any...

Have you ever heard the saying, “We don’t know what we don’t know?” We cannot quantify the impact of lost or destroyed information once it’s gone. Subsequent generations are simply left not knowing what was once known. From the destruction of the Xianyang State Archives in 206 B.C. and burning of the U.S. Library of Congress in 1814 to the vandalism of the Central Library of Mosul in 2015, human action and natural disasters have robbed the world of more than 100 major libraries and their irreplaceable texts. In 2003, many sacred and historic texts at the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute (BORI) in Pune suffered at the hands of vandals. The incident was a sober reminder that we must proactively protect the fragile and irreplaceable documents that influence cultural evolution. To protect the legacies of literature and celebrate its centennial anniversary, BORI and Yardi have teamed up to create a digital library. Meet BORI Established in 1917, BORI is the caretaker of more than 153,000 rare books and 28,000 manuscripts. Texts offer valuable insights on topics such as the Vedas, Ayurveda, Buddhism, Jainism, Sanskrit and ancient Indian philosophies.  In 2017, the organization celebrated 100 years in operation. Staff initiated a new digital library that would protect its priceless holdings while making content available to larger audiences. “We recognized the need to evolve in a new direction,” explains Sudheer Vaishampayan, honorary secretary of BORI. “We recognized the need to protect the treasure in our care as well as the significance of making it accessible. Hence we started the mission to digitize our library.” A labor of love and a legacy To create the digital library, staff followed five basic steps: Create an online catalogue system to ensure that texts are easy to find. BORI used a “Marc-21” standard that includes 26 fields per catalogue entry.Select books for scanning based on three parameters: online availability, copyrights and academic significance. Based on those criteria, BORI selected nearly 16,000 books.Establish the Digitization Lab. BORI is home to one of the most well-equipped digitization labs in India that includes three book scanners and two document scanners.Begin the time consuming and tedious process called non-destructive scanning. Page-by-page, staff scanned in almost 16,000 books. BORI staff partnered with Nyansa, an end-to-end digital solutions facilitator. The teams worked in three shifts from 6 a.m. to 12 a.m.. It has taken two years to scan nearly 7 million pages—and work is still in progress!Transition scanned files to the Digitalaya platform created by the Center for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC). Lastly, BORI established BoriLib.com.  The digital library went live in late 2019. It currently hosts 8,269 books with about 7,500 books in the pipeline. “After five years, and tremendous efforts of multiple teams, we know that our digital journey has only begun,” said Vaishampayan. “The pandemic has put a brake on our speed, but we will finish the job by the end of 2021.” BORI + Yardi, safeguarding the future by preserving the past The information and philosophies found within the books have already survived the test of time. In a digital library, they will remain with us even if the original texts cannot. The benefits of such work are innumerable. Yardi is a proud sponsor of the digital library. “Yardi sponsors the whole initiative,” says Bhupal Patwardhan, chairman of the executive board at BORI. “Mr. Anant Yardi, the founder of Yardi Systems, facilitated the implementation of the entire project. They donated two new book scanners, sponsored the digitization process and also our move to the Digitalaya platform developed by C-DAC.” He continues, “We are also eternally grateful to Ajmera group for helping us buy the first book-scanner in 2016.” Though the bulk of the project is complete, work remains. The library is currently accessible online and will receive updates as new resources become available. “We remain grateful to every helping hand as we strive to safeguard the...

More than 17,000 participants from 64 countries collectively viewed 60,000 classes about Yardi products and initiatives from May 18-20 during the third virtual Yardi Advanced Solutions Conference (YASC) Global event held during the pandemic. Many of the spotlight sessions offered highlighted ways that Yardi technology has helped clients, their employees and customers adapt and thrive with technology during a time when limited contact has been a priority. The event again utilized the Yardi Aspire platform to deliver customized educational content. YASC attendees also enjoyed a virtual fundraising concert by guitarist/songwriter Jason Mraz. Each view of the performance generated a donation from Yardi, raising nearly $100,000 for COVID-19 relief initiatives. Meditation and mindfulness sessions were available for attendees to enjoy during short breaks between classes. Highlights from some of the featured spotlight sessions included: Marketing and automation solutions for residential Optimized marketing, automated chatbots and accessible self-guided tours were among the highlights presented in the residential spotlight session. These fully integrated Yardi solutions are among the ways multifamily clients have continued to see success during the pandemic. “I want to show you what’s possible when you have the right digital marketing strategy in place,” said Esther Bonardi, vice president of marketing at Yardi. “I bet you have a website. But do you have a comprehensive marketing strategy in place that can help you get your properties on page one of search results and get your customers directly to your website so that you can convert them into paying renters, faster?” RentCafe Reach helps clients attract qualified prospects with advanced search marketing services. The platform is currently optimizing more than 2,000 industry websites for organic search and driving rent-ready leads to managers. “This is the most cost-effective marketing channel,” Bonardi said. “And you can target exactly the traffic you need for the moment or availability you’re in.” Additional features like reputation management, search, and a new marketing analytics tool called Marketing IQ were also presented. “Marketing IQ is a one stop shop for all the data you need to make marketing decisions,” Bonardi said. “It’s really all for the purpose of improving your marketing ROI, which ultimately leads to a stronger NOI.” Once you’ve got a prospect on the line, engaging immediately to answer their questions is of paramount importance. But what if it’s after hours or your leasing office is closed for the weekend? That’s where chatbots come in. “Your prospective residents want and expect answers quickly, whether you’re open or not, or they quickly move on. This is especially true for popular new channels like text and chat,” said Paul Yount, industry principal for RENTCafé. “Bots and multiple touring options can really complement each other when they work together hand in hand.” Yount demonstrated a full conversation with a chatbot that answered questions about a property’s electric vehicle charging stations, pet policy, availability and pricing. He was able to schedule a self-guided tour via text and then showed how further AI automation can continue to answer questions even when the leasing office was closed during the tour. From a property manager’s perspective, the latest multifamily technology from Yardi not only solves for social distancing and accessibility but reduces staff time spent following up on prospect questions or even leading in-person tours. Proptech trends for the commercial sector Rob Teel, senior vice president of global solutions at Yardi, shared that for him, the most overwhelming CRE proptech trend in the last 12 months has been increased technical adoption. “That means paperless and contactless transactions, and online communication. When I think about paperless transactions, one of the best examples of innovation that helps eliminate that last piece of paper in the organization – which we’re all trying to do – is our e-signature capability for leases. You can now publish a lease for signature, there’s no exchange of FedEx documents and no meeting to get a wet signature. Paperless transactions and...