Yardi is proud to be the Diamond Plus Elite Sponsor of the first Realcomm | IBcon hybrid conference. Due to the unique and challenging circumstances this year, the event will begin October 26 in a virtual setting with in-person sessions starting October 28 at the Marriott Gaylord Rockies Resort in Aurora, Colo. This premier event hosts hundreds of commercial and corporate real estate executives to discuss technology, automation and innovation. As part of the event, Yardi will have numerous speaking opportunities: Monday, October 26 Senior director Arjun Rao will host a CEO/COO roundtable discussion titled “The Future of Office Leasing: Challenges and Opportunities Explored,” focusing on leasing, demand for space in urban and suburban markets, as well as key factors for restructuring leases. A CIO roundtable focused on the outlook for private equity and the impact of technology on big spend will be hosted by Rob Teel, senior vice president of global solutions. Teel will also participate in a Realcomm LIVE interview to discuss current trends in the real estate industry. Founder and president Anant Yardi will join global thought leaders sharing their visions for the future of real estate technology, the economy and the workplace experience beyond the pandemic. Tuesday, October 27 Anant Yardi will join a panel titled “Industry Leaders Weigh in on Surviving and Thriving in Uncertain Times” to discuss how the real estate industry is trying to define the new normal. Wednesday, October 28  Brian Sutherland, industry principal for commercial, will also take part in a Realcomm LIVE interview session to discuss Yardi’s position in commercial real estate during the pandemic. Check out the full conference agenda, which will be updated continuously as more speakers and sessions are added. Visit Realcomm for more information or to register for the...

Aarty Sonambekar, a director with Yardi’s Global Solutions team, believes the secret to her success is understanding people. Based in Yardi’s Pune office, she focuses on the company mission to “take care of our clients” and “take care of our employees.” Growth naturally follows. Her team of nearly 90 PSG consultants, account managers and technical resources are responsible for supporting clients across Asia Pacific and the Middle East. Each interaction, she said, gives her a better opportunity to understand client needs and how to meet them. “My role helps me to be in touch with clients in the Asia Pacific region,” Aarty told us. “This gives me better insight of how the product is used and how we can actually partner the clients in their growth. Making the same product work for different clients across different countries is both fun and challenging.” “Managing teams also helps me interact with different people on daily basis, study their reactions and understand them,” she added. The human-centric approach has served her well in more than 13 years with the company. That isn’t to say that she has always enjoyed smooth sailing. Aarty has encountered her fair share of challenges. “A major challenge is being able to multi-task and handle multiple projects at the same time,” she said. “I am getting a better hand over it by improving my time management techniques.” Mastering time and task management are lessons that can never be learned too soon, and they can always be improved upon. “My advice to my 20-year-old self would be ‘First thing first.’ This helps one to prioritize things according to importance. It improves focus and brings in the virtue of systematization,” said Aarty. Nourished by Creativity For Aarty, balancing her technical work with creative expression is key...

We recently caught up with Australia native Bernie Devine, who leads sales and business development across Asia from Yardi’s Hong Kong office. Bernie, please tell us about your journey from Sydney to Hong Kong. Devine: It was an indirect route! I started out as a CPA and economist. But I’d always had an interest in technology and how it supported the operations of the real estate companies whose assets I was responsible for. My focus has been helping clients scale and grow, create efficiencies and gain better insight into their business.   Several years back, I had an opportunity to lead a team on a project in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. When that role ended, my wanderlust didn’t. I’d known of Yardi for many years, having encountered them through my work leading and supporting property technology start-ups across Australia, the U.S. and Europe. When I learned more about the opportunity to grow Yardi’s presence in Asia, it felt like the right fit for me. The region is very diverse, encompassing mature markets for property management as well as emerging ones, and every day provides a fresh challenge. Q: How is real estate in Asia is changing? A: There are two key areas of change. Firstly, as markets mature, rents surpass many developed countries and wage costs rise, real estate companies are putting greater value on accurate data and robust process. Secondly, coworking has taken off at an amazing growth rate. It is estimated that Asia already has the most coworking sites globally, with about 4,000 and growing.  This is about 800 more than the U.S., according to a report by East West Bank in June 2018. Most of these coworking sites are located in China, which is a hub for shared and flexible...

Until fairly recently, enterprise software platforms for real estate largely focused on accounting, finance and other back office operations. The advanced programming languages, mobile reach and internet capacity that enable automated workflows and remote access available for the back office hadn’t reached the front office. Things are different today—for the better. In an article originally published in Journal of Property Management, Todd Huebsch, Yardi vice president of commercial sales, explains why.   New software applications squarely target the front office, lending new dynamism to leasing, customer services, facility management, development and other operations. What does the evolution of technology dedicated to the front office mean in practical terms? For one, it means that property management technology has reached the point where remote access is both affordable and effective for managers involved in leasing, construction and facilities management. It also means leasing and asset management can work a deal together with a previously unattainable degree of collaboration. Development vice presidents can evaluate risk with instant access to project status, instead of waiting for a weekly report. They can leverage ERP data such as lease comps, revenue trends, contractor and job analysis, to make better decisions. Consider, for example, construction managers working to correct a problem with a building’s foundation. In an earlier era, they would call or email the back office, or even leave the site altogether to calculate the change order and negotiate the amount and cost code. Today, using apps designed specifically for their role, construction managers can enter the work order with just a few taps on a mobile device. The change order automatically flows to the back office and is recorded in the core property management and accounting platform. The adjustment is fully visible to all parties and the construction manager...

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...