Tech trends to watch in 2018
Cloud computing, mobility and big data are changing the property sector – and fast. Are Yardi’s top three technology trends on your radar for 2018?
- Cloud computing takes the world by storm
Over the last few years, cloud computing has evolved from a personal storage system to an organisational wide efficiency strategy.
Global market intelligence company IDC predicts that at least half of IT spending will be cloud-based in 2018, reaching up to 70 per cent of all technology spending by 2020.
“The cloud is now an essential business tool,” says Yardi Australia’s regional director, Terry Gowan.
“With more companies aspiring to reach innovation maturity, the cloud has acquired acceptance, and is now increasingly gaining adoption. Cloud-based software helps companies to streamline their processes, reduce the complexity of reporting, enhance visibility, and ultimately reduce costs. In a people industry like property, the cloud is also fostering collaboration, because everyone has instant and real-time access to the same information,” Gowan adds.
- Mobility mentality changes the world of work
Today’s property players – whether brokers, investors, developers or leasing agents – are constantly on the move.
“Everyone with a smart phone has a computer in their hand,” Gowan explains.
“A new generation of Millennials are entering the workforce, and they’ve never gone anywhere without a mobile in their hands. But our expectations are changing so rapidly, that everyone now expects information at their fingertips.”
This is changing the nature of work, and has huge implications for the property sector.
“Business can be conducted six floors up on a construction site, while walking through a potential tenancy, at a conference or in the back of a cab. Work is no longer a place.”
- Aggregated data
Technology provides rich veins of customer and business data which is only beginning to be mined. The biggest challenge for property companies in 2018, Gowan says, is to avoid drowning in that data.
“With so much big data, we need to restore our focus on the fundamentals. A new generation of business intelligence tools are emerging to help people aggregate and visualise the data. Tens of millions of data points can be distilled down into one graph,” he says. “It’s big data – transformed.”
“There is no longer any need to crunch numbers or run complex reports. Property companies can access live statistical data on a dashboard in real time. Such easy access to data will transform business decision making.”
Bill Gates famously said, “”We always overestimate the change that will occur in the next two years and underestimate the change that will occur in the next ten”, and Gowan certainly doesn’t expect technological advancements to slow anytime soon.
“Expect 2018 to be the year for cloud-based innovations to drive productivity, enhance the customer experience and deliver cost savings.” he says.
Find out why Yardi was named in Forbes Cloud 100 for the second year in a row earlier in 2017. Visit www.yardi.com.au