On this unique interview, we sit down with Lance French, Chief Data Officer of RealPage, to discover the revolutionary strides his workforce is making within the multifamily housing sector. RealPage, a pioneer in using AI for property administration, lately launched the Lumina™ AI Platform, which guarantees to remodel the business with smarter methods of engagement and administration. Lance offers beneficial insights into the challenges and successes of integrating AI, the way forward for condominium administration, and the important thing methods driving RealPage’s steady innovation. Let’s uncover how AI is reworking actual property and what lies forward for this dynamic discipline.
Lance, are you able to begin by sharing a bit concerning the inspiration behind Lumina and what it goals to attain throughout the condominium business?
The Lumina™ AI Platform is the subsequent evolution of multifamily innovation due to its potential to harness end-to-end synthetic intelligence (AI) with skilled AI fashions that allow smarter methods of engagement, intelligence and administration to assist optimize efficiency for property managers.
It’s essential to notice that RealPage pioneered using AI within the multifamily business over 20 years in the past and has introduced greater than 50 AI improvements to market since 2002. We see Lumina as a technique to gasoline AI leveraging an information platform that permits operational help for property house owners by creating smarter methods of administration, engagement and intelligence.
Together with your intensive background in main high-performing groups throughout varied industries, how do you leverage your expertise in AI and alter administration to drive innovation at RealPage?
My expertise working throughout I.T. enterprises comes again to 3 core rules of I.T. One is belief – that’s critically essential. We have now to be a trusted associate with our buyer’s knowledge. The second is specializing in what we do effectively and that’s supporting the multifamily business. And the third is listening and ensuring we’re constructing the correct options that drive worth for our clients.
An amazing quantity of innovation comes from listening to clients and colleagues as a way to construct the correct resolution. For instance, we heard fraud is a large subject within the business and it’s costing our purchasers some huge cash. So, we requested, ‘how can we help in this space?’ The reply was growing RealPage Identification Verification – Premium and RealPage Earnings Verifcation, two merchandise that seamlessly combine into present platforms that assist detect fraud simpler by means of AI.
As CIO, how do you see AI shaping the way forward for condominium administration and operations, and what distinctive benefits does RealPage’s strategy supply to the market?
At RealPage, we see the long run as find out how to finest personalize and digitally-optimize the renter expertise. We’re doing that by making sturdy investments in knowledge and AI platforms.
The multifamily business calls for a contemporary set of instruments and touchpoints that not solely removes friction for residents and enhances their expertise, but additionally matches seamlessly into the property expertise platforms that operators, property workers and leasing groups use at this time to help residents and handle the enterprise.
Our clients have extra knowledge obtainable to them now than ever earlier than.We can assist them use that knowledge to offer a greater expertise for renters, whereas on the similar time, being extra worthwhile. One distinct benefit we have now is OneSite. OneSite redefines the resident expertise and delivers strategic benefits for property managers, together with value-add concessions, lowered operational prices and full integration inside one resolution.
One other benefit is the requirements that we preserve at RealPage, whether or not that’s the effectiveness of our mannequin, whether or not it’s defending our knowledge, whether or not it’s our governance physique, it’s on a regular basis and energy put into structure.
And the way in which I’ve talked about this prior to now is, for those who had been to provide recommendation to individuals which can be consuming AI is to carry your different suppliers to the identical commonplace that we’re holding RealPage to. And in the event that they’re not, then it is best to ask the query why?
As a result of AI is highly effective, however it’s additionally obtainable to unhealthy actors, and your info may be in danger if it’s not responsibly deployed.
And that’s how we differentiate ourselves from others.
May you talk about any particular challenges you confronted throughout the integration of AI applied sciences into RealPage’s services and products? How had been these challenges addressed?
With all new expertise, you be taught from testing how the fashions act and react. Whereas most lately we have now been working to deploy generative AI fashions all through our merchandise, one of many challenges is the place the mannequin will forecast one thing that’s going to occur however then treats the knowledge as a truth which can skew outcomes. We’ve discovered that tone is critically essential to enabling AI to higher interpret what the correct subject is and what’s out of bounds. From there, we work to coach the mannequin to make it possible for tone is known and the way the mannequin can precisely detect what’s out of bounds.
One other problem is organising our fashions in such a manner that they’re compliant with projected future rules. It’s arduous to foretell what future regulation will seem like, however we’re partnering with firms which have good perception into how to consider governing knowledge, how to consider governing the fashions that we’ve put in place. We additionally lean on our AI Governance Board for oversight, that features issues like AI coverage, structure compliance and authorized evaluation, to make sure not solely are we compliant at this time, however that we’ll be 6-12 months from now as effectively.
Within the context of digital transformation, what methods have you ever discovered only in managing and mitigating threat, particularly when implementing new expertise options?
Successfully implementing new options all the time begins with interested by how we mitigate threat for our clients. We have now an obligation to guard our clients and it’s one thing we take into consideration each day.
At RealPage which means the alignment of the complete I.T. enterprise group. The CIO, CTO and Product groups look throughout every thing from the enterprise course of and the way it’s designed, to the information. We then have a look at all of the infrastructure, whether or not that’s in our knowledge facilities or it’s with a cloud supplier. We have a look at issues like knowledge privateness regulatory necessities and as we develop options, it’s extra finish to finish and it’s notably essential when you consider innovation.
In case you’re not constructing the correct resolution to assault an issue, then you definately’re constructing one thing that might not be wanted on the finish of the day, we tie it again to these structure requirements. We develop iteratively with heavy testing after which validate it on the finish to see if we received the enterprise end result that we desired.
It provides lots of consolation internally to our groups that we’re doing the correct factor and we’re doing it rigorously. High quality is essential, and it additionally provides confidence to our clients as a result of we thought concerning the issues that would have an effect on the answer, might introduce bugs, might introduce any sort of vulnerability effectively forward of the method. And so, we’re seeing actually good outcomes from the requirements which were in place for a while at RealPage, however extra particularly during the last two years, we’ve doubled down and improved these processes.
You have got a wealthy historical past of working in numerous sectors reminiscent of transportation and expertise. How do these experiences affect your management model and decision-making at RealPage?
My management model could be very a lot servant oriented, each to the workers in addition to to our clients. What actually drew me to RealPage was the worth construction that our CEO and our govt management workforce put in. It’s very a lot one which I’m accustomed to as a result of it has such a deal with our staff and our clients and actually treating them as a household. I’ve tried to take that strategy of getting empathy, working as a associate our clients after which internally, you already know, treating individuals the way in which I need to be handled has all the time been my model. Equality is essential to me and the way we develop our group. And I feel you possibly can see the outcomes now popping out within the innovation and the help we’re in a position so as to add to our clients, and albeit, how we’re influencing this business to be higher.
May you share an instance of a current challenge the place RealPage has efficiently utilized AI to reinforce buyer worth? What had been the outcomes?
About 9 months in the past, we deployed our first massive language mannequin, subsequent Gen AI product and it was a help mannequin for residents utilizing our platform, ClickPay. ClickPay is the place a resident can go in and make a cost. Previously, for those who had a query, it’s one thing so simple as ‘hey, I need to change my personal information’ or ‘I need to use a different payment method.’ So, we deployed the mannequin, our new chat, GPT, digital assistant and residents began utilizing the answer. We had been anticipating the mannequin to handle as much as 25%-50% of the those that had been utilizing the chat bot, however as an alternative we discovered the mannequin taking good care of 80% of the those that had been coming in. They had been glad with the reply. They didn’t have to achieve out to an agent. They didn’t must open a help case. Now we’re rolling them out throughout our product suite, however that’s one instance the place residents had been the first to make the most of these new Gen AI fashions at RealPage.
Trying forward, what are a number of the traits or applied sciences you imagine might be essential for the way forward for the condominium business, and the way is RealPage getting ready to adapt to those modifications?
We all know that how we have interaction and work together with residents will change and we’re adapting to that by understanding find out how to ship the correct message to them on the correct platform.
We’re assembly clients the place they’re.
As social media evolves, as communication omni channels change, we’re additionally adapting for that and we would like to have the ability to personalize messages on platforms that they like, whether or not it’s textual content, electronic mail, even WhatsApp. Modes of communication are evolving and we’re making the correct investments.
The opposite element is round AI, and we’ve talked lots about it right here, however it’s transferring so quick. We’re constructing Lumina in such a manner that as capabilities turn out to be obtainable, we will plug them into this platform and take benefit once more.
You recognize, we’re utilizing innovation, however there are such a lot of firms which can be innovating, and we intend to associate with them and produce that to the multifamily business.
Lastly, on a extra private be aware, how do you keep motivated and preserve your workforce impressed, particularly within the fast-evolving discipline of AI and expertise?
Effectively, first I do lots of studying, networking and speaking to consultants and luckily, I’ve had the chance in my profession to develop a reasonably broad community of people. We deliver alternative to the desk in and world wide of IT.
There are actually 3 classes we consider our work. You need to run the enterprise and that’s to ensure the methods are working and we’re obtainable and we’re performing.
We must be continuously enhancing, so how can we do issues higher? And most significantly, how can we present up higher for our clients?
However there’s an space that motivates me and it’s transformation. We’re obsessive about innovation. We allocate time to transformation throughout RealPage in all departments. As that exhibits up in expertise, issues like AI turn out to be entrance and heart, and we give even these staff which can be engaged on the run aspect of the enterprise and alternative to remodel.
So take into consideration AI.
Sure, we’re delivering to our clients, however we’re additionally utilizing it internally at RealPage to ensure our infrastructure is working proper to have insights of how we will do issues higher to point out up for our clients. And so, whether or not that’s infosec, whether or not that’s constructing enterprise purposes, whether or not that’s simply working the enterprise, we deliver that mindset into our groups and provides them a chance to roll up their sleeves and expertise palms on.
And we see that chance actually driving lots of enthusiasm.
