On this unique interview, we sit down with Lance French, Chief Data Officer of RealPage, to discover the revolutionary strides his group is making within the multifamily housing sector. RealPage, a pioneer in using AI for property administration, not too long ago launched the Lumina™ AI Platform, which guarantees to remodel the trade with smarter methods of engagement and administration. Lance offers beneficial insights into the challenges and successes of integrating AI, the way forward for house 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 subject.
Lance, are you able to begin by sharing a bit in regards to the inspiration behind Lumina and what it goals to attain inside the house trade?
The Lumina™ AI Platform is the following evolution of multifamily innovation due to its skill to harness end-to-end synthetic intelligence (AI) with educated AI fashions that allow smarter methods of engagement, intelligence and administration to assist optimize efficiency for property managers.
It’s necessary to notice that RealPage pioneered using AI within the multifamily trade over twenty years in the past and has introduced greater than 50 AI improvements to market since 2002. We see Lumina as a solution to gas AI leveraging a knowledge platform that allows operational assist for property homeowners by creating smarter methods of administration, engagement and intelligence.
Along with your in depth 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 necessary. Now we have 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 trade. And the third is listening and ensuring we’re constructing the correct options that drive worth for our prospects.
An incredible quantity of innovation comes from listening to prospects and colleagues as a way to construct the correct answer. For instance, we heard fraud is a large challenge within the trade and it’s costing our shoppers some huge cash. So, we requested, ‘how can we help in this space?’ The reply was growing RealPage Identification Verification – Premium and RealPage Revenue Verifcation, two merchandise that seamlessly combine into present platforms that assist detect fraud simpler via AI.
As CIO, how do you see AI shaping the way forward for house administration and operations, and what distinctive benefits does RealPage’s method supply to the market?
At RealPage, we see the longer term as the way to finest personalize and digitally-optimize the renter expertise. We’re doing that by making sturdy investments in knowledge and AI platforms.
The multifamily trade calls for a contemporary set of instruments and touchpoints that not solely removes friction for residents and enhances their expertise, but in addition suits seamlessly into the property expertise platforms that operators, property employees and leasing groups use at present to assist residents and handle the enterprise.
Our prospects have extra knowledge obtainable to them now than ever earlier than.We might help them use that knowledge to supply a greater expertise for renters, whereas on the identical time, being extra worthwhile. One distinct benefit we’ve is OneSite. OneSite redefines the resident expertise and delivers strategic benefits for property managers, together with value-add concessions, decreased operational prices and full integration inside one answer.
One other benefit is the requirements that we keep 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 best way I’ve talked about this prior to now is, when you had been to present recommendation to folks which might 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 you need to ask the query why?
As a result of AI is highly effective, however it’s additionally obtainable to unhealthy actors, and your data might be in danger if it’s not responsibly deployed.
And that’s how we differentiate ourselves from others.
Might you focus on any particular challenges you confronted in the course of 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 not too long ago we’ve 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 realized that tone is critically necessary to enabling AI to higher interpret what the correct matter 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 method that they’re compliant with projected future rules. It’s onerous to foretell what future regulation will appear like, however we’re partnering with corporations 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 assessment, to make sure not solely are we compliant at present, however that we’ll be 6-12 months from now as effectively.
Within the context of digital transformation, what methods have you ever discovered best in managing and mitigating danger, particularly when implementing new expertise options?
Successfully implementing new options all the time begins with serious about how we mitigate danger for our prospects. Now we have an obligation to guard our prospects and it’s one thing we take into consideration day by day.
At RealPage which means the alignment of the whole I.T. enterprise group. The CIO, CTO and Product groups look throughout the whole lot from the enterprise course of and the way it’s designed, to the info. 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 significantly necessary when you concentrate on innovation.
If you happen to’re not constructing the correct answer to assault an issue, you then’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 bought the enterprise consequence that we desired.
It provides plenty of consolation internally to our groups that we’re doing the correct factor and we’re doing it rigorously. High quality is necessary, and it additionally provides confidence to our prospects as a result of we thought in regards to the issues that might have an effect on the answer, might introduce bugs, might introduce any form of vulnerability effectively forward of the method. And so, we’re seeing actually good outcomes from the requirements which have been in place for a while at RealPage, however extra particularly over the past two years, we’ve doubled down and improved these processes.
You’ve got a wealthy historical past of working in numerous sectors similar to transportation and expertise. How do these experiences affect your management fashion and decision-making at RealPage?
My management fashion may be very a lot servant oriented, each to the workers in addition to to our prospects. What actually drew me to RealPage was the worth construction that our CEO and our govt management group put in. It’s very a lot one which I’m aware of as a result of it has such a concentrate on our workers and our prospects and actually treating them as a household. I’ve tried to take that method of getting empathy, working as a associate our prospects after which internally, you already know, treating folks the best way I need to be handled has all the time been my fashion. Equality is essential to me and the way we develop our group. And I feel you’ll be able to see the outcomes now popping out within the innovation and the assist we’re ready so as to add to our prospects, and admittedly, how we’re influencing this trade to be higher.
Might you share an instance of a current venture the place RealPage has efficiently utilized AI to boost 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 assist mannequin for residents utilizing our platform, ClickPay. ClickPay is the place a resident can go in and make a fee. Previously, when you 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 deal with 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 should open a assist case. Now we’re rolling them out throughout our product suite, however that’s one instance the place residents had been the first to benefit from these new Gen AI fashions at RealPage.
Trying forward, what are a few of the developments or applied sciences you imagine can be essential for the way forward for the house trade, and the way is RealPage making 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 the way to ship the correct message to them on the correct platform.
We’re assembly prospects the place they’re.
As social media evolves, as communication omni channels change, we’re additionally adapting for that and we wish 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 part is round AI, and we’ve talked rather a lot about it right here, however it’s shifting so quick. We’re constructing Lumina in such a method that as capabilities grow to be obtainable, we will plug them into this platform and take benefit once more.
, we’re utilizing innovation, however there are such a lot of corporations which might be innovating, and we intend to associate with them and convey that to the multifamily trade.
Lastly, on a extra private notice, how do you keep motivated and maintain your group impressed, particularly within the fast-evolving subject of AI and expertise?
Properly, first I do plenty of studying, networking and speaking to consultants and luckily, I’ve had the chance in my profession to develop a fairly broad community of people. We carry alternative to the desk in and world wide of IT.
There are actually 3 classes we consider our work. It’s important to run the enterprise and that’s to ensure the methods are operating and we’re obtainable and we’re performing.
We have to be always bettering, so how can we do issues higher? And most significantly, how can we present up higher for our prospects?
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 grow to be entrance and middle, and we give even these workers which might be engaged on the run aspect of the enterprise and alternative to remodel.
So take into consideration AI.
Sure, we’re delivering to our prospects, however we’re additionally utilizing it internally at RealPage to ensure our infrastructure is operating proper to have insights of how we will do issues higher to point out up for our prospects. And so, whether or not that’s infosec, whether or not that’s constructing enterprise purposes, whether or not that’s simply operating the enterprise, we carry that mindset into our groups and provides them a chance to roll up their sleeves and expertise arms on.
And we see that chance actually driving plenty of enthusiasm.
