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IT Providers Disappoint Multifamily Sector; 'Jetson' Apartment Not Quite Reality

DALLAS-The multifamily sector is still waiting for the IT providers to make good on promises for big savings and heightened efficiency. Meanwhile, IT firms blame the industry's complexity for the Jetson apartment not being ready to lease.

By Connie Gore | Updated on November 08, 2000

DALLAS-The multifamily sector is cautiously waiting for high-tech companies to make good on early-on promises of exorbitant savings and streamlined efficiency.

“We’re definitely a little ways away from the Jetson apartment,” Steve Lefkovits, vice president of the National Multi Housing Council told GlobeSt.com. “It’s been a tremendous disappointment to the industry.” The council has just wrapped up a two-day Apartment Technology Conference in Dallas, where an estimated 600 owners, managers, lenders and IT providers had gathered to wrestle with the state of the industry.

The conference consensus is that IT companies need to collaborate and combine services to deliver on the promises that have been made to the multifamily sector. Lefkovits has been pressuring for bottom line accounting because he doesn’t believe the industry is as inefficient as many IT providers claim. And, he emphasizes, some – such as procurement services – need to step back and consider setting up a point of presence with brick-and-mortar wholesalers instead of developing a point-and-click replacement. “We’re talking about aggregating human behavior,” explains Lefkovits. “People have existing relationships … We have a very dynamic, competitive marketplace. I’d be shocked and amazed if the inefficiencies are still there.”

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