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Our Co-Founder and CEO Emiel Bril spoke with Robert Entin, Executive Vice President and Chief Information Officer at Vornado Realty Trust, for an insightful conversation on the future of PropTech and its transformative impact on the real estate industry.
Robert is a frequent speaker and thought leader on real estate technology, with a unique perspective as both a designer and user of technology. He serves as an expert source on emerging CRE trends and was named one of Commercial Observer’s PropTech Power 30 in both 2022 and 2023.
Keep reading below for the full interview.
My educational background is as a Computer Science Engineer, so I’m really a software guy at heart. My senior design project was the feasibility of microprocessors becoming suitable for in-house accounting systems. Ultimately, IBS became the embodiment of that project having chosen the Real Estate industry for a number of reasons.
I've been involved in PropTech for many years. I founded IBS, which is now 40 years old and was a dominant system in the New York market. About 18 years ago a portion of the IBS organization joined Vornado, and thus began my journey as a CIO.
One of the interesting aspects of my career is that I spent a large part of it writing software for customers and not actually using the software myself. Transitioning from a software developer and vendor to also becoming the user was interesting. Some of our designs that we thought worked very well, in practice did not when in production environments.
In addition to solving problems and being involved in software development, I also get to oversee large networks, manage cybersecurity protections, and participate in building operational technology.
It is crucial to thoroughly understand the business at a granular level. CIOs need to spend time with the various business units across their company to fully understand each part of the business. There is no substitute.
One must also have a firm grasp of accounting. While operations and PropTech related to the built environment are important, the business has many complications which translates into a complex set of books and records. Understanding the principles of accounting is extremely important in understanding how generally businesses work. While every industry has nuanced accounting requirements, the fundamentals are similar.
Some CIOs or CTOs began their careers in accounting having developed a passion for technology. Their challenge is often grasping some of the deeper technological issues. Conversely, those who began their career on the technology side often are challenged to understand the business complexity and accounting issues. I am fortunate to have a love for both.
Over the past 10-15 years or so, with the rise of smartphones, the Internet, and especially the growth in cloud services, creating targeted web-first point solutions has become much more agile. The onslaught of cloud-first applications that are mobile-friendly has been exciting to watch.
Of course, the big topic now is AI. When AI matures, it will certainly cause another large technological shift. My view is that AI hasn’t yet fully matured and had that effect. We’ve experimented with some basic AI projects that have worked, but have frankly been disappointed with the progress on complex tasks.
The next 5 years will be interesting. When ChatGPT splashed onto the scene in November 2023, everyone expected immediate transformation, frankly like during the dot-com boom. People thought the entire world would be online within a year. That shift took about 15 years. I believe AI's adoption will be much faster because the tools are already advanced and getting better at an exponential rate. In the next 3 to 5 years, we should see some truly groundbreaking applications.
One common blind spot I notice is the importance of cybersecurity. Early-stage startups often don’t pay enough attention to it, yet it’s a crucial aspect of any product.
Another area of concern is whether founders truly understand their customers' businesses.
Third, it’s essential to ask if your solution is genuinely addressing a real-world problem. If you have a solution that tackles a real problem with viable economics, and you thoroughly understand your customer’s business and can effectively communicate that, you’ll be in a strong position for success.
On the building operations side, we’re constantly exploring new technology, especially with the push to bring people back to the office. As a premier office owner, we’ve been innovative in the amenities and features we offer in our buildings. To maintain our leadership, we recognize the importance of staying ahead of the curve, and our New York operations group has its own tech team that collaborates with us to evaluate various solutions.
On the corporate side, management is seeking greater agility in our financial modeling and greater and easier access to data for user created analytics. Given the current challenges with capital, return-to-work efforts, and the commercial market, the ability to make informed decisions requires faster "what-if" analyses. Deciding on financial strategy is more complicated and requires more comprehensive scenario planning which can be complex. And when you’re dealing with market uncertainty, one needs to be much better prepared.
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