Integrating Multifamily Technology

How do integrations affect your

Multifamily company?

Integrations have become a major concern for multifamily owners, operators, and the technology vendors providing services. Multifamily owners and operators expect technologies to integrate with their current systems, placing pressure on technology vendors to take on the responsibility of providing seamless integrations as a part of their service.

We will investigate concerns from both perspectives to see just how important integrations have become for vendors to succeed in a competitive marketplace, and how this affects the properties they serve.

A lot has been said about the problems of integrations, yet the perspective of both multifamily operators and technology vendors has been neglected.

Please fill out the following questions:

What types of properties does your company primarily serve? *

How many units is your product currently deployed in? *

How does your company service the multifamily industry? *

What research and work have you done to understand technology integrations in multifamily? *

What PMSs (Property Management Accounting Systems) do you integrate with? *

What problems have you encountered with your vendors initially setting up integrations with your PMS systems?

It often takes a long time to set up

It often doesn't work properly

It is expensive

The integrations available were not compatible with the PMS

It broke other integrations that were already implemented

I haven't had issues with setting up PMS integrations

How effective are PMS system integrations at providing the data you need to make your product work properly? *

Very effective, they provide all the data we need

Effective, they provide most of the data we need

Somewhat effective, they provide some critical data, but not all

Not effective at all, they provide very little useful data

We don't integrate with PMS systems

How reasonable are the fees that technology vendors charge to access their API? *

Are the integrations your company uses regularly breaking or not updating? *

They seldom break, but we are notified

They seldom break, but we are not notified when they break

They break often, but we are notified

They break often, but we are not notified when they break

They don't break

Do you feel you are or have previously been locked out of the market due to fees charged for integrating with PMS systems (Property Management Accounting Systems)? *

Yes, and it has a major effect

Yes, but it has a minor effect

No

Do you charge more for your products to offset the costs of integrations? *

Yes, we directly charge the client for this

Yes, we roll the expense into the general cost of our product

No, we deal with the expense ourselves

We are not affected by integration costs

Which parties should be responsible for paying PMS (Property Management Accounting System) integration fees? *

How often do you encounter issues with your existing technology integrations? *

Never

Occasionally, but the issues are minor

Occasionally, but the issues are significant

Regularly, but the issues are minor

Regularly, but the issues are significant

When your company isn't already integrated, is your product often overlooked? *

Yes, if we aren't integrated, we are almost always overlooked

Yes, if we aren't integrated, we are sometimes overlooked

No, we are rarely overlooked if we aren't integrated

How much do integration limitations impact your product's ability to deliver value to your customers? *

Huge impact

Moderate impact

Minor impact

No impact

How accurate is the API documentation your integration partners provide? *

Almost perfectly accurate

Mostly accurate

Rarely accurate

They rarely have documentation in the first place

How accurate is the API documentation that your company provides to your integration partners? *

Almost perfectly accurate

Mostly accurate

Rarely accurate

We don't have much, if any, API documentation

How often do you update your APIs to support new functionality? *

Weekly

Monthly

Quarterly

Annually or less frequently

How satisfied are you with the pace of API improvements from your integration partners? *

Very satisfied

Somewhat satisfied

Somewhat unsatisfied

Very unsatisfied

How difficult is it to work with technology vendors on configuring new integrations? *

Very easy

Somewhat easy

Somewhat difficult

Very difficult

Which competitive advantages do you gain from your integrations with other systems? *

We gain access to the markets that rely on the system we're integrating with

We gain access to new tools and capabilities to improve our product

It reduces the amount of manpower required to make our product work

It makes our product work faster

Our product could not function without integrations

How much of an impact do you think charging for technology to integrate with APIs has on the pace of innovation in your company? *

Huge impact

Moderate impact

Minor impact

No impact

How much of an impact do you think charging for technology to integrate with APIs has on the pace of innovation in the industry as a whole? *

Huge impact

Moderate impact

Minor impact

No impact

Would you be interested in participating in an initiative to define industry-wide API standards? *

Yes

Yes, if the standards will match our current company model

No

How much faster do you believe your company could innovate if technology providers implemented APIs that utilize industry-standard integration specifications? *

How much faster do you believe the industry as a whole could innovate if technology providers implemented APIs that utilize industry-standard integration specifications? *

Would you update your existing APIs to support new industry standards? *

What changes would you like to see in the industry to make integrations work smoothly like they do in other industries? *

Is there anything else you would like to share in regard to integrations? *

First Name *

Last Name *

Email *

Company Name *