Commercial real estate technology investments can consume capital and staff time while leaving the owner’s expense problem unresolved. The gap starts when a vendor sells before understanding the building and widens when implementation leaves the people using the system without adequate support. On Peak Property Performance®, we explored that gap with Ryan Elazari, a commercial real estate operator, innovation leader, educator, and host of CRE Unplugged. His experience connects the asset manager’s financial expectations with the daily work required to deliver them. You can listen to the full episode for the complete conversation.
Build the Investment Case From the Property
Ryan began with the outcome owners expect: lower expenses and higher NOI. A vendor needs to explain how its proposed technology produces that outcome within the property being evaluated. Ryan described a boiler management vendor at his previous firm that inspected the building without charging a fee, working through every floor from the boiler room to the roof. The vendor then delivered an analysis of its solution’s benefits. That sequence gave the owner a property-specific basis for evaluating the proposal. For an asset manager allocating capital, the inspection matters because it connects the proposed investment to the conditions that will determine its usefulness and payback.
They want to be able to make sure to lower their expenses and increase their NOI.
Ryan Elazari
Ryan’s own progression from property management to asset management shaped this expectation. Learning how a building operates gave him a foundation for evaluating investments at a higher level. We shared his concern about vendors opening a meeting with a demonstration before asking about the customer’s problem. Building systems operate within a larger environment, where the usefulness of a proposed capability depends on how people will access it and how it fits existing operations. The investment discussion should establish the expense being addressed, the operational change required, and the evidence that would demonstrate improvement. Those questions give the asset manager something concrete to evaluate before committing capital.
Usability Determines Whether the Investment Keeps Working
Ryan also described an early boiler management implementation that became difficult for the building team to use. The system relied on a Wi-Fi connection and a switch, with boiler information available through desktop computers. There was no mobile access at the time. When staff were away from the office, or were not continually checking the platform, visibility into boiler operation became difficult. Superintendents grew frustrated and began bypassing the system. Eventually, a property manager ended the implementation despite the money already invested. Ryan described the wasted investment as hundreds of thousands of dollars. The operating workflow had become the point where the financial case broke down.
That experience gives an asset manager a practical diligence question: can the people responsible for the equipment use the proposed system during their actual workday? Boiler controls sit within operational technology, the systems that run the building. Connecting IT + OT under an Owner Data Standard requires attention to how information reaches the people expected to act on it. As we put it in owner conversations, you have a plan for IT; we help you build a plan for OT, the technology that runs your buildings and drives NOI. Ryan’s example shows why that plan must account for access, usability, and support. When staff bypass a system, its purchase no longer translates into the operating capability the owner intended.
Assign Responsibility for Adoption Before Launch
A multifamily move-in tool offered Ryan a successful adoption example. His organization had onboarding problems, and the technology gave incoming tenants a checklist of tasks to complete before moving into their apartments. The vendor’s CEO and customer success team made themselves available for meetings with the people who would use the product. They checked in weekly and reached out when alerts went unanswered. Their involvement connected the checklist to an active follow-up process, helping the team keep the implementation functioning. The vendor treated communication and continued attention as part of delivery.
Ryan’s own responsibilities expanded in similar ways. As head of innovation, he scheduled training for engineers, superintendents, and leasing administrative staff so they understood the technology they were expected to use. When we asked whether an asset manager could realistically absorb that work alongside existing responsibilities, he advocated a separate role. Ownership should establish who handles training, resolves questions, and follows up when usage drops. That assignment belongs in the investment decision because delivering the expected return depends on sustained use.
Examine the Interests Behind a Recommendation
A technology recommendation can influence capital allocation before an owner has compared alternatives. Ryan described the confidence owners place in large property management firms when those firms recommend a product. He raised a concern about whether the recommendation had gone through a proper bidding process. We extended that discussion to the financial relationships behind endorsements: a recommending company may own part of the vendor, receive a commission, or have another interest in the selection. Those relationships give an asset manager relevant context for evaluating advice. Asking who benefits from a purchase helps ownership understand how the proposed option reached the table and whether the selection process considered the owner’s priorities.
We suggested direct questions about compensation, ownership interests, and responsibility when a service fails. The answers need to be examined together: a financial connection explains the incentive, while the service commitment identifies who remains accountable after purchase. Ryan also recommended speaking with other owner-operators about their experiences before approaching vendors. Peer conversations can reveal how a product performs outside a sales presentation and help ownership compare alternatives. The Peak Property Performance® book develops the owner’s responsibility for setting the technology roadmap and asking these questions. For an asset manager carrying a recommendation to a principal, documenting the selection rationale makes the capital request easier to scrutinize and gives the eventual decision a record that survives changes in personnel.
Develop the Knowledge to Evaluate New Uses for an Asset
Ryan’s graduate-level teaching at Baruch College exposed another constraint on investment decisions: familiarity with technology varies even among people preparing to advance in real estate. He described students who were unfamiliar with widely discussed AI tools, challenging the assumption that younger professionals arrive with the knowledge needed to evaluate them. His classroom also brought together people working in development, affordable housing, and other specialties. Ryan said he learned from those students about their markets, projects, and changing laws. That exchange matters because an asset manager assessing a new opportunity needs knowledge from the disciplines that determine whether the proposed use can actually work. Professional relationships provide access to that knowledge before an assumption becomes part of an investment plan.
Like, you'll be surprised, the younger generation isn't as tech-savvy as most would think.
Ryan Elazari
The discussion made this concrete through students’ assumptions about converting office properties to residential use or data centers. Ryan cautioned against treating either conversion as straightforward, particularly when an office investor lacks the specialized experience required for data centers. We raised plumbing in the residential conversion discussion and asked whether a technically possible project could make money. For ownership, those questions connect an appealing concept to the physical requirements, specialist capabilities, and economics that determine its viability. The lesson for evaluating emerging technology is to seek the relevant expertise early and test the business assumption before committing to a direction. Conversations across disciplines help expose requirements that a broad market narrative can leave out. The Peak Property Performance® Podcast brings those operating perspectives together so owners and asset managers can examine opportunities with a fuller understanding of what execution requires.
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