In his latest spotlight interview, Yavica Chief Revenue Officer David Oates shares insights about Yavica's journey so far, highlighting the contrasting attitude towards technology adoption in the UK and Scandinavian regions, as well as the company's vision and future plans. Cost centres, and real estate, can be added to various departments that need to be placed on shared records, such as vendors and tenants.
Q1- Yavica has grown significantly over the last few years, and has also been strengthened by the recent Børsen Gazelle 2024 Awards. How did it have influenced Yavica's founding, and especially the diverse expertise of our current team, have the company evolved over time? 
Yavica was founded in 2017 by Mads Pihl Sorensen, following the management acquisition from CGI. Like many startups, the company has evolved significantly, complementing the original passionate and talented team with years of experience with experienced real estate and technology experts. These include Charlie Wade, former MD International at VTS as the UK Managing Director. Matthijs Claessens, Benelux region leader with over 15 years of experience with Microsoft D365 Market, and Tracey Malloy-Pearson, Managing Director of US Business. Adding this to more than 200 people covering product development, consulting, support and sales, we're building (and continuing to build) an incredibly scary team.We have now created a resilient (and evolving) process to ensure that our clients get the best possible experience when dealing with Yavica. And its commitment to transparency and integrity with clients and prospects has proven to be extremely well received.
Q2- What's the overview of FlexProperty solutions and how they can help improve the real estate company's processes?
In simplest terms, FlexProperty unlocks Microsoft platforms for real estate. No one at Big Tech invests in “enterprise solutions” like Microsoft does, but most real estate companies are unable to take advantage of all of their innovations because their core operations and data are not within their ecosystem. Dynamics 365 is the leading ERP solution, but is designed as a horizontal platform. FlexProperty is embedded within D365 and is a “purpose-fitting” work in the real estate industry (and all “nuances!) when customers are lease, property management, finance, facilities, and tenant engagement, their processes, and especially when relevant data becomes Microsoft native. Now you have one real-time source of truth, one of the “dataverses” and all the tools you need to convert it into bottom line effects. That means creating rewarding tenant experiences on the Power Portal, driving strategic decisions using the Power BI dashboard, and diversifying from a solid and reliable foundation to a new market. Yavica is interested in helping real estate companies move needles, and FlexProperty is leveraging the full Microsoft platform to make that happen.
Q3- How does Yavica's data management solution support clients in integrating property data from multiple sources?
Master data management is one of the biggest challenges real estate companies face when growing their portfolios. We all know how complex corporations, real estate groups, cost centers, and real estate can be. Plus, you'll need a variety of departments that need to be tailored to shared records like vendors and tenants, and even the best enterprise solutions have recipes that are wrong. What you need is “mission control” of your data, which is what Yavica Data Management (YDM) provides. This does this through two pillars: defining how companies relate to each other and structuring how data is shared.
Customers use YDM's enhanced data governance tool to eliminate all the time wasted by manually intruding, re-entering, adjusting and verifying data across systems and departments. Perhaps even more impactful is getting real-time data that their decision makers can trust and act, rather than watch them pass by while they wait for yet another revision. And they do everything by burning security and privacy with design.
Q4-With Yavica's business spanning the Nordic region, Asia and North America, what is the difference in attitude towards adopting solutions like themselves in other regions compared to the UK?
As everyone knows, the real estate industry has traditionally been cautious about adopting new technologies. However, that trend is now changing. We have been extremely successful in the UK, Scandinavian and European markets, attracting customers such as Inaccurate, Landsec, Nepi Rockcastle, CTP, and more, with a significant increase in traction over the past 12 months. However, gaining these clients is only part of the story. Like key technology changes, adoption is important and we spend a huge amount of time working with partners such as KPMG to manage the recruitment and change management process, ensuring that clients extract maximums from monumental changes in business processes. We are fortunate to be integrated into the Microsoft ecosystem. Almost every client has made a big investment in its ecosystem, and Yavica's ability to sit seamlessly in Microsoft Dynamics 365 gives clients a great deal of confidence and resilience.
Of course, the willingness to consider alternative technology strategies for real estate management and finance varies not only by region but also by organization. For example, in the US market, I really like the current situation. But that's why my role is so much fun. Because you get the opportunity to gain hearts, hearts and new clients in new markets and sectors.
Q5-Finally, looking ahead, what are your plans for the next few years? And how do you see your solutions adapt to changing industry?
Our CEO, Mads, has always said that his vision is a de facto standard for managing frontline and back office processes in the real estate market. We are committed to continuing to develop solutions to meet the changing demands of today's CFOs, CTOs and asset managers, and we will continue to build innovative enhancements to FlexProperty, which, combined with Microsoft's massive commitment to AI and their growing investment in the development of the D365, will deliver real value to our clients. Our focus is always on improving productivity and processes, and most importantly, enabling data-driven insights into the performance of modern real estate businesses and the assets it commands.
As a Yavica CRO, my biggest focus in the coming years is continuing to grow my footprint, especially in the US, as the world's largest real estate market. We are also committed to our partner program to make the journey easier for our clients and prospects. The relationship with the world's largest SIs, such as KPMG, PWC, and EY, is already very strong in Europe, and this needs to be replicated in the NA market. We also have partnerships with leading real estate consultants such as Alpha Alternatives (formerly Lion Point) and Real Foundations, the strength and depth of all these relationships that will help you achieve your future goals.
From a personal perspective, I am committed to giving customers and prospects the best possible experience when traveling through Yavica. It's the first time in my (too long!) career and I've seen truly disruptive techniques in an area where disruption has been delayed for a long time. It's been a great ride so far and I can confidently predict that it will only get better!
