END TO END: Industry Disruption from the VaultWare/MRI Deal
Is the MRI acquisition of VaultWare announced in late December big news? Of course it is, and not just because it will combine two of multifamily tech’s most storied, respected and established players. Deals come and go—its after the applause dies down that everyone has a chance to read the writing on the wall, and MRI CEO David Post isn’t making that too difficult for anyone, calling the deal a creation of “the strongest tenant lifecycle management system” in the multifamily industry.Translation: the development of bona fide online leasing systems is the game-changer everyone thought it was going to be. Certainly MRI and VaultWare aren’t alone out on that particular apartment tech frontier, and you can bet this deal has serious antennae raised down in Carrollton, Tex., out in Santa Barbara, Calif., and up in Provo, Utah. But are we totally there yet? Does the MRI / VaultWare deal close the loop, or is there work yet to be done in creating total ownership of residents on a single platform, from their first hint of becoming a prospect to the third, fourth and fifth renewal of a lease?
