In our latest spotlight interview we spoke to Julian Vogel, Founder & Co-CEO at Tower360. Julian sheds light on the changing landscape in the real estate industry and their clients commitment to technology, how to successfully navigate digital transformation, and TOWer360’s product strategy. “Digitization needs to be an item on the CEO’s agenda and cannot be delegated to back-office IT. A clear digitization strategy is crucial for asset managers not only to compete but also to survive. If CEOs of real estate companies do not have a well-defined digital strategy focused on specific domains, guided by a roadmap and resource requirements, and aligned with their organizations around that program, they will not succeed.”

Q1- Can you give us a brief overview of Tower360 and the various solutions you offer to your clients?

Let me first set the scene. We are currently living in a highly disruptive period in the history of real estate. Commercial real estate owners endured a difficult two years, with inflation and rising interest rates causing rapid shifts in borrowing costs, construction costs, valuations, and asking prices. Value-add dealmaking, the lifeblood of many funds, stalled as investors halted new commitments and managers struggled with the challenges of underwriting transactions. For asset classes such as office, we will not see a recovery till 2026.

The pace of change and the increasing pressures that asset managers and fund managers face in this environment are overwhelming. With the transaction market at a standstill, asset management’s role in delivering value for real estate portfolios has become more crucial than ever. Key areas such as tenant management, leasing, disciplined execution of CAPEX, and a heightened focus on asset sustainability have emerged as primary drivers of fee generation for asset managers. In this context, leveraging technology has become the most significant enabler of value creation for asset managers.

At Tower360, we help asset and fund managers navigate these challenges and adapt to the rapid changes in the market by offering a vertically integrated, modular platform. Our platform covers data integration, workflow management, and forecasting capabilities for assets and funds, along with integrated reporting tools that are easy to share.

Q2- How does your solution differentiate itself when competing with traditional property management software vendors ?

We actually do not compete with traditional systems vendors like SAP, MRI, Yardi and others. Instead, we coexist alongside them. Our competition lies in the workflow, reporting and business planning ecosystem within the real estate industry. When an asset manager needs better data-driven insights, standardized workflows, and more agile and flexible planning processes, that’s where Tower360 comes in.

Traditional software vendors often struggle to keep up with the vast amounts of data generated today, especially given the unprecedented macroeconomic conditions. It is challenging for on-prem solutions to move to the cloud and adapt quickly to changing needs of clients. There is a significant market gap in front-office solutions for asset managers that are highly configurable to specific business requirements, the changing demands of clients, and the complexities of local markets. In a world where business conditions are constantly evolving, waiting for software to catch up is no longer an option.

Currently, most large real estate asset managers operate in highly siloed departments heavily relying on excel built tools to run multi-billion portfolios. Real estate asset managers need a platform that fosters collaboration and breaks down these silos. Think of Tower360 as an agile and nimble platform designed for any medium to large real estate company, enabling them to collaborate more effectively, be more data driven and adapt swiftly to market changes.

Q3- Given the current climate of heightened market uncertainty, are you observing greater caution among clients regarding their investment in and commitment to technology?

We don’t see a slowdown, but there is certainly more uncertainty due to the current macroeconomic and geopolitical landscape. However, the appetite for technology is growing among real estate companies that are seeking tools to gain a competitive advantage and adapt to these changes.

We are still in the early stages of digitization in the real estate industry. Our recent survey of pan-European and American real estate asset managers found that only one in twenty considered themselves fully digital. While 30% of asset managers surveyed had conducted initial proof-of-concepts (POCs) and were actively looking for a platform, the majority (49%) were still in the initial phase of developing a digital strategy and had not conducted any POCs yet. Additionally, 16% were not prioritizing digitization as a strategic focus.

The most forward-looking organizations are focused on streamlining their data management, planning, and workflows while exploring how to leverage AI to enhance business operations. They see technology as a critical investment for building a competitive advantage and becoming more digital and data-driven.

Q4 – What key capabilities are essential for asset managers to successfully navigate digital transformation?

We believe that there are at least five key elements critical for successful digital transformation.

First, digitization needs to be an item on the CEO’s agenda and cannot be delegated to back-office IT. A clear digitization strategy is crucial for asset managers not only to compete but also to survive. If CEOs of real estate companies do not have a well-defined digital strategy focused on specific domains, guided by a roadmap and resource requirements, and aligned with their organizations around that program, they will not succeed.

Second, there needs to be effective project management and communication systems in place. Asset management companies should develop in-house competencies in project management or coordinate with external consultants. Maintaining streamlined project management practices with regular updates and clear communication channels that integrate end users and departments from day one is essential. This includes a detailed understanding of gaps and specific domains (such as customer journeys, processes, and functions) that generate value for the business. For example, a clearly defined planning process, including the setup of parameters for asset valuation, rent roll forecasting, and capital expenditures and budgets, is necessary to implement an effective portfolio management system.

Third, comprehensive data availability and quality are critical success factors to ensure that reliable data sources are used for accurate asset performance analysis and reporting. If property management is outsourced, for example, it is crucial to first digitize the data delivery process and establish a data management platform with data cataloging and REST APIs to deliver data to subsequent systems before implementing the latest planning solutions.

Fourth, the company needs to have strong adoption and change management processes in place. In the past, the technology adoption cycle was a linear process of gathering requirements, developing solutions, and then testing and training users, which often led to low adoption rates and minimal business value. Successful digital transformations now follow a more iterative process of designing, prototyping, collecting feedback from various departments, and refining the solution to maximize value.

Fifth, choosing the right technology vendor is not straightforward. From our conversations, many asset management firms that have tried to build their own software have not been successful. Real estate firms are experts in managing assets, not in building technology platforms. It is better for them to partner with technology companies that have deep sector expertise and strong product-building capabilities. Additionally, businesses change and evolve rapidly these days, so choosing a flexible and modular platform that can adapt to changing conditions, rather than a monolithic system, is crucial for success.

No digital transformation in real estate can be successful without coordinated action across all these areas.

Q5- Lastly looking ahead, what are Tower360’s plans for future development and innovation to meet the evolving needs of the real estate industry? How are modern technologies such as AI going to impact what you do?

At Tower360, our goal is to develop a vertically integrated and modular product suite that not only meets but exceeds our clients’ expectations by covering the entire value chain of real estate asset management.

Over the past few years, we’ve built an incredible product and have partnered with remarkable customers who are pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in the industry. Our clients invest in real estate with a long-term perspective, and Tower360 is committed to being their trusted partner for decades to come.

Looking ahead, Tower360 has exciting plans for future development and innovation in our asset and fund management software to address the evolving needs of the real estate industry.

We have been following the rise of AI and LLMs for many years. We strongly believe that AI will drastically enhance the productivity of asset and fund managers in the next 5 to 10 years. However, it is important to acknowledge that many real estate owners lack the clean, accessible, and integrated data—which tools like Tower360 enable—that is essential for running AI models effectively and generating maximum value.

We are already in the process of integrating AI into our core products related to forecasting and enterprise-grade reporting, as well as workflows that use multi-modal inputs, whether it be text, documents, or insights across entire portfolios. This approach marks a significant shift for companies looking to leverage data more effectively in the future and is designed to revolutionize how our clients interact with and utilize data.