This year, Berkadia Innovation’s premier annual conference (ICON) highlighted cutting-edge technological advancements and strategic insights, fostering groundbreaking discussions, and networking opportunities. Key highlights included an in-depth exploration of our AI assistant Berkie, a panel discussion with our management committee, and a strong emphasis on our commitment to innovation. The event set the stage for transformative changes within our organization and the broader industry.
The event began with an in-depth exploration of what Innovation means for Berkadia. We examined our hybrid approach to innovation. This approach balances sustaining innovation, which enhances existing processes to maintain market leadership, with disruptive innovation. Disruptive innovation involves embracing new technologies and business models to capture new markets. Our investment outlook reflects this balance, with 30% dedicated to maintaining current operations, 31% to developing new capabilities, and 39% to modernizing legacy systems.
Every year, ICON sparks excitement and engagement among employees. The prior introduction of Berkie, our AI assistant, amplified that enthusiasm even further. Berkie has already begun to enhance productivity by automating routine tasks such as writing and proofreading emails, summarizing articles, generating property descriptions, and more. This allows our team to focus on more strategic, value-added activities. The discussion around Berkie emphasized the importance of clean, integrated data. Berkie leverages this data to provide actionable insights, thereby improving decision-making processes across the entire company.
The importance of collaboration across different service lines was a key theme focused on throughout the event. On the production side, our producers utilize data analyses for market assessment, asset valuation, and exploring finance options, supported by tools like Pyxis and Omniview. Berkadia’s unique advantage lies in our ability to find off-market assets and engage clients with our innovative tools and technology. By generating and sharing data-backed outputs, we offer unparalleled value and service. Our comprehensive data integration from verified sources provides a complete picture, setting us apart in the industry. We aim to continue and strengthen the mutual respect and strong partnership between the innovation team and other departments to drive even greater successes.
Outside of our organization, our commitment to innovation has strengthened our relationships with clients and partners. By positioning Berkadia as the forward-thinking leader in the industry, we’ve enhanced our market reputation and opened up new business opportunities. Our conversations with agencies such as Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, for instance, have been positively influenced by our technological advancements, leading to more streamlined and efficient processes. Special Agent Lars Hansen from the FHFA, held a unique session hosted by Dan Brendes, SVP, Head of GSE Lending and delved into how we can leverage technology and data to detect and prevent fraud in the CRE industry.
We are committed to fostering an environment that encourages experimentation and continuous learning, where we can fail fast to learn fast. This is reflected in our investment strategy, with a significant portion of our budget allocated to developing new capabilities and modernizing legacy systems.
By embracing innovation and fostering collaboration across the organization, we’re well-positioned to achieve our long-term goals, including investing in our people (through training and development) and investing in disruptive technologies. What excites us most about the future is Berkadia’s ability to thrive in a dynamic market, embrace change, and consistently deliver valuable insights to our producers. Further, we are incredibly mindful of building diverse teams, and have made tremendous strides in our DEIB initiatives. In the evolving world of innovation and commercial real estate, the need for diverse perspectives and inclusive practices has never been more crucial. Berkadia Innovation takes full advantage of BELONG, a cornerstone of our values-based culture dedicated to shaping an inclusive workforce with diverse perspectives that enable us to become a better Berkadia. Berkadia’s potential is incredibly promising; we are well-positioned with a strong foundation, leading the way while others play catch-up.