At PointCentral, we’re focused on supporting property managers to overcome the challenges involved in running a short-term or long-term rental business. That’s why we have an entire team dedicated to helping our partners set up and troubleshoot our tech integrations.
We caught up with Calvin Ternes, Technical Account Manager of our Technical Account Management team, to uncover how PointCentral works closely with its partners to make the integration of property technology solutions as smooth as possible.
You work within the Technical Account Management (TAM) team to help partners troubleshoot any issues and answer queries. Could you go a little deeper into what a typical day looks like for you at PointCentral?
A typical day for me at PointCentral involves being a point of contact and conduit for API/Integration related internal needs, including integration escalations, and integration-related documentation. I help enable and disable customer integrations and work with customers directly for integration partner changes.
Our team supports new and existing Property Management Software integration partners to get ahead of changes that might disrupt a current integration, make improvements to existing integrations, and work with new developer partners to get new integrations with PointCentral developed.
Oftentimes I am working on testing and reproducing behaviors to help support the PointCentral team and customers. I focus a lot on documenting knowledge and outlining how processes play out so our team can be equipped and ready to respond to customer needs and we can improve the internal processes to work efficiently and effectively as a company.
In your opinion, based on your close working relationships with PointCentral’s partners, how vital is it for property managers to have support from their platform’s providers?
In an ever-changing software landscape and with many available options, it’s imperative to work with a software solution that has a strong and responsive support team. I’m proud to say that our API email and phone support teams provide excellent and timely service to every property management company that we work with, and will continue to do so.
Our support team always goes the extra mile. In a situation where they don’t know the answer to a partner’s query, they’ll ask around and complete extensive research, before going back to the property manager with findings. Having access to a knowledgeable and effective support team ensures that property managers have more time to focus on their business with the assurance they have a team ready to back them up.
Could you tell us a little about your own background, including your Software Engineering Masters, and how this led to you working with smart home technology?
I’ve worked in a variety of fields and careers. In school, I had an interest in understanding the world and the people that live in it and therefore studied a field in International Studies. While this continues to be an interest of mine, I love working in Software and smart home technology. I’ve always been a problem solver and wear that hat with pride. I love bringing my problem-solving mindset to any career I have found myself in to see what solutions I can bring to the table.
As an Insurance Underwriter approving loans, I would build spreadsheets and programs to automate parts of my job, this allowed me to work quicker, smarter, and with less error. This eventually led me to an interest in pursuing a Master of Software Engineering, and while that is not finished yet I have been able to apply much of my learned knowledge to my position as a Technical Account Manager supporting API integrations with PointCentral.
I love looking for improvements, simplifications, and in general problem solving, so some things never change regardless of the job!
Based on your problem-solving expertise, do you have any predictions of what’s next for property tech solutions in the industry?
I think the future will look a lot like the present in that there are a lot of software and device solutions becoming available and vying for the attention of property managers. In my opinion, the industry needs more cross collaborations between software partners, and property managers need to feel confident in these partnerships and devices.
I think Covid really highlighted the necessity of automation in the property management space. Now the benefits of these technologies have been witnessed, property managers are looking for solutions for everything from resident entry to prospective tenant viewings, like Self-Guided Tours.
Do you foresee challenges that may hold back these industry tech innovations?
Development takes time! With so many software solutions available it can be difficult for property managers to find the right partnerships. So, working with software that has a competitive lineup of partners, a proven track record of providing customers with well-thought-out integrations, and a company that is dedicated to continuing to support property managers and their integrations after development will be key to navigating the challenges in the property tech market throughout the 2020s.
When property managers identify a solution that works effectively they can spend more time growing their business and less time handing out keys.
