Oct 15, 2026
5 mins read
Future of Work
RealPage’s acquisition of Cherre offered a prescient signal for the future of real estate and coworking technology.
At the time, the message was promising: an open data platform that could connect property management systems and other data sources without forcing customers to replace the tools they already used. The proposition was straightforward: operators should be able to choose the technology that works best for their business.
Now, a new development raises a more fundamental question.
RealPage has reportedly paused all new site activations with EliseAI, an AI platform serving multifamily operators. Existing integrations remain operational for now, but new activations have been suspended indefinitely.
The implications extend well beyond the relationship between two companies. They touch on a question every real estate operator should be asking: Who ultimately decides which technologies your business can use?
For decades, property management systems have occupied a defensible position at the center of real estate operations. They hold the leases, financial records, tenant information, and operational data that businesses depend on every day. Replacing them is expensive, disruptive, and often unnecessary.
That position made the system of record the natural center of the technology stack. Other tools integrated with it, adding specialized capabilities around the core platform.
But now, AI is beginning to change that relationship.
Early AI applications often functioned as features: answering leasing inquiries, automating communications, or helping teams complete individual tasks. Increasingly, AI agents are designed to coordinate workflows across leasing, maintenance, and operations.
As these agents become more capable, they can potentially serve as the interface through which people interact with multiple underlying systems.
That changes where value accrues. The system of record still matters, but the ability to orchestrate actions across systems becomes increasingly important, too.
And when an independent AI platform starts to occupy that role, the relationship between the incumbent software provider and the customer can change. Integrations are no longer simply a way to exchange data. They can determine which capabilities a business can access in the first place.
There are legitimate reasons to manage integrations carefully. Security, privacy, data integrity, reliability, and commercial considerations all matter. An open ecosystem does not mean every connection should be approved without scrutiny.
But let’s be clear: there is a meaningful difference between protecting a platform and restricting a customer’s options.
When operators invest in software, they are making decisions about how to run their businesses. They may choose one platform for core operations, another for pricing, and a third for AI-powered automation. Those decisions reflect their needs, their workflows, and the outcomes they want to achieve.
If access to one system determines which innovations can be deployed across the rest of the stack, the customer has less control than the apparent flexibility of that stack suggests.
This is the risk of vendor dependency: the freedom to choose technology exists only as long as the underlying platform permits it.
This isn’t just a multifamily issue. The same dynamics could play out across commercial real estate, flexible workspace, and other sectors where a single vendor controls critical operational data.
For flex operators evaluating technology, interoperability should be more than a feature on a product comparison sheet. It should be part of the procurement conversation.
Can data move between systems? Are integrations documented and dependable? What happens if a vendor changes its integration policies? Can the business adopt a new capability without replacing its core platform?
These questions matter because technology decisions have consequences long after a contract is signed.
The next generation of real estate technology won’t be defined solely by which platform has the most features or the most sophisticated AI. It will also be shaped by which platforms give customers the freedom to adapt as better tools emerge.