Why Trust & Long-Term Vision Matter in CRE Tech: Insights from Rockport’s Kent Waltman

Anytime you're entering a long-term relationship, there must be a level of trust for it to work for both parties. It can't be one-sided. I've got a long history. With Rockport as a competitor. And so first, I would tell you that just by competing with Rockport, you learn a lot about the people behind the company. You must evaluate does the counterparty on the other side of this relationship? Do they have the ability to deliver on what they're promising? The great part for us here at Rockport is we've got great people, we've got leadership starting with Rick, who values integrity above all.

But we also have a track record of success where our clients can look to the track record. They don't have to guess. They can look to our track record in the marketplace and determine that we do in fact have the wherewithal to deliver on the promises that we're making. It's critically important in a business like ours where it's not simply about one transaction, but with an enterprise level software system, our clients, and as a vendor, as a software provider, the company, we're making a mutual commitment to a long-term relationship.

I came here because of the integrity that we've talked about. As a consumer of enterprise level software, that ought to be a critical question. Do I trust that the company that I'm purchasing from can deliver on what it is I expect? And do I believe that they're in this market and committed to this market for the long term? The bigger question, in my opinion, for our customers is the who are you choosing to do business with? And do you trust that company to continue to evolve with you to deliver those feature sets that are required?

So, when you're a purchaser of our software and services, you can have confidence that we're being transparent and honest, and we have the capability to deliver on what we're promising you will deliver in that long-term relationship.