Last week, Cristina, Ellis and I had the pleasure of exhibiting at Mipim, one of the world’s leading trade show for the property business. The event lasted four days, from March 14 to 17. It was hosted in the famous “Palais des Festivals et des Congrès” in Cannes, which hosts the annual “Cannes Film Festival” and needs no introduction.

While sadly there were no Hollywood stars in sight at that time of the year, we were able to rub elbows with la crème de la crème of the real estate and property industry. With over two thousand exhibitors and twenty thousand participants, there was plenty to see, people to meet, and things to learn.

What surprised us is how many people contacted us before the event; and by the time we had set up shop in the Innovation Forum Hall, visitors kept streaming in.

20160321_mipim-blog-postThe interest garnered by iCloudFIS was incredibly heartening. We particularly loved the fact that so many people were keen to share knowledge and explore ideas. In the process, we learned a ton: from the future of healthcare real estate investment to the evolution of smart cities.

As a property convention, one noticeable thing was the shift towards total cost of ownership: whereas in the past the focus was on building the property to the point of handing over the keys and maximising ROI, now property owners are looking to keep a stake for as long as possible. Hence, our software was of interest to a whole swathe of contacts that 5 years ago, wouldn’t have cared one jot!

All in all, it was a great event, and made some valuable contacts.

Thank you Mipim Organisers!