In this episode, we're joined by Jim McCathern, Vice President of Sales & Business Development Tax & CAMA Vertical at Catalis to talk about being a technological leader and new trends in the assessment field: Jim’s background Introduction to Assessment Matters podcast Jim’s background in real estate valuation and architecture The founding story of Patriot Properties Difference in technology back in the 1980s The development of CAMA (Computer Assisted Mass Appraisal) systems as a way to scale up assessment Where the CAMA market is going Speed of technological development vs government change Transition towards cloud-based computing and automation Transparency and availability of information The fragmentation of the CAMA market Variation of property assessment and taxation by state Patriot Properties’ expansion from Massachusetts to the rest of the US How to think about growth Horizontal (more states) vs vertical (more cities within states) Strategy Advice for assessors buying a new CAMA system Having an open mind about workflow How to adapt to new technology Accommodating existing vs introducing new practices Parting advice