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By Taylor Williams  The unimpeachable role of technology in multifamily operations has been growing for some time, but COVID-19 has accelerated the importance of these platforms to a level that is unlikely to change even after the pandemic has fizzled out. Particularly with regard to leasing units to new renters and hiring and retaining talented management professionals, multifamily operators have had little choice but to embrace new technologically advanced ways of doing business. And since competition for tenants and staff are equally intense within the major apartment markets of Texas, operators that have developed proficiencies with new apps, platforms and equipment are pulling away from the pack. A panel of multifamily owner-operators and leasing agents discussed these topics at length during the first day of the ninth-annual InterFace Multifamily Texas conference. The two-day virtual event, which was hosted and organized by Atlanta-based France Media, was held Nov. 18-19 in lieu of the fall gathering that usually brings multifamily professionals from across the state together in Dallas. The Customer Side The panelists provided anecdotal evidence of just how important technology has become to the leasing and management aspects of their operations. “We’ve used basic equipment like video-stabilizing pods, which can be …