Commercial real estate once lagged behind most other industries when it came to technology adoption, but the pandemic has accelerated its use of these advancements that could expand its performance to new levels.
“Efficient use of space and reliability are two areas that are definitely influencing technology,” said Tony Clark, SVP of technology and innovation at Colliers International. “Another key theme I’m seeing is an increased focus on ease-of-use tools. CRE as a business has found ways to continue to function and support employees and customers through remote-work utilities.”
After the industry settled into the reality of operating through a pandemic, companies began modernizing their processes in terms of accounting, valuations, management and remote service provisioning.
Additionally, adopting a hybrid shift schedule, limiting in-person meetings and upgrading remote working capabilities became a necessity.
Machine learning has been a great resource for automating commercial real estate by monitoring performance and detecting when maintenance may be necessary.
Even more, technology has the ability to track occupancy and space usage in order to keep users safe within a building, improve areas that get the most use and decrease energy usage.
Landlords have also embraced using technology for showings through 3D property walkthroughs, 4K resolution photos, detailed floor plans and interactive maps.
“Expect more video and instant collaboration products,” said Clark. “Anything that can be digitalized will be, especially with innovations like Wi-Fi 6 and 5G that deliver real-time speeds.”
