Flex workspace operators are using a more concentrated group of software tools, but disconnected systems are leaving many with the same manual tasks they hoped technology would eliminate.
A survey of 334 flex operators by OfficeRnD found that 68% identified poor integration between systems as their biggest technology challenge, up from 61% a year earlier. Implementation cost was the second-largest concern at 52%.
Billing and Paperwork Take Up the Most Time
Invoicing and payments were the most frequently cited repetitive task, accounting for 27% of responses. Member communication and support followed at 21%, while contracts, quotes and proposals accounted for 20%.
The problem is particularly pronounced for larger operators, where contracts, quotes and proposals become a bigger source of manual work.
Two-thirds of operators said they would rather improve connections between their existing tools than have their space management software absorb more functions.
Operators Want Integrations They Still Aren’t Using
The gap between desired and actual integrations is significant. Accounting was considered an essential connection by 57% of respondents, but only 40% had it connected. Door access was considered essential by 54%, while 30% had connected it.
The report also found that 27% of operators cited a lack of real-time data as a challenge, up from 17% the previous year. Among larger portfolios, that figure reached around 40%.
AI Interest Has Cooled
AI use also declined in the latest survey. The share of operators actively using AI fell from 26% to 18%, while the share ruling out AI increased from 14% to 30%.
OfficeRnD said the year-over-year comparison should be treated cautiously because the 2026 survey asked about specific AI functions and use cases rather than AI use generally.
Among operators using AI, sales and lead management was the most common use case at 14%, followed by operational automation at 11%. Two-thirds of AI users either manually copy and paste data or rely on developers to build integrations.
The findings point to a straightforward problem for flex operators: having software in place does not necessarily eliminate the manual work created when those systems cannot communicate with one another.
