CBRE: “Companies are investing more in real estate technology”
Almost two-thirds of companies (62%) plan to boost their investments in new real estate technologies over the next three years, most of them during the coming year. This emerged from the 2018 EMEA Occupier Survey, the annual international survey of real estate advisor CBRE’s occupiers.
The main reasons for investing more in new technology focus on improving the user experience, hence user productivity. This means that, when investing in new technologies, companies tend to focus less on the building itself and more on the well-being and productivity of the people in the building.
Of all the new technologies on offer, companies are most interested in navigation/routing apps that guide users around buildings, wearables, work climate comfort systems aimed at the individual/user, and sensors that measure building performance (such as temperature). Reservation systems for general facilities, such as meeting rooms and workplaces, are also increasingly being used to improve the working environment.
The workplace of the future will be more personalised and interactive. Together with our partners, we are developing tools for this purpose, such as Disruptive Technologies’ sensor technology. This technology can be used, for example, to signal changes in the indoor climate before they become noticeable to the user, enabling proactive measures to be taken to prevent any discomfort. We are exploring this technology’s potential to operate as a predictive system, thus lifting this burden from the shoulders of end users and providing an inspiring and healthy environment in which to work.
This survey has also shown that, with regard to their business portfolios, companies see flexible offices as a major factor. A flexible shell means corporate end-users can cater to changing space requirements, for example, while also making it possible for talented staff to work closer to home.
The companies surveyed expect to commission many more flexible workplaces over the next three years. The number of companies that expect to make no use of flexible concepts whatsoever has dropped from 35% to 21%.
Promoting ‘health in the workplace’ is another primary focus for companies. Four out of five companies already offer facilities or products in this area, or intend to do so. The options include healthy food, mindfulness, and sports facilities. In addition, 92% prefer buildings equipped with health facilities.
In the Netherlands, we also see a growing interest in healthy working environments. We are now offering various companies a Healthy Offices Quick Scan. This will give these organisations a good idea of the impact of their current office environment on people’s health, and of what they can do to achieve measurable improvements.
The ‘EMEA Occupier Survey 2018’ can be downloaded on the right side of this page.
CBRE Group, Inc. (NYSE:CBRE), a Fortune 500 and S&P 500 company headquartered in Los Angeles, is the world’s largest commercial real estate services and investment firm (based on 2019 revenue). The company has more than 100,000 employees (excluding affiliates) and serves real estate investors and occupiers through more than 530 offices (excluding affiliates) worldwide. CBRE offers a broad range of integrated services, including facilities, transaction and project management; property management; investment management; appraisal and valuation; property leasing; strategic consulting; property sales; mortgage services and development services. Please visit our website at www.cbre.com.