Why CRE needs to get on the wagon of data innovation
Commercial Real Estate (CRE) needs to get on the wagon of data innovation if it wants to keep up with the rapid changes occurring the world. This was the key message of the ConTech&PropTech Data Innovation Event hosted by Cushman & Wakefield. It proved to be a very interesting afternoon with valuable messages from three key speakers to 250 CRE Managers and the startups that can help them. Here’ the recap!
The ConTech&PropTech Data Innovation Event
Healthy Workers was selected to pitch their product at the ConTech&PropTech Data Innovation Event march 29th, 2018. The perfect place to explain how we make it possible for Commercial Real Estate (and Facility management) to create data-driven healthy buildings for successful companies and happy employees.
After kicking the event off with networking meetups, it was time for an interesting afternoon filled with pitches from three other startups and key speakers from Cushman& Wakefield.
The ConTech&PropTech team made sure the audience stayed awake with awkward energisers and flying microphones…
And although these playful moments were great, for us, the key talks by Cushman & Wakefields’ speakers Jeroen Lokerse (Head of the Netherlands), Elsbeth Quispel (Head of Strategy&Innovation) and Simon Asplen-Tylor (CDO, EMEA) were the icing on the cake. They had a powerful message directed at CRE companies and anyone working with them.
A powerful message from Cushman & Wakefield to CRE companies
There is an unmistakable movement in the sector of smart buildings, but it is not coming from CRE. It’s tech companies such as Google that are creating cities of smart, green and healthy buildings. And real estate companies need to take action and become part of this movement by using innovative data and technology.
Real estate companies need to distinguish themselves and realise that simply providing data is no longer enough. Companies are looking for buildings that provide actionable insights that allow data-driven decision making. The focus shouldn’t be on simply acquiring more data, but on retrieving more information.
Actually using data for decision making? It isn’t happening a lot. Currently, a lot of data is collected to be summarised in a report, which then ends up on a shelf… Property choices are being made on gut feelings, and his needs to change.
Top quote from the audience: “Stop listening to your customer, start listening to their employees”
Simon Asplen-Taylor added that it is of great interest for companies to take the social element into account. It is necessary incorporate subjective data into future building analyses, to gain insight into the needs and demand of occupants — hear, hear, Simon! This is where Healthy Workers steps in (literally and figuratively, we were up next).
In short: CRE companies need to shift from gut-feelings to facts and data-driven decision making. There is a demand for healthy workplaces, that are resilient to the continuously changing world of work. CRE companies need to distinguish themselves by providing customers with actionable insights, based on objective and subjective data that reflect the (changes in) needs and experience of occupants.
Well, CRE and FM, we’re happy to help ;-) Healthy Workers provides companies with data-driven actionable insights that take into account the physical environment and wellbeing of occupants. Wonder how we do this? We’ve explained it all in the following blog post: How CRE and FM can Change the Game
