Role of technology in the CRE industry
Nachiket Anavekar, Global Head – Facilities, Real Estate & Administration at Tata Technologies examines the future of Commercial Real Estate and the ways in which technology will play a key role in increasing the value of the industry.
In an interview with Awfis, he shares some of his insights regarding the role of technology in the commercial real estate. Excerpts:
What are the ways in which technology is fundamentally changing the CRE industry?
The CRE leaders are constantly on the lookout for ways to design and construct properties in cost effective and efficient manner. Technology has helped the industry in designing structures more efficiently and helped them gain transparency over their structures. When it comes to operational inefficiencies, technology has helped the CRE industry to bring about improvements especially with advances in cloud computing and smart sensor technology. There is no denying the power of disruptive technology in CRE and with emerging trends like AI and augmented/virtual reality, it has become even more easier to view different properties from the comfort of homes.
Can you tell us how the pandemic accelerated the need for technological transformation in the CRE industry?
The ongoing pandemic affected almost every sector of life and commercial real estate was no exception. The CRE industry was also impacted to a great degree with a reduction in the ability to hold in person property meetings with clients and occupiers and a sudden shift to everything remote. It was up to CRE professionals to step up, embrace technology and strengthen their tools when face to face meeting was practically not possible. So, it was the fast adoption of multiple technologies during the pandemic that eventually helped the industry to grapple with covid induced difficulties and come up with innovative solutions such as drone videos/virtual reality for properties to be vowed remotely. Technology became the knight in shining armor for several CRE professionals to deal effectively and safely with client’s site and project leasing needs, in an otherwise testing time.
What is your take on PropTech and its significance in the current scenario?
PropTech is going to pave the way ahead for the CRE industry. With emerging digital landscape and rising importance of digital tools, PropTech is poised to play an even more important role in the industry and not just for business continuity but for helping the industry to add more value in its services. The ongoing pandemic has made social distancing the norm and with many clients shifting to online platforms to buy/sell goods or services, PropTech platforms will be the one helping CRE to seamlessly help a real estate transaction happen from beginning to the end. PropTech enables the industry to recognize opportunities, find the right prospective buyer and helps in reducing several intermediary steps involved in the buying/selling of a property.
According to you, what are the top technologies all set to disrupt the CRE industry in the coming years?
AR & VR in Real Estate : Through Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality, realtors, property agents, and potential property buyers can give and get a personalized property visiting experience and compare different options.
Big Data : This is another top technology making waves as Analyzing data can help realtors formulate long-term data-driven strategies as well as predict new opportunities and trends.
Cloud-based technology: A real gamechanger for the CRE as it enables stakeholders to access data on any property anywhere, as per their convenience. As a result, cloud based technology is a great help in reducing the amount of time wasted as well as manual work in the office.