40% of tech investments directed towards data centralization

40% of tech investments are being directed into Data: centralization, IoT-driven predictive analytics and portfolio-wide intelligence, according to Facilio’s 2020 State of CRE Operations 3.0. The global study highlights the gaps & trends in Commercial Real Estate industry (CRE) operations. The report cites Tenant experience, Energy management & Data-driven operations as top priorities for commercial real estate owners in 2020. It also provides predictions on sustained interest in contemporary management models.

The report touches upon the current state of operations and the priorities of CRE owners across the US, Middle East and India markets, and highlights the growing demand for data-driven operations to drive operational efficiencies and optimization.

Key findings of the report include:

Optimal asset management with automated predictive maintenance: 

According to the study, 60% of maintenance cost is spent on hard services. This can be reduced by 20% by leveraging real-time IoT data for predictive maintenance. This will also ensure unified digital record of inventory, purchase history, renewals, continuously analyze the asset conditions, detect the faults and diagnose them.

Tenant experience is the key:

Satisfactory customer experience is not just the major concern of online shopping, telecom sectors or corporates but also is at the center for real estate industry. 77% of building owners prioritize tenant experience and allocate 39% of their operational findings towards the same. This can be accomplished through a dedicated tenant portal where occupants can communicate their grievances and workplace apps where employees can digitally connect to their physical workplace and personalise their experience within the building.

Driving energy efficiency and sustainability through predictive maintenance:

Buildings account for 70% of the world’s electricity consumption and according to the report, CREs are willing to allot 65% OpEx of their budget towards energy enhancements. Piecemeal tools that offer building or system-level energy solutions have lost sheen, as they’ve been ineffective in meeting the sustainability goals of an enterprise. As governments across the world also strive to bring climate change into control, the onus might be placed on the shoulders of building managers/owners to ensure their facilities comply with government’s policies on this regard.

Centralization of data: one stop solution for modern CREs:

The first step to smart buildings is centralizing operational data that can be used for tenant engagement, maintenance, sustainability, asset performance and so on. The industry was sluggish in evolving from paper managed maintenance to a software-driven approach. However, the need and the urge among owners to centralize their data are growing fast. The report says that 40% of tech investments are directed towards data centralization. 

The maintenance cost of assets has seen an increase in US and UAE from 11.8 to 11.9 and 8.8 to 9.2 respectively. However, it has remained the same for India at 0.59. 

Benefits of centralization of data:

• Integrate tenant management, maintenance, sustainability, asset performance, etc.
• Facilitate customized workflows and manage workspace across regions.
• Increase in productivity of the occupants because of the collaborative and open-ended workspace.
• Rise in perceived property value due to premium occupant experience.

“Buildings are a powerhouse of data. The automation-driven upgrade of commercial real estate assets, a few decades ago, which was labeled as CRE 1.0, focused on embedding buildings with hardware that delivered improved services and enhanced performance. The recent adoption of appropriate technologies labeled as CRE 2.0, consisted of CaFM (Computer assisted Facility Management) and other software suites, designed to act as point solutions for property management, maintenance, energy management, occupant applications, etc. Now with the rise of CRE 3.0 – an innovative new data-driven model in commercial real estate operations, which is making it possible to optimize asset performance and achieve centralized and real-time management, at an enterprise scale”, says Prabhu Ramachandran, Founder & CEO, Facilio.

The CRE 3.0 report also reveals that Connected Building portfolios and a coherent end-to-end view of workflows and processes is set to become the norm in 2020, and onwards. In the context of the Middle East, a rise in the number of properties coming to market, the emergence of new segments, regulatory reforms, a Smart City vision and discerning customers are driving a major transformation in the industry. “As we move into a new decade of change and evolution, it is increasingly clear that CREs need to focus on leveraging technology to boost building performance, secure maximum uptime, and provide seamless tenant experience across portfolios. And this report provides an eye-opening look at the current state as well a vision of the transformational impact of data-driven operations”, concludes Prabhu.

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