Last update: March 20, 2024

Navigating the Digital Horizon: Insights from the JLL Survey and how Susteco can lead the way

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The real estate industry is standing at the precipice of a digital revolution. The recent Global Real Estate Technology Survey conducted by JLL, encompassing insights from over 1,000 real estate decision-makers, sheds light on the industry's journey into the realms of digitization, transformation, and sustainability as global companies recognize the need to leverage technology for a competitive edge.

Achieving lasting change remains a complex endeavour, with organizations grappling with multiple disruptive challenges to meet their transformation goals. It is a time in which decision-making is paramount, and data-driven platforms such as Susteco, designed to enhance efficiency and empower decisions, could be key to giving successful companies the advantage as they strive to drive productivity while reducing environmental impact in an increasingly digital landscape.

Two statistics immediately jump out from the survey:

85% 

of occupier and investor respondents plan to increase their investments in technology over the next three years

91% 

of occupiers are willing to pay a premium for tech-enabled space

This shows a clear and widespread acknowledgment of technology’s crucial role in the industry, with an overwhelming majority of occupiers expecting the adoption of things such as data analytics, artificial intelligence, virtual reality, the Internet of Things and other smart building technologies to drive revenue, optimize productivity and enhance collaboration. And as we will see as we go through the survey’s findings, it is here that Susteco becomes highly relevant, aligning seamlessly with the industry’s priorities.

Shaping an actionable technology strategy

While priorities for technology adoption are evolving to support flexibility, enhance decision-making, promote sustainability, and increase revenues, 80% of organizations still don’t have an actionable strategy in place. The JLL survey shows how leading companies have gained a competitive edge by being decisive in formulating their strategies and recognizing value creation as the strongest driver for technology adoption.

Top drivers of real estate technology adoption – Occupiers

Top 5 priorities in next 3 years:

1 Increasing / generating new revenue
2  Measuring improving sustainability metrics
3 Improving business decision-making
4 Automation / focusing on higher-value activities
5 Improving portfolio productivity space efficiency


Top drivers of real estate technology adoption – Investors

Top 5 priorities in next 3 years:

1 Improving asset selection & strategy analytics
2  Increasing revenue, returns or profits
3 Collecting, managing & analyzing data
4 Estimating climate risk in portfolio strategy/valuations
5 Enhancing valuation & underwriting capabilities

Looking at the priorities of occupiers and investors, the relevance of Susteco really begins to stand out. Key areas of focus include increasing revenue, improving sustainability metrics, enhancing business decision-making and implementing automation for higher-value activities. Susteco's cloud platform addresses these priorities by offering sustainability-focused tools, automation features, and decision-making support systems, as well as providing a technological infrastructure that supports enhanced business models, revenue growth and collaborative work environments.

Sustainability and smart building technology go hand in hand

Sustainability is a driving force in the survey findings, with technology playing a pivotal role as companies strive to reduce carbon emissions and enhance energy efficiency. The survey indicates a significant increase in technology budgets allocated for managing, reducing, and reporting on these crucial metrics. This demand is reflected in the following:

Technology that investors most want to adopt next:

  • Building IoT & sensors (63% of respondents)
  • Automated energy management (62%)
  • VR & AR viewings (62%)
  • Sustainability monitoring, reporting (62%)

It is clear that smart building technology and artificial intelligence are set to play a pivotal role in how real estate achieves its sustainability goals. Sensors and connected devices will enable real-time monitoring and data collection with which AI algorithms can optimize energy usage, report on carbon emissions, predict maintenance needs, and improve overall building performance. Known for its sustainability-focused solutions, Susteco's cloud platform chimes with this emphasis on technology in enhancing sustainability, and with its robust data management capabilities, Susteco becomes a strategic ally in unlocking the full potential of a data platform within the real estate sector.

Collaboration is key

The survey underscores the importance of collaborative structures as a major strategy for success. External partnerships and the development of an appropriate ecosystem are recognized as effective ways to source and manage solutions, with a majority of occupiers and investors now looking to increase external partners and combine multiple service providers.

  • Over 60% of companies are increasing their use of external partners to improve capacity.
  • 63% of occupiers and 72% of investors choose to combine different technology suppliers.
  • Leading companies are three times more likely to restructure their tech-related teams and processes than their less successful counterparts.

Susteco's agnostic platform, designed with collaboration and ecosystem integration in mind, is the perfect platform for fostering partnerships and creating an open and effective technology ecosystem. With the belief that there will not be one overall solution for all problems, but several different solutions that need to work alongside each other, Susteco enables companies to combine the various services they need while only having to engage with one platform.

Digital data will drive new ways of working

In fostering a successful digital transformation in the real estate sector, the JLL survey emphasizes the necessity for a modern and adaptable approach to working. The key to success lies in embracing flexibility, utilizing an iterative method that integrates change management, feedback loops, and data-driven metrics. Notably, successful companies are four times more likely to adopt this iterative approach, continually revisiting and adjusting strategies based on pilot outcomes and feedback, deviating from the traditional linear practices.

  • 88% of companies struggle with highly fragmented technical systems and infrastructure for data collection and validation
  • 85% of companies have difficulty generating accurate, high-quality and real-time information

As these statistics suggest, there is a severe lack of digital data in the real estate industry, with the vast majority of companies having problems generating information efficiently and many still relying on manual data collection and entry. A growing number of organizations have multiple systems for data collection across different use-cases, which can make running pilots and tracking success metrics time-consuming and expensive.

The Susteco cloud platform addresses these challenges through streamlined data integration, offering a cohesive solution for organizations relying on disparate systems. By allowing all stakeholders to collect and store data in the same place, and providing an efficient platform for lease management, consolidated insights and other critical functions, Susteco becomes an invaluable tool for occupiers targeting high-priority solutions.

Susteco as a guiding light

In conclusion, as the real estate industry approaches its digital revolution, Susteco's cloud platform emerges as a guiding light. In relation to the key statistics and trends in the JLL survey, Susteco's platform looks likely to become an integral part of the real estate tech narrative for years to come. Through data integration, sustainability and focus on collaboration, Susteco empowers the industry to navigate the digital landscape with confidence, unlocking opportunities for growth and efficiency while increasing environmental responsibility.

Global Real Estate Technology Survey 2023

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