Enhancing Flexibility & Resilience Through Technology

Several technologies are now being utilised in the office, retail and logistics sectors and will have long-term and far reaching impact on the real estate industry

Recent years have seen the development of a wide range of technological solutions enabling companies to enhance resilience, maintain stability and ensure business and real estate continuity.

However, the adoption of these digital tools has been gradual in some companies as they lacked compelling reasons to alter their approach. Covid-19 forced companies to adopt digital solutions at an unprecedented pace, with the outbreak appearing to be a catalyst for change. In the retail sector, e-commerce has been critical to ensuring business survival, while in the office sector, cloud-based working tools and video-conference systems have facilitated remote and home-working. Various commercial real estate sectors have or are looking at utilising virtual reality technology to conduct site visits and interior viewings, while artificial intelligence (AI) - enabled people flow controls have been deployed by facilities management teams to monitor the body temperature of building visitors and mitigate the spread of the virus. Here is a look at technologies that have been, or can be utilised in the office, retail and logistics sectors, and are expected to have long-term and far reaching impact on the real estate industry.

Virtual Reality Platforms

As visualising a built-out space without an on-site visit can be challenging, potential tenants prefer to visit sites in person to evaluate whether a space is suited to their requirements. For occasions when this is not possible, there exists a range of 3D interactive tools with virtual reality (VR) technology enabling users to conduct virtual tours of potential sites to visualise how they might look in the real world.

Cloud-Based Systems For Flexible Working

The Covid-19 outbreak has prompted the government and private sector in many countries like India to order or encourage employees to work from home in order to limit social contact. This largescale trial will spur companies to be more willing to accelerate the adoption of flexible working polices in future. While this may result in companies requiring less office space per-employee in the long run, there will be stronger demand for higher quality space capable of encouraging collaboration, innovation and employee wellbeing. Cloud technology has played a key role in supporting remote working by connecting users with their enterprise databases and other online resources. Demand is projected to grow significantly in the coming years, with enterprises advised to enhance their cloud capacity to ensure business sustainability. This will also require an emphasis on security. Large corporations typically use virtual private network (VPN) and multi-factor authentication technology to ensure access to data and systems is restricted to authorised employees.

Video Conferencing For Remote Communication

With many employees working from home or other remote locations, companies have deployed a range of -technologies to help their staff facilitate communication, perform their day-to-day duties and attend virtual meetings. The use of video conferencing applications such as Zoom, Microsoft Teams have surged as users utilise these tools for remote office operations such as group discussions and client meetings. Zoom registered more than 2.22 million new monthly active users between January-February 2020, after adding just 1.99 million users in the year 2019.

Other project management apps that enable remote collaboration between teams and allow remote access to documents and folders include Microsoft 365 Suite, etc. and workflow management tools such have also seen rapid take-up. In addition, client relationship management and sales management software including Salesforce, etc. and human resources management platforms have also started seeing traction. The convenience offered by these technologies is helping us sustain business continuity during the Covid-19 outbreak, with companies set to continue relying on such tools even when business is back to normal.

The growing demand for video conferencing will compel occupiers to review their meeting room settings and force them to augment infrastructure to facilitate remote communication across different office locations.

Security & People Flow Solutions For Property Management

Building security and people flow management has become more prominent in office, retail and logistics properties since the Covid-19 outbreak, with property management teams taking steps to augment existing security and hygiene policies to reassure tenants and employees. In the long run, building managers are likely to make greater use of data analytics tools to facilitate real time decision making for emergencies and improve the efficiency of building management.

Live Streaming For Retail Merchandising & Corporate Events

Retailers will soon start using more creative ways to conduct online product merchandising. Live-streaming, an increasingly popular format combining entertainment and ecommerce, is helping retailers foster a ‘see now, buy now’ culture across other markets enabling them to quickly inform consumers about their products and create a sense of urgency to purchase.

Automation For Warehouses & Distribution Centres

Logistics requirements have risen substantially since the Covid-19 outbreak due to the rapid growth of e-commerce sales, particularly for daily necessities and groceries. This has prompted warehouse and distribution centre operators to accelerate the adoption of innovative technologies to reduce reliance on human employees and guard against the disruption of goods supply and shipping. Tools include robotics and AI-controlled automation systems in warehouses to fulfill inventory management, sortation, order picking, scheduling and distribution.