Guest Post by Daniel O'Toole, Managing Partner, AppsCRE, LLC

AppsCRE, LLC performed a baseline scan of the primary #CRETechnology market segments, identifying over 200 ‘analyst observed’ products across 15 categories that are transforming every aspect of our physical and digital environments; how we transact, build, interact, operate, analyze, optimize and, ultimately, create value.

The analysis demonstrated that, while some segments are more hyper than others (i.e., #WorkplaceTechnology, #SmartBuildings, #BIM) vendor product and solution capability innovations in all segments are real, exciting, and evolving FAST, creating an imperative for corporate real estate (CRE) business and technology leaders to respond quickly.

Thematic trends like AI and ML, pivoting SaaS models, workplace digitization, data centralization and distribution, utilization and portfolio analytics, spatial visualization, are setting the stage for transformative opportunities across the CRE lifecycle.

What can CRE business and technology leaders do today to strengthen their organization’s posture for the wave(s) of innovation that are on the horizon?

1. Create a baseline view of your current CRE technology and data model and system inventory and maintain a 3-5 year strategic outlook on what may change (invest, maintain, divest)
2. Develop and maintain a functional-based CRE technology innovation roadmap that aligns business goals to targeted innovation epics, use cases and requirements
3. When going to market for new technologies, forget what you think you know about the vendor landscape. Today you have a lot more options to explore. Take a broad lens and strive for long-list of 8-12 vendors to help maximize exposure to vendor innovations during the sourcing event(s)
4. Encourage corporate service providers to share their CRE technology roadmaps and plans to align their solutions and services to prevailing and forecasted technology market trends
5. Strengthen enterprise partnerships with IT, Finance, HR, and Procurement as the CRE tech innovations on the horizon will require enterprise cooperation and input
6. Get a jump on tomorrow’s innovations by maintaining close proximity to industry groups, analyst firms and peers as sources for independent intelligence on prevailing CRE technology trends and product.
   
   

Dan O’Toole is Managing Partner at AppsCRE, LLC