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— Office Properties Quarterly — March 2016
C
orporations operating on a
global scale are on the cusp
of a major transformation.
Over the next decade, smart
assets will enter facilities,
offices and homes in numbers never
seen before, creating new user expe-
riences and improved efficiencies.
According to research, here are the
top five real estate trends that are
expected to have far-reaching effects
in 2016.
The Internet of Things
As the demand for smarter tech-
nology grows, understanding the
latest IoT technology is essential in
office buildings of the future. IoT will
change the way people buy, sell and
manage property over the next few
years. The increased information
about a property captured by Inter-
net-enabled devices can help listing
brokers market properties better,
just as environmental data captured
by municipal smart devices can help
brokers determine the best districts
for their clients.
Beacon technology is one ele-
ment of real estate that’s being used
already to augment tours. Some
companies are using beacon tech-
nology to enable real estate hunt-
ers to tour a model office on their
mobile device. As they enter each
room, customers can immediately
access floor plans, options for cus-
tomization, and videos that provide
in-depth information about hidden
aspects, such as building materials
and heating, ventilating and air-
conditioning systems. Folding this
data into a multiple listing service
feed could be game
changing.
Mobile Culture
One of the most
significant driv-
ers of change is
the rise of mobil-
ity. Work today is
done everywhere
– at the office, at
home and on the
road. Because of
this trend, mixed-
use spaces that
include office, resi-
dence and recreation options will be
favored over standalone properties.
Mobility is the next level of service
and the natural growth pattern of
real estate firms.
Real estate service and data
firms are introducing a variety of
new mobile applications for use
on smartphones and tablets. An
integrated workplace management
system features portfolio manage-
ment tools and mobile solutions. For
example, maintenance work can be
tracked on a tablet and employees
and tenants can reserve a confer-
ence or huddle room they want to
use when they want it.
Alternative Workplace
Work today is just as much about
the output as it is about the space.
Organizations are embracing new
ways of working to foster more effi-
cient collaboration, knowledge shar-
ing, flexibility, speed, innovation and
productivity. More than 90 percent of
respondents in our research agreed
that new workplace concepts will
improve employee productivity.
Satellite offices are one form of
alternative workplace. Such offices
break up large, centralized facilities
into a network of smaller workplac-
es that can be located close to cus-
tomers or to employees’ homes. Sat-
ellites can save a company up to 50
percent in real estate costs, diversify
the risk of over concentration in a
single location and broaden the pool
of potential employees. These offices
usually are located in comparatively
inexpensive cities and suburban
areas. Most often, they have sim-
pler and less costly furnishings and
fixtures than their downtown coun-
terparts. Aside from real estate sav-
ings, the organization benefits from
increased employee productivity,
recruiting and retention.
BIM Adoption
Building information modeling
holds great promise for facilities
management and real estate. Apply-
ing BIM and BIM methodologies to
manage and operate buildings over
the life cycle can deliver tangible
value and enable efficiencies for
facility managers. BIM can proactive-
ly identify problems long before they
materialize and cause costly delays
Fred Guelen
CFO and president
of North American
operations, Planon,
Boston
Workplace Trends
An integrated workplace management system lets tenants reserve a huddle room for
whatever time they want it.
