As inflation remains unstable and the world braces itself for a potential recession, commercial real estate (CRE) teams need more help than ever before. And for many, tackling major challenges has become synonymous with cutting costs. However, proptech is one area commercial office property teams will invest in this year to help reduce costs.
According to results from the recent “2023 State of Commercial Office Report,” 44% of commercial office property teams said they would increase investment in CRE software over the next 12 months. Researchers for the report surveyed over 150 CRE property teams working within the commercial office sector.
Along with tech investments, a focus on streamlined building operations, tenant experience, and sustainability will also be key drivers of success for teams working through the looming commercial office challenges.
Tech investments for commercial office property teams in 2023
It begs the question: What tech investments are commercial office property teams making this year? The report asked commercial office property teams exactly what areas they’ll spend their dollars in 2023.
Commercial office property teams said their top three areas of CRE tech investment in 2023 would be:
- Building operations and equipment maintenance
- Tenant experience
- Energy management/sustainability
Building operations tech for commercial office property teams
The top areas of tech focus for commercial office property teams are in line with the overall results of the report. It makes sense that teams would focus on building operations and equipment maintenance, as commercial office property teams surveyed said that lack of staffing resources is a top challenge to completing work orders.
If you’re unable to respond quickly and effectively to tenant requests, you’re setting yourself up for dissatisfied occupants. It costs far more to acquire a new tenant than to keep an existing tenant, so it’s important to ensure your proptech allows you to quickly respond to work orders with fast and efficient workflows.
Building operations tech can help commercial office property teams save time and streamline processes, which is essential when working with fewer resources. You can also activate the right maintenance personnel by empowering them with mobile technology to work smarter and faster, from anywhere.
Tenant experience tech for commercial office property teams
It’s no surprise commercial office property teams are looking to leverage tenant experience technology to help meet their goals. Tenant experience will be this year’s great competitive differentiator for the commercial office sector.
However, the research shows 61% of commercial office property teams don’t use or aren’t sure if they use tenant survey and polling data to guide their business decisions. That means they’re missing a huge opportunity to improve tenant satisfaction.
Tenant engagement tools will be essential in 2023 and beyond. Not only does this tech allow property teams to quickly communicate with tenants, but these tools can capture insightful data that you can use to make better business decisions. That can improve tenant satisfaction, build loyalty, and keep your buildings occupied.
Sustainability tech for commercial office property teams
Commercial office property teams are also searching for solutions that will help take control of energy management. Again, this result is in line with what commercial office property teams said their top sustainability goal is for 2023: energy efficiency and expense reduction (65%).
Artificial intelligence (AI) is quickly becoming a key solution to meet energy efficiency goals in commercial office buildings. CRE software powered by AI can plug into your existing building management system to automatically optimize HVAC settings across your buildings. The results are lower energy consumption and costs – quickly.
CRE tech to meet all goals in 2023 and beyond
As commercial office property teams look to tech to meet their goals in 2023, it’s important to implement a building operations platform that can solve all the challenges you face. Taking a platform approach is your best bet. The key is to use a building operations platform that can leverage AI and integrate with a tenant experience component. It should also give teams the flexibility to pick and choose what functionality they need to meet their goals.
Look for a platform that helps you:
- run more efficient and effective properties;
- boost tenant satisfaction; and
- reduce costs while maximizing revenue.
What tech investments are commercial office property teams making this year? See important insights about that and more by reading the free “2023 State of Commercial Office Report.”
