According to an outlook in the commercial real estate (CRE) market, 2021 will be characterized by a massive acceleration in the digital transformation of many businesses in the sector. The report, complied by global consultancy Deloitte, identifies RPA as one of the technologies key to the transformation.
While organizations in financial services, health care, government and insurance are familiar users of RPA technology, more and more business verticals are reaping the benefits of automating processes via RPA. CRE is yet another budding opportunity where companies can differentiate themselves from their competitors by finding more productivity and efficiency—especially as the industry tries to climb out of a hole created by Covid when the majority of offices closed for long periods of time.
In the report, Deloitte noted the pandemic disrupted the value proposition of CRE, with companies in the industry planning to reduce costs by 20 percent.
“Optimizing costs and using technology to reposition space and for facilities management can improve operational resilience,” the report’s authors wrote.
CRE businesses polled in the survey said they are struggling with defining digital workflows and digitizing key business processes. To this end, the report said companies should be increasing investment in digital transformation technologies including cloud, RPA and AI. At the moment, however, less than half (43 percent) of North American CRE businesses have plans to do that. Only 41 percent of organizations based in the Asia-Pacific region plan to increase investment. Europe, where 50 percent said they are planning to spend more on RPA and other digital transformation tech, is in slightly better shape.
“The pandemic has made enhancing agility and nimbleness a top priority for CRE organizations,” the report said. “These goals require companies to focus on digitization of key CRE business processes and the tenant experience. And while many CRE companies have taken a reactive approach to digital transformation, developing a more structured plan, including the implementation of various technologies and data analytics, would likely yield more meaningful results.”