17 October 2016 | Jamie Harris
A JLL report has indicated that up to 30 per cent of corporate real estate portfolios will include flexible space by 2030.
Its Workspace Reworked: Ride The Wave Of Tech Driven Change report series also suggests that fast, efficient connectivity will become the ‘fourth utility’ that will drive location decisions.
The report notes a number of technology changes that JLL says will continue to transform the workplace over the next 15 years, including: smart real estate, such as the Internet of Things; workplace as a service, where advances in automation and augmented reality technology are to be incorporated into working life; and a reorganisation of real estate strategies, in which core and flexible workspace are to become central to the workplace and the way in which the workforce functions.
Guy Grainger, CEO, EMEA, JLL, said: “Real estate, which is typically fixed and immovable, is traditionally slow to respond to change – but technology is not. Flexibility and adaptability are more key than ever. Regardless of whether we’re talking to investors, corporate tenants or developers, people and technology are at the core of everything – it is time for the workspace to adapt to 21st century needs.”
James Brown, head of research, EMEA, JLL, said: “We are witnessing incredible social, cultural and organisational change. Technology is altering how and where we work and, crucially, is allowing our responses to our environment to be tracked, measured and analysed more than ever before. In our reports, we’ve identified the ways in which these changes are giving occupiers, developers and investors strong cues about how their approaches to real estate will need to change practically in the future. New opportunities will emerge and those who are able to respond to change will reap the rewards.”
The report follows comments from last week’s Workplace Trends conference, in which speakers noted that careful collation and analysis of workplace data can help to make open-plan, flexible workspaces work.
In addition, facilities management is to be key in the implementation of technology and the development of smart cities, according to research from Hochiki Europe.
