Collaboration the key to proptech's future
"Proptech serves as the key growth engine in reimagining the future of real estate," says KK Fung, CEO of JLL China.
Open collaboration is key to accelerating the development of China’s proptech ecosystem, according to a white paper released on Tuesday by global real estate consultancy JLL.
Real estate enterprises, technology companies and professional organizations have contributed to the evolution of China’s proptech ecosystem, which is undergoing an early stage of development.
"Proptech serves as the key growth engine in reimagining the future of real estate," said KK Fung, CEO of JLL China. "By enhancing the resilience of commercial property, proptech can mitigate potential market risks and maximize long-term asset values."
Property technologies, which include cloud computing, big data, artificial intelligence, Internet of Things, building information management, virtual reality/augmented reality, indoor navigation, robotics, 5G, blockchain and unmanned aerial vehicles, are able to enhance asset resilience mainly in four aspects, namely human experience, operational excellence, safety and health, as well as digital drive, the report concludes.
As demand for emerging technologies in the real estate industry continues to expand, proptech solutions addressing specific needs, or "pain points," of each property sector will gain more attention and see a wider application in the future.
They include smart property management, digital asset management and smart workplace solutions for the office sector, omnichannel marketing, digital operations and seamless shopping experiences solutions for retail as well as location intelligence, green technology and automated warehouses solutions for the logistics segment, the report said.
"In the proptech sector, we are likely to see more partnerships in the form of joint ventures or revenue sharing rather than simple cash investment," said Lou Chen, senior director of research at JLL China. "Large enterprises, SMEs and startups each have their own strengths and weakness when it comes to technology innovation and those who are quick to embrace new technologies will benefit the most in the digital era."
