What Will The Office Of The Future Hold? Landlords Turn To PropTech To Find Out
The office is beginning to look much different than it used to. A new generation of workers is driving trends like increased flexibility and agile, activity-based office environments. The concept of work-life integration has replaced work-life balance, and employees are spending more time at work than ever before. The hours people spend on work-related activities throughout their lifetime add up to the equivalent of over 13 years, Huffington Post reports. With so much of their time spent in the office, employees want a space that is customized to their specific needs.
But many property managers have not yet made significant changes to their office buildings. While new vendors have introduced technologies to make office buildings more tenant-friendly, many property managers are hesitant to dedicate the perceived financial and physical resources needed to embrace a digital transformation. With these hesitations in mind, PropTech companies and emerging products are designing their offerings specifically for landlords that might be reluctant to make these important changes.
Openpath, a provider of keyless building entry systems, is one company working to provide practical and affordable office technology for property managers who want the benefit of the technology upgrade but not the burden of a large investment. Through a combination of secure hardware, cloud-based software and system integrations, Openpath aims to create solutions that reduce friction in the modern workplace. Its access control system allows tenants access to a building using their smartphones without needing to remove them from their purse or pocket, while administrators who are remote can manage the entry system no matter their location. This method is particularly useful for granting access to clients or visitors.
“We’re dealing with a new generation of workers who are managing all of their daily administrative tasks on their phone, from checking emails to booking travel,” Openpath Marketing Director Lindsay McLain said. “They want to be able to enter and exit their office buildings with the same level of ease.”
To better understand what modern workers want from their office space, Openpath asked professionals between the ages of 18 and 60 where they would like to see more smart technology integration. Most respondents identified the employee workspace, lighting, security and entrance/doors as parts of the office that are ripe for innovation.
The various Openpath solutions give landlords and tenants alike an opportunity to integrate mobile access technology into their buildings and office space, while having the option of retaining as much of their legacy access system as they want. Openpath’s system gives property management companies the ability to pick and choose which features fit in best with existing systems. In addition, users can leverage an application programming interface to build Openpath’s software and hardware into their space or integrate with specific applications, like Salesforce or Slack.
“Technology, tools and platforms that improve efficiency and allow property management firms to do more with less not only improves their margins, but also helps them provide a higher level of service to their clients,” Casey Rue, CEO of PropTech company Common Areas, told GlobeSt.
This type of new technology can also increase tenant retention in office buildings. According to HqO, the next generation of tenants will demand a completely tech-enabled office space. Tenants who feel that their landlords are willing to invest in technology to improve the building experience are more likely to renew their leases. As tenant demands continue to evolve, property managers are discovering next-generation solutions allowing them to supply a tech-driven office.
This feature was produced in collaboration between Bisnow Branded Content and Openpath. Bisnow news staff was not involved in the production of this content.
