The transformation of CRE technology with the digital workplace

In summer 2014 (Vol. 3, No. 4) this Journal published a paper by the same author on the importance of the convergence of the technologies of big data/analytics, mobile and cloud computing, social media (the nexus of forces) and the internet of things to the changing work of the CRE profession where new roles and skill sets were emerging. Now, two years later, the industry is much deeper into the disruption of business models in the digital era with more new technologies and structures emerging that are blurring the virtual and the real, and blending art with science at the same time. Nowhere is this more evident than in the work of the world-renowned architect Frank Gehry, who has transformed the art of the architecture field into a new digital business model by applying concepts in computer science, borrowed from another industry, into a more efficient and effective way to bring new forms of architecture into the world. At the same time, these buildings are enlivening the streets and neighbourhoods of cities (think of the Guggenheim in Bilbao, for example) that many new buildings fail to do. There is the ability. Now the concepts of ‘build to last’ have to be changed into ‘build to change’, allowing structures, from external walls to internal configurations, the ability to adapt to future unknown requirements. It is time for CRE to borrow from the architecture field in the art of design thinking to create a new digital workplace (DW) to bring the latest technologies to organisations to transform the work of planning, designing, constructing, operating, managing and optimising these more agile built environments. These new technologies available for the DW include innovative platforms, smart machines, robots, 3D printers, sensors and even ‘digital twins’, as well as existing systems such as IWMS, CAFM, BIM, GIS and CAD. This paper proposes to cover what DW is and how CRE professionals can join their partners in the new workplace, HR and IT, who are already designing DWs for knowledge workers. With this cross-functional team, an extension of the DW can be created for facilities management and real estate experts both within their organisations and for their suppliers and vendors. The result will be a more engaged workforce, better designed spaces and more efficient and effective work in the built environment.