Proptech: Permanent Disruption

The businesses of the future will see continuous change. Stability and consistency will be a luxury for a small number of cash rich companies; the rest will behave similarly to today’s start-ups, with speed and flexibility at their core. We are already seeing competitive advantage timeframes shrinking, and barriers to entry dropping across many industries—this will only accelerate in the coming years.

Data will fundamentally transform how businesses interact with their stakeholders; today’s gap between supply and demand will close drastically. Artificial intelligence (AI), 3D printing and other digital technologies will enhance the manufacturing process, delivering more customised, personalised solutions based on customer data. Because excess stock is nearly eliminated, storage warehouses will be repurposed to store more 3D printing materials than stock. Today’s rigid business processes will be completely fluid, with companies adapting instantly to changes in consumer behaviour. This is mostly enabled by the widespread use of AI on a foundation of more and better data. This leads to a more frictionless business environment, but also drastically disrupts how businesses operate. We are already seeing this emerging across industries:

• Banking & Finance: AI, Blockchain and other technologies are rapidly streamlining back-office work

• Industrial: robots are transforming customer fulfilment centres and manufacturing plants

• Legal: AI is changing how firms use analogue case history data

• Life Sciences: new ways of collecting, combining and analysing patient data are transforming R&D, and enabling individually tailored medications.

How will all of this disruption affect property and how we interact with it?

If you have the next big #proptech idea to revolutionise the real estate industry, why not enter the CBRE PropTech Challenge? Click here to find out more.