An overwhelming majority of those who occupy commercial real estate in the Asia Pacific region, are willing to spend extra on tech-enabled spaces, says a report by real estate consulting firm Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL). The report titled 2023 Global Real Estate Technology Survey found that 93 percent of occupiers in Asia Pacific, said that they would pay a premium for such spaces. The survey numbers are encouraging across the world as well, with 91 per cent global occupiers willing to pay a premium for technology-enabled spaces.
According to a press release by JLL, “The 1,006 decision-makers surveyed included over 600 corporate real estate leaders at major occupiers and over 400 leaders at real estate investors, landlords and developers. Research respondents are in 10 markets globally: Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Japan, Singapore, the U.K. and the United States.”
According to Susheel Koul, Chief Executive Officer, Work Dynamics, Asia Pacific, JLL, “Organisations across the globe acknowledge that technology plays a critical role in navigating disruptive challenges, driving transformation and enabling agility – and Asia Pacific is no exception.” He further said, “While the immediate focus remains on technology to support hybrid work and attract and retain talent, occupiers will prioritise solutions to increase revenue, improve sustainability metrics and improve business decision-making in the next three years.”
JLL’s report also had interesting findings pertaining to other key global trends. It found, “As organisations worldwide look to technology for strategic value and increased revenue, 85% of occupiers and investors plan to increase their investment in technology despite the current challenging operating environment.”
JLL’s research also finds that sustainability tools – such as energy/emissions management tech and smart energy infrastructure – will account for the largest share of increases in technology budgets, underscoring the business and regulatory pressures driving the race to net zero.
There is also delves into what it calls a sizeable gap between ambition and current technology adoption levels” in companies. It says, “In Asia Pacific, occupiers in India are relatively more advanced in adopting core technologies – similar to occupiers in the U.S and investors from the UK and Canada. In comparison, current adoption rates for core technologies are moderate, with none exceeding a 50% uptake.
“Most organisations do not have an actionable tech strategy in place, and less than half have seen success in their tech programmes. More encouragingly, even though the majority of organisations recognise the benefits that technology can offer, many are still struggling to make tech a true value driver, which will create opportunity,” said Vivek Satpathi, Head of Client Growth, Asia Pacific, JLL. “To harness the opportunity, we recommend that organisations start by shaping an actionable technology strategy, which can translate into a strong operating model with the right resources, people and organisational structure in place.”
