Those who attended EG’s final Tech Live this year, hosted at The Connectory at Great Portland Estate’s 160 Old Street, EC1, will have had the pleasure of sitting on an astroturf bench below an LED ceiling while snuggled up to a gingerbread man cushion.
The Connectory, Bosch’s “co-innovation” space for start-ups and SMEs developing mobility solutions for London, did not just provide the venue for the event, but also inspiration for discussion. The space is powered by a workplace app GPE has developed that gives individual employees more control over making the conditions of their workplace environment just right.
GPE director of workplace & innovation James Pellatt gave a demonstration of the app. By simply swiping his finger, Pellatt dimmed the LED lights on the ceiling above, and explained that its uses don’t stop there. People can use the app to access over 150 different magazines, socialise with colleagues digitally, and use it to get in and out of the building.
“It passes what we call the toothbrush test: you have to use it twice a day,” Pellatt said.
GPE is committed to providing the technology for all its occupiers, and will roll out the app across its whole portfolio by the end of the year. However, other speakers took a slightly different view on whether greater tenant autonomy is a positive step forward.
Active or passive landlord role?
Legal & General Investment head of occupier engagement and service delivery Mark Tyson said he was “nervous” about placing this decision-making power in the hands of the tenant.
He said landlords have a fundamental role to play in educating tenants about how best to manage and control their workplace environment to boost productivity and reduce energy waste.
L&G chooses to create space that is tailored closely to the needs of the occupier, instead of making the tenant responsible for controlling their workplace environment, Tyson said, adding: “My worry is that as a property owner[…] are we absolving ourselves of responsibility?
“I’m not saying we shouldn’t [develop this technology] but I think we have to put some education requirements around this.”
Pellatt argued that the research GPE has conducted shows there is a demand for the app from occupiers. The rate of take-up for the app at 160 Old Street certainly indicates this: more than 70% of staff have downloaded and use the app. “The point is about making the app useful for someone, not just for the sake of having an app,” he said.
He agreed that landlords need to educate tenants how best to control their workspace environment, but argued that through this collaboration, both parties can work together to solve key challenges, such as driving down the consumption of energy within buildings.
He argued that empowering tenants to control their environment was not a sign of GPE washing its hands of responsibility and added that it was an initiative that was “sadly lacking” in property. “Mostly, landlords have sat there collecting rent cheques four times a year and haven’t really cared,” Pellatt said. “Now the opportunity is there for us to do more.”
Real estate, grow up
Tech City Ventures founder and chief executive George Johnston, who is a tenant at 160 Old Street, voiced his support for GPE’s app. “I think the perception of control, which James mentions, is actually very important for tenants,” he said, adding that the app also helps create a better space for occupiers as well.
He speaks from experience. Johnston signed for space at the building through a space broker, a process that he said was “fairly complicated and very expensive”. He argued that it was time for technology to replace what he calls “these middle men with their own margins” which would make for a better occupier experience.
The emergence and growth of companies such as WeWork is therefore no surprise, said Johnston. He held a different view to Tyson and said the co-working giant had made leasing space a simpler process. Property owners are stepping up their game as a result. “Landlords are now thinking about more services to get in tenants quicker,” he said.
Real estate is one of the oldest industries in the world and really shows its age in its approach to adopting and developing technology, Johnston said. Property companies focus on “building big data platforms” but they needs to “change gear” to focus on what the user really needs.
“This industry is still quite immature in its thinking, in terms of just building [tech] because there’s the opportunity, instead of thinking about what people actually need,” he said.
London: the city with a plan
Bosch may not be the first company that springs to mind when you think about developing smart cities. But its urban mobility manager Laura Mack-Titelius said that companies not traditionally involved in real estate are becoming increasingly more interested in tech in relation to property as the world continues to change.
She said Bosch recently implemented autonomous car-parking areas in Germany after conducting research into the area, and said that this was just the beginning of its look into the future of mobility.
“The automotive market is changing, and as a supplier, we are aware of this” she said. “We have to think: what is the world of tomorrow like? We have to adapt, we have to innovate and we have to be different.”
Smart cities, she said, is an area of keen interest to Bosch. In her experience, which city is demonstrating innovation in this field? “London is a very special city. There is a vision of where London wants to be, and an awareness of the existing challenges.”
The future of tech
If you want an idea of how to make a mega app, look no further than Google geospatial technologist Ed Parsons.
Google Maps has made the lives of millions much simpler by helping us navigate towns at the click of a button.
Where will the app be heading next? Parsons said that as long as we continue to use apps like Google Maps and allow tech companies to gather information about the way we’re using these tools, the more we are helping to make “everyone’s world better”. This is because a more accurate picture of the world can be built, and apps such as Google Maps can evolve to provide an even better service.
But what about the public’s concerns over data privacy? “We’re very, very careful about personal data,” he said. “Any personal data that you make available to Google via Gmail, photos or whatever… no one gets access to that data other than yourselves. We never share data with anyone.”
Even when Google uses your personal data, it is anonymised, encrypted and used only at an aggregate level. “Your data is safer with us in the cloud than it is in your pocket, in your bag, in your laptop”.
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