July highlights in data and technology

Due to the combination of the upcoming summer holidays here in the northern hemisphere, and our move to an updated web site for rics.org, we will only be publishing a few more video discussions during early August and then restarting again in earnest from the middle of September.  We are continuing to record content during August, so September will see more conversations covering the usual wide range of topics from our Tech Partners across the globe.

Looking back over July’s content, our video discussions ranged far and wide, from the West Coast of the US to the UK and China, and covered topics across construction, infrastructure, residential property data, customer relationship management, property management, and ransomware.

As well as the Proptech sector, existing real estate firms are playing a key role in driving innovation and digitisation across the built and natural environment.  Wendy Chan and Jay Zhu from Zhenliang explained its origin from within JLL China and shared their knowledge of the growing impact of data and technology across the Chinese property market.

Barriers still exist to the adoption of data and technology across construction project management and contract management, and Daniel Milligan of Frame Solutions, described how to build a business case and made some great suggestions on the type of questions that SME business should ask potential software vendors.

Lenders and insurers need to understand property risk quickly using data that are comprehensive and reliable to deliver high levels of customer service.  Graeme Winser and Michael Lawson of Property Risk Inspection discussed how data can flow to support transactions and told me about the barriers that are still blocking change.

What exactly do we mean when we talk about Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems, and what value do they bring to surveyors?  Matt Nally from Survey Booker talked with me as we discussed how to harness automation without losing the human touch, how a CRM system can help with compliance with the Home Survey Standard, and how you should prepare to implement these kinds of systems.

The last thirty years has seen tremendous developments in software to support bills-of-quantities, quantity-take-off, and cost planning for the construction sector, yet the full benefits of BIM 5D and Common Data Environments (CDEs) remain unfulfilled for many, with barriers to adoption and limitations in their use still an issue for the sector. George Boyle from Building Software Services spoke with me and talked through the evolution of these systems and how they are being adopted by firms of different shapes and sizes.

Making decisions on property needs data that can be transformed into information, Gavriel Merkado of REalyse and I examined how market participants in the UK residential property market are using aggregated data sources to drive their decisions and discussed the medium and long term trends in the use of data and technology across the sector.

The AEC sector needs collaboration to really thrive, and cloud-based solutions designed specifically for the sector can deliver real value in supporting common data environments (CDEs).  Kevin Soohoo from Egnyte explained how organisations can manage content sprawl in AEC environments and CDEs and at the same time protect their data from cyber security risks.

The use of operational property data can help deliver the demands of sustainability and make workplaces attractive destinations as organisations encourage workers back into the office.  Howard Bottomley and Carol Shields of TAP discussed what we mean when we talk about property portals and the value of being an RICS Regulated firm in the Proptech sector.

Collaboration between data and technology firms and universities can be a powerful factor in driving innovation across the built and natural environment.  Charlotte Wu from Luban told me about how they are working with academia, and how they are creating smart construction sites and supporting large infrastructure project in China with the latest BIM technology.

Unfortunately, we are now all now too aware of the phrase ransomware and its implications for our organisations.  David Fleming of Mitigo explains how firms of any size or shape can be affected, what the impacts can be,  and provides us with ten clear actions we can all take to protect ourselves.

Andrew Knight has been with RICS for over eleven years, and prior to his role in leading the data and tech thought leadership and data standards function, managed RICS’ relationship with the finance and investment community working with debt and equity participants, their advisors in law and accountancy, and regulators. In his current role, Andrew is responsible for data and tech thought leadership and content development, and the adoption of the RICS Data Standard (RDS) that supports valuation, property measurement, life-cycle costing, building performance, brokerage, and due diligence.