How to win at business in a digital world

COMMENT Last week, I had the privilege of chairing the CREtech Business Intelligence Virtual Summit alongside Josh Panknin, director of Real Estate Technology Initiatives at Columbia University. As with all events in these times, it was a virtual programme of presentations, interviews and discussion panels with a wide range of views and experiences. Core to all of them was the desire to make this a practical summit, not just looking at what could theoretically be done in the future, but what is being done today by the leaders in our sector and beyond. There was such a range of perspectives that to capture them all in a short article is nigh on impossible, but there were four clear themes that ran throughout about how to approach the new digital world. 1. Be outcome-focused – First and foremost, almost every successful project had identified the desired outcome at the start of the process. Data, its analysis or, more generally, technology for the sake of it serves little purpose. There must be a very clear outcome in mind when embarking on any digital journey. This is, of course, fairly obvious in theory but harder to put into practice. It was noted again and again that across the sector the focus tends to fall on a technology’s features, rather than its benefits. Successful use of data must always be focused on why it is being done, not just what can be done. 2.  Leverage data – Perhaps unsurprisingly for a summit exploring its use, data, and the analysis of it, is becoming rapidly more important. But what came across loud and clear is that the leading companies and organisations are very active in this space and on the front foot with a clear understanding of the direct benefits of doing so; increased efficiency, increased capital value or better customer experience. Companies are using data in new and different ways, and for new reasons. A lot of the work that has been done over the past few years has been about getting houses in order behind the scenes – the boring, but essential data foundations. All companies will become more data-driven in the coming years and at different rates, but their success at leveraging the benefits from better use of data will depend on how much time and effort they have spent building the data foundations. In my view, in the coming years it will start to become very apparent which have foundations of sand and which have foundations of stone. 3. Collaborate – For real change to happen, the sector needs to work together where all four corners are aligned – standard setters, operators, regulators or users. For real change, these need to work in harmony. This is even more true in the built environment due its size, but also fragmentation. For real change, collaboration is going to be essential and there is a lot more to be done. 4. Make sure senior leadership leads – Last, but by no means least, a striking theme woven through every session was the role of senior leadership. We heard about how the culture, freedom and forward-thinking approach of senior leaders was one of the most important factors of success. The use of data to improve business performance in the property sector is becoming a reality. We have moved from an age of rhetoric to an age of action. There are some amazing examples of people doing brilliant things but so far these have often been building the foundations for future growth, so not always easy to see from the outside. Real estate is a sector that typically follows, but we may be in a time where there isn’t any choice but to lead. Leadership might  just become the most important factor in success in the new digital age. Dan Hughes is founder of the Real Estate Data Foundation