How PropTech is shaping the property industry – An interview with Charlie Wade (VTS)

We continue to see the accelerated adoption of technology in the property market as landlords and occupiers tackle challenges to better equip themselves as service companies.

We caught up with Charlie Wade, Managing Director EMEA, VTS to discuss how PropTech is shaping the property industry and how data-led solutions can underpin business strategies.

Tell us about VTS and your role in the property industry?

VTS is commercial real estate industry’s leading leasing, marketing and asset management technology platform, serving as CRE’s modern operating system – empowering the industry with the most up-to-date insights to perform at its best. VTS’ best-in-class tech transforms how space is leased and managed and gives landlords real-time data that helps them truly understand their buildings and their customers, all of which is vital in a post-COVID world.

Why is VTS unique and what is your biggest differentiator?

VTS is the industry standard used by over 45,000 international commercial real estate professionals for centralised operations, powerful digital marketing, and intelligent investing with real-time market data. With many real estate companies looking for tech consolidation, our multi-product platform provides an end-to-end solution to the industry’s biggest challenges by transforming how landlords understand their buildings and their customers, market and lease their spaces, and manage their portfolios.

Founded by real estate professionals who have experienced these challenges first-hand, VTS’ platform provides an easy-to-use, intuitive platform that offers unparalleled insights and solutions to its global client base.

How is PropTech reshaping the property market?

In the wake of the challenges and uncertainty the pandemic has caused within the real estate industry, proptech solutions are now viewed as being more critical than ever, no longer a ‘nice to have’, but a must-have. We are now in a position where Covid has acted as a forcing function for the real estate industry to accelerate adoption of technology and solutions so real estate companies are taking proptech solutions more seriously, and at the same time, the proptech sector has matured. The next stage is for collaboration to happen faster.

Do you think customer centricity and bespoke solutions are more important than plug-and-play options?

Given the need to navigate the new normal of hybrid working practices and the future of the office, customer centricity and solutions such as tenant experience are vital to this. At the same time, real estate companies are continuously looking for data-led solutions to help underpin their business strategy.

The property industry has seen an accelerated shift towards a reliance on technology, how do you see this developing in the next few years?

There is no doubt that tech will continue to form a critical part of any successful real estate strategy so I’m confident the industry will continue its accelerated adoption of technology. Real estate companies have woken up to the tangible benefits that collaborating with proptech companies can have on their own innovation and we are seeing more and more companies look at data-led solutions as well as how to maximise tenant engagement as we navigate the ongoing uncertainty around a hybrid environment and the future of the workplace.                      

It is vital that the industry continues to engage with proptech companies whether by investing in them, seeking their advice, or adopting their market-leading products.

To find out more about VTS you can visit their website here: https://www.vts.com/

About SPACE+

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