TECH
The Fourth Industrial
Revolution
Digital tools for savvy offshore investors
SIDIMA MFEKU
O
ver the years digital integration has
transformed many industries for the better.
It has revealed how the real estate sector can
improve productivity and sustainability through
improving and refining digital skills, resulting in
increased competition in business. Going digital is
often defined as a “fundamental change in the way
people live, businesses work and the way in which
countries relate to one another.” This is because
one of the many ways in which countries see the
relation and relevance of each in the international
real estate realm is through technology.
Apart from inflicting a shift in competition,
the digital transformation of the world is a new
chapter that (through technology), seeks to
advance commensurate human, commercial and
economic development. Therefore, it’s important
for entrepreneurs, developers and real estate
investors to align their real estate businesses with
technological trends in the real estate sector (around
the globe) to enable the expansion of business and
economic growth, as well as their wealth benefits and
transformation. It is through networking and making
business relations that eternal wealth can be made
and sustained – especially in different jurisdictions.
The real estate sector is no longer only about
location. It has grown and shifted to being about
analytics too. The sector is more about the results of
investing in any investment hub. Shaped by the ever-
changing technology, the real estate and property
sector has globally diversified into becoming less
about the physical appearance of business leaders
and stakeholders. Because of the internet, the sector
operates well in absence of executives. Employees
can accept and understand directives through
technologies. Real estate investors can invest in
multiple countries thanks to technology.
Making the best of the fourth industrial revolution
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OFFSHORE GUIDEBOOK 2020
and changing the way people live and work (fueled
by disruptive technologies) results in the real estate
and property industry making use of mobile apps
to run businesses and oversee their developments.
Employment
opportunities
are
becoming
widespread for skilled and technologically-advanced
youths, with tech trends such as the Internet of
Things (IoT), robotics, virtual reality (VR) and artificial
intelligence (AI).
“Employment opportunities are
becoming widespread for skilled
and technologically advanced
youths, with tech trends such as the
Internet of Things (IoT), robotics,
virtual reality (VR) and artificial
intelligence (AI).”
Inclusive and beneficial to all real estate and
property sectors, tech trends shaping the global
real estate sector are quite easy to study and use. It’s
helpful to all players – real estate property buyers,
investors and developers alike.
Funding
The real estate investment sector is fundamentally
about investing in property developments for
greater financial returns. Traditionally Real Estate
was financed through specific funds with a minimum
investment of large sums of money. Funding methods
result in a more accessible financing of (inter)national
Real Estate projects. Alternative funding has been
coined frequently in the context of banking. Applying
this concept to Real Estate means that individuals
(rather than solely institutional investors) are now
able to participate in funding projects.
Cadre is a technology-enabled investment platform
that connects qualified individuals and institutions
to fully-vetted, compelling Real Estate investment
opportunities. Cadre intends to transform the
investing market by building the world’s first digital
exchange for alternative assets. The company
combines their institutional experience with
differentiated technology in order to empower
their investors through direct access, low fees, and
transparency. The company’s innovative technology
drives efficiency and powers insight for its
participants.
Connectivity
Different platforms used in the real estate sector have
shown how technology can link buyers and sellers of
both private and commercial real estate, or property
owners and construction/maintenance workforce —
as well as how communities are connected to each
other for either retail or storage rental puposes. All
these inventions lead to more digital visibility of Real
Estate and speeds up transactions between tenants
and owners.
Blockchain in real estate has yet to become
common-practice. There are many benefits
of using this technology in the real estate
investment sector that are hard to be overlooked.
With blockchain, online real estate markets
and platforms are no longer simply a means
of connecting real estate buyers to sellers. The
online real estate market can be converted into
something more like a stock market. So, rather
than just allowing buyers to find sellers and vice
versa, online real estate markets will be able to
fully handle real estate transactions online.
Global CRE is a Software as a Service ("SaaS") solution
for commercial Real Estate brokers, enabling them
to collaborate with other brokers, share deals and
gain exposure to global business opportunities and
clientele, thereby increasing growth and revenue.
Internet of Things
The rise of Internet of Things (IoT) offers great
possibilities for property owners and real estate
investors alike. IoT innovations lead to more efficient,
sustainable and user-friendly buildings. These
technologically-advanced electronic products enable
tenants and commercial property managers to
control in-house traditional devices in an easy and
centralized way. In most cases this is made possible
by means of an app.
Ynomia leverages a proprietary, short and long
range, Bluetooth enabled IoT network to actively
capture real-time resource insights in order to
increase productivity, visibility, safety and enable
dynamic construction program management. What
differentiates Ynomia is a low cost, flexible, scalable
Bluetooth Low Energy ("BLE") based technology,
active data capture without human input, and
real time data usage. Ynomia reduces total cost
of construction, improves safety on projects and
provides a real time, "digital twin" view of all live
construction projects.
ComfyLight makes light bulbs that learn how
people move around at home and then simulates
movements perfectly when people are out. The
presence sensor detects unexpected movements in
homes and alerts owners what is happening through
an app. As a result, intruders are discouraged to
enter a house, lowering home burglary incidences.
Comfylights have continuous variable dimming to
ensure perfect light quality. ComfyLight automatically
switches the light on and off again when entering
and leaving a room.
SOURCE KPMG Real Estate Advisory 2019
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