The financial services sector has long since embraced technology for online banking and customer experience, investment insights and decision making, back-office automation, in-store retail banking experience and much more. Yet, financial services corporate real estate (CRE) departments are still lagging behind other support functions in their digital transformation journeys. By creating an integrated technology strategy, however, a CRE team can use data-driven outcomes to reduce a company’s operating costs, optimize existing technology systems, create consumer trust, understand the needs of its workforce and achieve numerous other critical-to-business outcomes.

Several obstacles keep CRE teams from making decisions on technology and business process outsourcing that drive positive change. Data is foundational—but creating a data architecture and governance process seems daunting and expensive when it involves the complicated integration of disparate technologies. “CRE leaders are drawn to advanced technologies and AI as they recognize how fast digital innovation is sweeping across every function of Financial Services, but they often struggle to find the right starting point,” said Mike Sandridge, Head of Technology and Client Solutions, Financial Services Work Dynamics, JLL.

“CRE leaders are drawn to advanced technologies and AI as they recognize how fast digital innovation is sweeping across every function of Financial Services, but they often struggle to find the right starting point” 

- Mike Sandridge, Head of Technology and Client Solutions, Financial Services Work Dynamics, JLL

Additionally, the regulatory environment coupled with cybersecurity and data protection risk make this industry’s digital transformation journey particularly nuanced.

Building the business case for investment can be challenging without expert input, whereas other aspects of capital planning —like replacing outdated equipment— are much easier to defend. But without prioritizing technology strategy, “data-driven” is not possible, and the application of advanced artificial intelligence becomes a pipe dream.

All financial services organizations have technology in place, but that technology (and the data it produces) is almost always disconnected and not delivering optimal business value. To achieve transformative data outcomes, it’s critical to pull all the siloed information together, build rigor to make that information completely reliable, and most importantly, align and apply it to clear business objectives.

Ideally, the new roadmap will not only address today’s priorities, but allow CRE departments to look to the future and make decisions with confidence. For instance, some facilities management (FM) teams are responding to hybrid working by shifting from a traditional to a dynamic service model, driven by real-time data about when, how and where employees are working in the office on any given day. With insights into the days, times and seasons of peak occupancy, an FM team can focus janitorial services on the most active areas, or explore closing one or two elevators, or an entire floor, on low-occupancy Mondays and Fridays.

Many CRE teams lack the internal expertise necessary to navigate numerous technology options and build a technology ecosystem that aligns with their intended objectives. Often, the easiest way to develop a compelling business case for investing in a cohesive technology strategy, is to partner with a technology advisor who understands the unique challenges of Corporate Real Estate and can align your current systems with future integrations. Furthermore, they can assist you not only in building a thorough technology program strategy, but also in successfully implementing and optimizing your CRE systems operationally. Through a holistic technology program, your CRE team can accelerate the pace of transformation.

Contact us to start your integrated technology journey.