When it comes to industries that utilize leading technology, commercial real estate (CRE) is hardly one that comes to mind.

However, the one universal constant is change, and commercial real estate is no exception. Leading CRE Tech companies are driving industry change in a big way.

And while we at Building Engines consider ourselves to be among those leaders, (if we do say so ourselves), today we will focus on some of the other big players making a splash.

Let’s kick it off with:

  1. HIGHTOWER

    Until recently, every CRE brokerage would rely on Excel to keep track of transactions.

    Though this may sound like a perfectly fine way to do things, it is far from efficient. All too many companies would go as far as to hire a dedicated person to keep each spreadsheet up to date. Beyond that, those documents were at best static snapshots of information scattered in multiple locations. Needless to say, all of this information was very hard to manage, let alone gather insights from.

    Thanks to Hightower, this is history. Brokers can now view their data in the way it actually behaves: as a set of living, breathing, interacting data points that are constantly on the move.

    Instead of a being stored as separate files, documents like leasing reports, floor plans, and lease expiration can now be viewed in one central location. They even make an app that makes all data visible to a brokerage’s clients as well, reducing uncertainty around the status of a transaction.

  2. 42 FLOORS

    Chances are that if you’ve looked for an apartment in the past few years, you’ve used a service like Zillow or Trulia. These are apps that allow buyers to see information that is normally only available to brokers: availability of rental properties. These have existed for years in the residential real estate space, but for some reason have yet to pick up steam in the CRE market.

    42 Floors hopes to change all that.

    Their website also has a great Education Center to help inform buyers on how to best search for office space as well as negotiating leases, exposing the motivations of each party involved in the process, much like their residential cousins.

  3. HONEST BUILDINGS

    Just like brokers, Project Managers and Developers used to use pen, paper, and spreadsheets to track their ongoing projects, leading (once again). This again leads to a lot of scattered, disorganized data.

    Honest Buildings makes it simple to gain insights from vast amounts of data that would normally be impossible to sort through and organize. From spotting larger trends, to looking at specific assets or vendors, to broadcasting messages to an entire team, Honest Buildings saves companies money by allowing for more informed decision-making processes and more efficient workflows.

  4. FLOORED

    To be honest, the name of this company is exactly how I felt when I saw what this company does. Floored.

    The 3D models that this company creates for office spaces are simply amazing. It lets you virtually walk through an office as though you were actually there, or as they like to put it, “in a video game”, viewing any area of the space from any angle.

    For their clients, they work with architects and developers to create a 3D presentation of any space with exacting detail. Not only that, but changes can be made to the model; walls can be moved around and repositioned, allowing an occupant of a space to test out different floor plans. This powerful tool allows companies to gain the best possible use of a space, as well as marketing and existing and planning new spaces.

Did I miss your favorite CRE Disruptor of 2016?

Let me know by tweeting at our company Twitter account, @buildingengines, or by emailing me at: bbenet@buildingengines.com.