With the progress and development of society, the operation of all walks of life is closely related to the application of science and technology. When the application of technology has fully integrated into the daily life and work of citizens and brought benefits to them, the property management (property management) industry must keep pace with the times, and the widespread application of technology in property management services has become an irresistible trend.

The use of innovative technology can not only better cater for the various needs of property management service users and provide “people-oriented” considerate and in-place services, but also improve the efficiency of property management services, simplify work procedures and save human resources, and improve property management. Building safety, reducing the cost of property management services, and even adding value to the property.

Property Management Technology Development A to I

In fact, the property management industry has been a pioneer in promoting the use of innovative technologies. In summary, the development trends and characteristics of property management technology applications can be summarized from A to I:

“A” Artificial Intelligence (Artificial Intelligence) — Artificial intelligence is widely used in the property management industry, and for artificial intelligence to play a role, it must first collect data. For example, after installing IoT sensors in different locations and equipment in the property to collect real-time usage data and store it in the cloud database, then use machine learning and big data analysis to build an artificial intelligence model, which can monitor the property’s “wind, fire, water and electricity”, facility management, equipment maintenance, security control, etc. to achieve real-time all-weather management, greatly improving the level of property management services.

“B” Blockchain (Blockchain: Smart contract) — The daily work of property management involves a lot of workflow and log management. The smart contract of blockchain can record the details of each activity, and its non-tamperable characteristics can help property management companies And customers trace and review the work process.

“C” Cloud Computing — Many property management companies have developed mobile applications for customers. Through cloud computing, they provide services such as booking facilities, electronic information, mobile payment, and visitor management, greatly improving the level of property management services.

“D” Data Analytics – big data analysis technology helps the property management industry plan, develop and manage buildings and property facilities, and provide “people-oriented” services.

“E”」Entrepreneurship (Entrepreneurship: Outcome-based) — The application of innovative technology should be goal-oriented, and key performance indicators should be formulated in advance to ensure that the technology adopted can solve the current practical problems in a targeted manner.

“F” Financial Technology (Fintech) — In addition to supporting electronic payments, financial technology can also determine and pay for property-related maintenance projects, leases, insurance, etc. through cloud computing combined with IoT sensors.

“G” Governance (Governance: Privacy and Security Policy) — Property management companies will receive data from different people in their daily work, which often involves issues such as personal privacy and data governance policies. There is a saying that “the greater the data, the greater the responsibility”, the relevant property management companies must establish a proper mechanism to properly store relevant information to prevent it from being stolen or misused.

“H” High availability (High availability) – The high availability property management system can run without interruption, making the operation of property management services more efficient, more convenient and safer, and at the same time improving the level of customer experience.

“I” Internet of Things (Internet of Thing IoT) – various management projects in the property are interlocking. The Internet of Things enables different property management projects and equipment to be connected to each other, bringing various automated management service solutions to the property management industry.

The application of technology aims to solve the “pain points” of property management

Innovative technology can be widely used in different areas of property management services, such as management of property information, tenants, leasing, owners, suppliers, accounting and finance, maintenance services, service appointments, human resources, document reports, etc. However, the application of innovative technologies in the property management industry involves an initial investment in setting up hardware or leasing services. Therefore, it is necessary to understand the actual operational difficulties before adopting targeted deployments. In other words, technological applications should first consider the “pain points” and aim to provide solutions for the “pain points”.

Taking the building management system of the Internet of Things as an example to create an Internet-of-things-based building group, the relevant system can be installed with advanced sensors in various facilities of the property, including electricity, air conditioning, drainage, gas, fire protection, lighting, etc., and unified management on the cloud system and operating related facilities and data. Therefore, property management personnel can not only carry out remote monitoring and solve the “pain points” of traditional monitoring, but the system will also issue warnings in advance before problems occur, so that property management personnel can foresight, prevent problems before they happen, and reduce the possibility of potential safety hazards.

Another solution to the “pain point” is to collect electricity and gas parameters through the Internet of Things system, and use the reserved application programming interface (application programming interface, API for short) interface to connect with the Fire Services Department to realize information synchronization and intercommunication, so that the system can In case of electric fire or gas leakage, an alarm will be automatically issued, so that both the property management company and the fire department can obtain information at the first time, and solve the “pain point” that affects the ability to deal with risks due to information transmission problems.

When and how to apply innovative technology

Before deciding to adopt a certain innovative technology or purchase a certain technological service, the property management industry can simply analyze and consider the following three aspects of “SFA”:

Suitability: Whether the relevant technology can solve the current “pain points” in a targeted manner to achieve the current goal.
Feasible: whether the technology is still under development, how long it will take to install and set up, and how many resources are available.
Acceptable: Whether stakeholders (such as owners, users, employees, and property management companies, etc.) are willing to adopt the relevant technology.

Integrating technology into the daily management of property buildings is definitely an important direction for the future development of the property management industry. In the face of new opportunities and new challenges in the future of Hong Kong’s property management industry, it really depends on the efforts and support of the industry to improve the professional level of property management services and enable the industry to continue to develop. We hope that everyone will continue to work together to develop technological applications that are beneficial to the development of the property management industry, integrating the achievements of technologies such as the Internet of Things, artificial intelligence, big data analysis, robotics and mobile applications, to serve property owners, property management service users, Employees and the industry provide a better property management system, improve user experience and management effectiveness, make property management services better and more professional, and promote the development of Hong Kong as a smart city.

Member of the Property Management Services Authority and Convenor of the Computer Systems Working Group

Dr. Jason Chan