Digital literacy : Taking the first step toward digital competency in corporate real estate

Speaking the language of digital real estate is a much-needed skill for CRE leaders, their people and their business partners. Digital literacy helps CRE leaders become more effective communicators and drivers of change as the industry shifts to digital at an increasing pace. This paper introduces terms, concepts and techniques to better equip CRE leaders for the opportunities and challenges ahead. This work is related to a programme focused on ‘digital competency in real estate’ developed by OSCRE International, a leading real estate data standards group. The purpose of the initiative is to: 1) interpret trends in the industry; 2) demystify the language of digital; 3) identify skills that CRE leaders and their teams need now to succeed in a digital world; 4) better understand how to approach change; 5) provide pragmatic guidance on how to prepare for and make the changes needed. Highlights of the findings of this initiative include: 1) digital literacy is a core competency like any other; 2) effective collaboration between IT and the business depends on it; 3) building a data strategy is high on CRE leaders’ priority list; 4) increasing pressure for data quality means better data governance; 5) data integration is vital, but the role of the integrator is still in flux; 6) data management is becoming much more visible in outsourcing contracts; 7) service providers are developing new services and tools to compete in new ways; 8) emerging technologies, such as machine learning, are becoming more mainstream; 9) the emerging workforce is already digitally enabled and brings new skills and expectations; 10) starting with the language will help CRE leaders get ahead of the changes already underway.