Adopting proptech and digital innovations for the future of work

This post is sponsored by JustCo.

Proptech, also known as property technology, has formed part of the wider digital transformation in today’s real estate industry. Proptech has been a hot topic for discussion, especially in recent years, as it has successfully changed the way properties are being built, managed and used to meet the evolving needs of businesses.

In response to this rising trend, and to enhance the work experience for members, JustCo has launched its “Digital innovations for the future of work” platform at The Centrepoint.

Spanning three levels of the shopping mall, this tech-enabled workspace features smart technologies such as facial recognition, designed to only permit entry to members who are wearing face masks; card-free access via Bluetooth capability; and a fully automated in-house RATIO café that is powered by robotics and artificial intelligence to offer custom-crafted coffee and cocktails.

As businesses start to rethink their real estate strategies in the new normal, many are also turning to co-working spaces for flexible and short-term work solutions. 

As such, JustCo has partnered with the world’s first workspace on-demand platform, Switch, to offer users fuss-free access to conducive workspaces; and spatial analytics technology company, SixSense, to effectively monitor space occupancy levels and detect any unacceptable social distancing among members and guests.

Switch – the world’s first on-demand workspace platform

A Switch co-working area at JustCo at The Centrepoint

As businesses start to rethink their real estate strategies in the new normal, mostly due to cost pressures and the need for a suitable decentralised workforce plan, many are turning  to co-working spaces for flexible short-term work solutions. 

With Switch, users can browse through the Switch app to search for available workspaces and access them as and when they need, only having to pay for exactly what they use.

Available in suburban and downtown Singapore, Switch is available at 12 JustCo centres in the CBD, and nine malls of Frasers Property Retail, allowing users to work closer to home. 

Switch booths located at a suburban shopping mall

The Switch workspace within shopping malls will come in the form of a Switch Booth, a smart, quiet work booth, providing privacy and convenience. Switch members can check in and out using the smart door lock by scanning the QR code via the Switch app and be billed digitally.

Each Switch Booth comes in a one-person and four-person version, which features a private full-sized work desk, a Steelcase brand office chair, sound proofing, air ventilation, secured Wi-Fi, electric socket and USB charger, and a Bluetooth speaker.

SixSense – a spatial analytics technology in JustCo’s workspaces

Above: A sample of how a real-time crowdedness status of JustCo centres will show up on the JustCo app, powered by SixSense.

SixSense leverages on artificial intelligence to deploy effective space-usage management within a space. By engaging this technology, JustCo can retrieve real-time occupancy data, monitor usage frequency of its spaces and receive overcrowding alerts to ensure social distancing measures are adhered to in a post-COVID world.

Benefiting all JustCo members over time, the spatial analytics data provided by SixSense will help JustCo to optimise its space design, layouts, furniture, and ensure meeting rooms are as safe, efficient and useful as possible for members.

Powered by SixSense, the JustCo app has also launched a new feature showing the real-time status of any crowding in the main community areas at JustCo centres in Singapore. This reassures JustCo members and guests on the safe distancing management within JustCo spaces, helping members know when to avoid potentially overcrowded community areas. 

JustCo’s community managers will also receive automated notifications of any area that has become overcrowded, allowing them to promptly disperse crowds.

The workspace of tomorrow

In today’s new normal, businesses understand the importance of innovating and integrating new technology into their business to scale, survive and succeed. With more demand for short-term leases, and for workspaces that offer maximum flexibility, JustCo takes away the need for commitment of its clients, and at the same time, maximise their cost savings that can be better put into other areas of their business development such as developing their own tech or innovation team, and more. 

It is evident that companies need a hybrid of fixed and flexible workspaces especially in today’s volatile economy, be it for a headquarters office, satellite teams, business continuity plans or on-demand spaces for short-term work.

In a post COVID-19 world where working from home or working remotely has become the norm, JustCo believes that businesses are more driven than ever to integrate flexibility, innovation and agility into all aspects of their business, especially for real estate. Working from home will not be forever, but working from anywhere will become the new norm.

To experience JustCo’s tech-enabled smart co-working space at The Centrepoint, kindly click here.