And we, as mere mortals have done that for years. Land symbolizes power, self- sufficiency and legacy. The shift from Palaces and Kingdoms to Mansions and BHKs, we value almost all of our life’s savings equivalent to a piece of land that we could (and in peer pressure, should) own. The relationship between space, power and identity are mediated by symbols and for ages, Land has been a symbol of the concrete reality of power. To add further, a piece of land camouflages vividly with everything that exists on this planet (which is also a piece of land)- socially, culturally and economically. For instance, the age-old practised and preached Feudalism.
The concept of land also goes deeper into our core with major moments in mythology too. Without the myth of land and property, human civilisation perhaps cannot exist. In the Ramayana and Mahabharata where we continuously see property disputes, Ravana and Kuber fighting over Lanka, Pandavas and Kauravas fighting over Kurukshetra. Even in the Holy Bible, “The Lord will be king over all the earth.” His land will be the whole earth. This is why Paul can say about Abraham that he was the heir of the whole world. This conflict over land & property defines human society, for most human beings identify their own worth with what they possess.
But here’s a catch, with 2020 happening to us where this pandemic year has affirmed us with all certainty, the magic of being online and it’s a feasibility to do everything under the sun through on-demand services. Little did we know ten years back, that from a milk packet to an Air Conditioner everything will be delivered on our door using an app. We have smoothly made a shift and are living the good life of tapping the fingers. Everything has become need-based, with on-demand services the logistics have become so simple that the sharing economy looks like the only economy we behold. The zero fuss people have started indulging in about the things that were once a reason of huge investment, be it sharing a ride through Uber and not feeling a need to own a car or be it listing your house on Air BnB and not minding people in your space if they are willing to pay for that bed.
The ease of availing transactional value over the rigidity of traditional formats has made this population of millennials and GenZ very optimising and inclusive.
And here’s the time when the same trend seeks to (and is already trying to- with WeWork and alike already trying to disrupt the workspace industry with co-working and no lease concepts) reimagine and realign the world of real estate. Space-as-a-Service, represent a trillion-dollar-plus opportunity. Everything we are familiar with about how we design, build, occupy, manage and value all the spaces and places around us will change fundamentally over the next ten years. And this will happen whether we like it or not; these changes are being driven by technological advancements that are rewiring the world around us. They have very little to do with the real estate industry per se, but the real estate industry will have to bend to their will. The genie is out of the bottle, and there will be winners and losers. Many winners and many losers.
#SpaceAsAService refers to space that is procured on-demand, whether by the hour, day, week, month or year. The real estate industry is no longer about real estate. Like, for example, in the case of office spaces, a starting point is realising that no occupier wants an office, what they want is a productive workforce. Forget the real estate side of real estate (you can do that well anyway can’t you?) and concentrate on the people’s side. Co-working, co-living, and now a retail concept called “brand boxing” are all examples of the SPaaS business model, in which landlords essentially provide a suite of services that enable tenants to easily utilize the space. SPaaS is a byproduct of a set of technology-enabled structural changes in the CRE marketplace. Technology is paving the path for fundamental changes in how businesses operate, how people work and live and where they do it. The greatest enablers for this transformation have been the exponential growth of high-speed connectivity, the ubiquitous use of smartphones, the proliferation of cloud computing and IoT devices and the adoption of artificial intelligence and robotics. Together, these technologies are re-shaping the way in which we as a society and workforce use and occupy space.
SPaaS, this transformation has changed the fundamentals of Spaces from the provision of real estate to providing service, data and branding. In the future, the value and success of any Space Owner will be dependent on building “user experiences” (UX) around their physical assets. Landlords will need to think creatively about ways to use data analytics, to better understand their occupants and customer journeys within the context of how they engage with the physical asset or building.
Few aspects of space as a service-related strategy includes:
1.Optimum Utilization — Eliminate or reduce underperforming or unused space. Focus on maximizing the use of space by making it multifunctional
2.Flexibility- Portfolio modifications are performed quickly to limit disruptions and increase the strategy benefits immediately.
3.User Experience- The potential of customisation and personalisation is always the supreme deal.
4. Tech on Tips- Private satellites are covering the earth, from SpaceX and OneWeb. Intelligence is being democratized. The internet of things (IoT) is prevailing. Sensors are on their collection sprint. Putting all this together you derive the needed sense and sensibility for your space.