Commercial real estate (CRE) teams are challenged to balance operational efficiencies and cost control with occupant demand for flexible and engaging work environments. To navigate these complexities, organizations need value integrators — professionals who can bridge the traditional gaps between real estate and broader business goals. By aligning CRE initiatives with organizational objectives, value integrators ensure that real estate becomes a strategic asset, driving long-term success and resilience.
Market factors driving need for more strategic thinking in CRE
Corporate real estate is undergoing a period of adjustment as organizations respond to evolving market dynamics amid increased operational costs. Property insurance premiums have tripled in some cases since 2020, and persistent labor and material cost inflation continues to delay construction and renovation projects. While in-office attendance remains below pre-pandemic levels in some areas, there are signs this trend is shifting. According to Eptura’s 2025 Workplace Index, 34% of businesses plan to increase the number of days employees spend in the office this year. Visitor traffic has also nearly doubled across all regions over the past three years, placing new demands on space, security, and operational resources.
These pressures vary by industry and portfolio makeup. For example, a manufacturer may be more likely to own their buildings and centralize operations in low-cost-of-living locations, versus a financial firm which may prioritize leasing space in large cities, driving up costs. The latter type of organization may also be more aware of the role office spaces and amenities play in company branding and talent retention.
While some enterprises recognized the built environment’s potential as a differentiator over the past 20 years, the pandemic created a clear dividing line between the traditional and new ways of thinking about commercial real estate. CRE used to be about cost control and operational efficiency. Now it’s a strategic asset that forward-thinking organizations can leverage to better support evolving workforce models, financial resilience, and long-term transformation.
Organizational barriers: Siloed data and lack of alignment
Most CRE teams have embraced the potential value of implementing everything from simple smart lighting to advanced AI, but inconsistent processes and disparate operational technologies limit their ability to affect organizational change. These teams struggle to capture reliable data, often having to pull it manually from several single-point systems before trying to compile it in spreadsheets. In fact, 37% of businesses are utilizing 11 or more employees to gather, analyze, and report on data from single-point systems, and 50% of businesses are using an average of 17 standalone worktech solutions, according to Eptura’s 2025 Workplace Index report.
It’s not just the data that’s siloed. Many teams experience challenges in getting buy in and prioritization for workplace technology projects and related change management across departments or regions. That lack of alignment means some have a hard time getting past the pilot stage, so any progress occurs only at one site, not across the business.
Value integrator: Cross functional and business minded
Overcoming these challenges means finding value integrators, people who can think cross-functionally and have a deep understanding of business goals, including each department’s metric-focused definition of success. The reason is simple: Before you can align with others, you need to know where they’re heading and what’s pushing them there.
Value integrators play a key role in facilitating:
- Strategic alignment: Ensuring CRE initiatives support the company’s overall business objectives
- Enhancing workplace experience: Focusing on creating workplaces that improve employee satisfaction and productivity
- Data-driven decision-making: Utilizing real-time data and analytics to make proactive decisions
- Cross-functional collaboration: Working closely with other departments to integrate and optimize workplace solutions
- Building trust and influence: Overcoming challenges like data quality and trust by implementing transparent processes and demonstrating early successes
- Technology integration: Assessing and rationalizing the current technology stack to address gaps and improve efficiency
These responsibilities aren’t just tactical — they’re connective. Value integrators serve as the bridge between CRE and the broader business, translating workplace strategy into measurable impact across functions. Their ability to navigate complexity and build alignment is what turns real estate from a cost center into a competitive advantage.
Creating the right connections across the company
Our advice for value integrators: Partner with the business leaders who manage the profit and loss statements that are paying for CRE. Look at who’s going to be most affected, negatively or positively, by the space and then identify the relevant senior leaders. In one successful use case, we’ve seen a CRE team create a role specifically to liaise with the business. They embedded that person inside the company to collect and share information about what was working and what needed improvement.
Combining process and technology to tackle the midweek mountain
Technology plays a crucial role in enabling value integration. A unified intelligent worktech platform, for example, helps companies automate processes, freeing up time for CRE teams to focus on strategic initiatives. These systems provide real-time data and analytics, which are essential for making informed decisions that align with broader business goals. They also help with optimizing space utilization, managing facilities more efficiently, and enhancing the employee experience by providing insights into how and when spaces are used.
However, it’s important to recognize that technology by itself is not a complete solution. Organizations must ensure that their technology investments are strategically aligned with their business objectives and that they have the necessary processes and people in place to support the transformation.
The midweek mountain, the tendency of office occupancy and utilization to peak on Wednesdays, is a good example of a challenge that companies cannot solve by technology alone. While software can provide valuable data and insights, it does not address the underlying behavioral and company cultural factors that contribute to this issue.
Unfortunately, many companies view the midweek mountain solely as a real estate problem. Instead, organizations should see it as an opportunity to empower value integrators to work across teams and departments to collectively create a solution.
Effective digital transformation in CRE involves understanding and influencing employee behavior, aligning with the organization’s strategic priorities, and building trust through transparent and well-communicated processes. Addressing the midweek mountain can include HR policies that encourage flexible working schedules, IT solutions that support remote collaboration, and operations strategies that optimize facility management. The CRE team must work closely with other departments to ensure that technology is used to its full potential and that the human element is not overlooked. By integrating these aspects, organizations can create a more balanced and productive work environment that truly meets the needs of both the business and its employees.
Value integrators support digital transformation
Digital transformation plays a critical role in streamlining operations and controlling costs, an essential capability in today’s landscape of post-pandemic pressures. By leveraging automation and smart technologies, companies can enhance workflows, reduce manual errors, and boost productivity. Increased operational efficiency enables organizations to redirect resources toward higher-value initiatives like innovation and customer experience, both of which are key drivers of sustainable growth. To maximize impact, value integrators must work across teams and functions to ensure that every part of the enterprise benefits from these technology investments by aligning tools, processes, and outcomes with broader business goals.
To begin your own digital journey, connect with our consultancy.
By Jonathan Davis
As a content creator at Eptura, Jonathan Davis covers asset management, maintenance software, and SaaS solutions, delivering thought leadership with actionable insights across industries such as fleet, manufacturing, healthcare, and hospitality. Jonathan’s writing focuses on topics to help enterprises optimize their operations, including building lifecycle management, digital twins, BIM for facility management, and preventive and predictive maintenance strategies. With a master's degree in journalism and a diverse background that includes writing textbooks, editing video game dialogue, and teaching English as a foreign language, Jonathan brings a versatile perspective to his content creation.
