As more people return to the office, workplace and facility leaders face growing challenges to enhance employee experience, optimize spaces, and extend asset lifecycles. According to new research by Eptura, however, the solution isn’t just adding more technology. Instead, companies can unlock a chain of value by integrating digital solutions into a unified platform, leveraging data from various sources, and maximizing AI productivity gains.
Eptura’s 2025 Workplace Index report combines third-party research with data from 25 million Eptura platform users and a survey of 200 VP and C-suite professionals representing IT, operations, HR, finance, and real estate from enterprise businesses with over 5,000 employees.
The trends that make understanding the value chain so important
Our data from 25 million global users shows there were 33% more desk bookings per building between Q1 2023 and Q4 2024, and with 34% of businesses planning to bring more employees back to the office more often, that number will only grow. As more people come in more often, workplace and facility managers face more pressure to improve the workplace experience and optimize space utilization.
Meeting that challenge is made harder by the current fragmentation of workplace technology, according to our research. 67% of companies are using between 6 to 40 different workplace solutions. To manage the complexity created by the disconnection, 37% of organizations employ 11 or more full-time employees to collate, analyze, and report on worktech data.
Companies are looking for solutions, with the integration of AI into the workplace as a major focus for many. 77% of businesses plan to implement AI to enhance the employee experience. 68% aim to automate visitor management within the next 12 months.
But barriers remain. Many of the operational leaders we spoke with highlighted the challenge of proving return on investment at their organizations, which then hinders their ability to secure funding. In fact, when asked, “What barriers do you face in securing budget to integrate workplace solutions (workplace, buildings and facilities)?”, 44% chose “Lack of perceived value in integrated solutions.”
What’s the intelligent worktech value chain?
The value chain is the series of activities and processes that add value to an organization’s operations, from managing visitors and assets to making data-driven decisions. Every link in the chain helps build a seamless, efficient, and productive work environment.
By integrating digital solutions inside a unified platform, organizations can harness the power of data from a range of different sources and take full advantage of productivity gains — unlocking a chain of increasing value.
An unlocked value chain helps deliver:
- Reduced overall costs: Integrated solutions reduce software and management costs by eliminating the need for multiple standalone systems, leading to more efficient resource allocation and cost savings.
- Comprehensive visibility: Holistic views of people, buildings, and assets come from integrating digital solutions into a unified platform. Organizations gain the visibility they need to make informed decisions and optimize operations.
- Improved productivity: Enhanced data analytics and embedded AI provide valuable insights that support more informed and efficient operations for better space usage and an employee experience that supports productivity.
- Smarter decision-making: Centralized data and leadership dashboards enable executives to make data-driven decisions, leading to better strategic planning and operational improvements.
It’s important to remember that companies need to find their own paths to optimization. The value chain doesn’t describe a rigid road map every organization must follow. Instead, the chain is a way to understand the valuable opportunities that come from moving toward a unified solution, including optimizing workflows and decision-making through data analytics and embedded AI.
Every link in the chain includes opportunities for a variety of features and use cases.
More connected: Integrated platform
By integrating various worktech solutions into a single platform, organizations see seamless data flow and communication, with features like unified login, floor mapping, and BIM modeling.
Unified login
A sign-on system lets employees and visitors access multiple systems and resources with a single set of credentials simplifies access and enhances security by reducing the number of passwords users need to remember. Organizations can reduce login times and improve user experience.
In a large corporate office, employees often need to access various systems for different tasks, such as booking meeting rooms, accessing HR portals, and submitting maintenance requests. A unified login system ensures employees can access all these systems with fewer credentials, making their workday more efficient and secure.
Floor mapping
Digital maps of the office layout accessible through a mobile app or web portal helps employees and visitors navigate the office more easily, reducing confusion and improving the overall experience.
When a new employee starts at a large office building, they can use the floor mapping feature to find their way to their desk, meeting rooms, and other facilities, reducing the time spent asking for directions and helping the employee feel more comfortable and productive from the first day.
Building information modeling (BIM) modeling
BIM provides a 3D digital representation of the building, including all its systems and components, that supports better asset management and maintenance by providing a detailed and accurate view of the building’s infrastructure.
A facility manager can use BIM modeling to plan and execute maintenance tasks more effectively. For example, if an HVAC system needs repair, the manager can:
- Identify the exact location: Pinpoint the location of the HVAC system and its components, reducing the time and effort required to locate the issue.
- Access detailed information: Retrieve detailed information about the system, including its specifications, maintenance history, and any previous issues.
- Plan maintenance tasks: Plan the maintenance tasks, ensuring all necessary tools and parts are available.
- Monitor progress: Track the progress of the maintenance tasks in real-time, ensuring that they are completed efficiently and effectively.
By integrating BIM into their operations, facility and workplace leaders can enhance connectivity, gain comprehensive insights, and drive intelligent decision-making, leading to more efficient and effective management of their facilities.
More informed: Cross-platform data analytics
Leveraging cross-platform data analytics delivers deeper insights and better decision-making, with tools for occupancy analytics, compliance analytics, and predictive maintenance, which help organizations understand and optimize their operations.
Occupancy analytics
With tools that track and analyze the occupancy of different areas in the building, workplace leaders can optimize space usage and improve the employee experience by ensuring they are using spaces efficiently.
A company with a hybrid work policy could use occupancy analytics to understand how often employees use different meeting rooms and workspaces for better decisions on how to reconfigure spaces or adjust the number of available workstations, ensuring that the office layout meets the needs of its employees.
Compliance analytics
Leveraging advanced analytics, workplace and facility managers can forecast future compliance trends and outcomes based on historical data enables proactive decision-making and helps with planning for future compliance needs.
For example, a facility manager can use compliance analytics to forecast and manage regulatory compliance requirements. By analyzing historical data on compliance performance, the manager can predict potential areas of non-compliance and take preemptive actions to address them. A proactive approach helps in reducing the risk of penalties, ensuring continuous compliance, and maintaining a safe and compliant environment.
Predictive analytics
With advanced analytics, organizations can forecast future trends and outcomes based on historical data, support proactive decision-making, and better plan for future needs.
A facility manager can use predictive analytics to forecast the maintenance needs of office equipment. By analyzing historical data on equipment performance, the manager can predict when a piece of equipment is likely to fail and schedule maintenance before it becomes a problem, reducing downtime and maintenance costs.
More intelligent: High-level AI productivity
With advanced AI and predictive analytics, organizations can optimize operations and drive productivity. They can implement portfolio optimizations and digital twins that help with forecasting trends, reducing costs, and enhancing overall efficiency.
Portfolio optimization
Tools that help companies make informed decisions about the real estate portfolio ensure they’re using real estate assets efficiently and in ways that align with business goals.
A company with multiple office locations, for example, can use portfolio optimization tools to analyze the usage and performance of each location, and the data can help the company decide whether to expand, downsize, or relocate offices, ensuring the real estate portfolio is optimized for cost and efficiency.
Digital twins
Because they are a virtual replica of the physical workplace, organizations can leverage digital twins for simulation and real-time scenario planning and optimization, helping to improve operational efficiency and decision-making.
A facility manager can use a digital twin for a variety of tracking and modeling programs, including:
- Emergency evacuation planning: Simulate emergency scenarios, such as fire drills or natural disasters, to evaluate the effectiveness of evacuation plans. By analyzing the flow of people and identifying bottlenecks, the manager can refine evacuation routes and procedures, ensuring the safety of all occupants.
- Energy efficiency tracking: Model energy consumption patterns and identify areas for improvement. By simulating different energy-saving measures, such as adjusting HVAC settings or optimizing lighting schedules, the manager can implement changes that reduce energy costs and environmental impact.
- Maintenance scheduling: Simulating the performance of building systems over time to identify potential issues before they become critical, the manager can schedule maintenance proactively, reducing downtime and extending the lifespan of equipment.
By leveraging digital twins, facility and workplace leaders can track operations and maintenance and experiment with different scenarios, from space planning to repair-or-replace decisions, to cut costs and reduce risk.
Begin the transition to a more connected, smarter future
When organizations use disconnected technologies, they can’t get the insights they need to make the right decisions, and to maximize productivity with embedded AI.
“We know the answer to value optimization doesn’t lie with more technology,” writes Brandon Holden, CEO Eptura, in the 2025 Workplace Index report.
Companies can’t unlock the value chain by adding more single-point technology. It’s only by becoming more connected, more informed, and more intelligent that they can transform their employee experience and optimize their real estate to deliver maximum efficiency.
“With the right technology in place, we believe organizations can now unlock unrivaled value by harnessing the power of one unified solution, cross-platform data analytics, and embedded AI,” Holden explains.
Download the full 2025 Workplace Index report to learn more about unlocking the value chain.
By Jonathan Davis
Jonathan writes about asset management, maintenance software, and SaaS solutions in his role as a digital content creator at Eptura. He covers trends across industries, including fleet, manufacturing, healthcare, and hospitality, with a focus on delivering thought leadership with actionable insights. Earlier in his career, he wrote textbooks, edited NPC dialogue for video games, and taught English as a foreign language. He holds a master's degree in journalism.
