Time for property managers to embrace geospatial data

With 2025 underway, property asset managers find themselves at the crossroads of economic pressures, regulatory demands and technological innovation. The year ahead presents a host of challenges and opportunities, with trends including ESG transparency, decarbonisation and the rise of digital twins transforming how real estate asset owners and managers administer and optimise their portfolios.

If you’ve yet to go digital, now’s the time to do it. From accurate reporting to space optimisation, to planning for the future with retrofitting and refurbishments to increase the longevity of your assets, the age-old saying rings true: “You can’t manage what you don’t measure.”

Critical to going digital and meeting the demands of future-proofed assets is accurate locational (geospatial) data about your portfolio. The reality is that few property managers have this information in an accurate and validated form – or worse, they believe they do, but find it lacking when it matters.

Accurately measuring the size of real estate assets and maintaining comprehensive digital spatial records provides asset managers with validated, reliable data to manage their portfolios effectively. Here’s how:

Accurate geospatial data plays a pivotal role in this process. By providing precise information about an asset’s location, condition and environmental impact, geospatial insights enable property managers to assess their portfolios against sustainability benchmarks. This data is not only essential for compliance, it also helps identify opportunities to reduce energy consumption, lower emissions and demonstrate progress towards ESG goals.

For example, understanding the energy performance of ageing assets through geospatial mapping can uncover retrofitting opportunities, such as improved insulation or renewable energy installations. These insights contribute directly to more transparent and actionable ESG reporting, ensuring firms stay ahead of regulatory requirements. Remote access to such data also reduces the need for onsite visits, lowering operational costs and environmental impacts.

The economic environment remains challenging for many, with rising costs and intense competition driving a need for asset managers to optimise performance, ROI and financial planning. Underused spaces, inefficient layouts and unplanned downtime can all eat into profitability.

Here, geospatial data offers transformative potential. By analysing spatial usage, managers can identify areas ripe for optimisation, whether that’s reconfiguring layouts for higher efficiency, or unlocking new revenue streams from previously untapped spaces. Additionally, predictive maintenance enabled by IoT sensors and supported by digital twins minimises downtime and extends the lifespan of assets.

Furthermore, by providing exact measurements of floor areas, volumes and spatial quantities, geospatial data ensures clients have an accurate understanding of their assets. This precision enables realistic budgeting for maintenance, refurbishments or expansions. Whether estimating costs for a retrofit or determining the rental value of a commercial space, validated geospatial data reduces uncertainty and allows asset managers to make well-informed financial decisions. The result? A more competitive and financially efficient portfolio in an increasingly dynamic marketplace.

Digital twins are rapidly becoming a gamechanger in property management. These virtual replicas of physical assets enable real-time monitoring, predictive analytics and more effective decision-making. However, the foundation of any reliable digital twin is accurate geospatial data.

By integrating geospatial data with IoT sensors, asset managers can create dynamic digital twins that provide real-time insights into building performance. For instance, a digital twin of a mixed-use development might reveal patterns of energy use, enabling managers to adjust operations for greater efficiency or align with sustainability goals.

As smart technologies become more prevalent, the ability to feed accurate, real-time data into digital twins will separate forward-thinking firms from those left behind. Embracing digital twins underpinned by robust geospatial data will no longer be optional but a strategic imperative.

The property sector faces mounting pressure to decarbonise, with investors, tenants, and regulators demanding action. Achieving meaningful reductions in carbon emissions requires a data-driven approach, and geospatial data provides the necessary foundation.

For example, mapping energy usage across a portfolio can highlight areas where renewable energy sources or retrofitting measures would have the most impact. Similarly, geospatial data can support compliance with evolving standards, such as minimum EPC ratings, by identifying which assets are falling short and providing a roadmap for improvement.

Asset managers who take a proactive stance on decarbonisation, using data to guide their strategies, will not only meet regulatory demands, but enhance their reputation as leaders in sustainability – a key differentiator in a competitive market.

The overarching theme for 2025 is a shift towards data-driven asset management. Yet, while property firms are increasingly data-rich, many remain processing-poor. The challenge lies in turning vast amounts of information into actionable insights.

To get started, asset managers must first get their house in order by ensuring the accuracy and completeness of their data. Investing in geospatial surveys, 3D laser scanning and digital record-keeping provides a solid foundation for informed decision-making.

Once this groundwork is laid, firms can begin to harness the full potential of their data, integrating it across areas such as ESG reporting, operational optimisation, and strategic planning. Accurate geospatial data supports operational efficiency and ensures financial accuracy, reducing the likelihood of misallocated budgets or unplanned expenses. In a world where information is power, those who unlock the potential of geospatial data will lead the way in asset management.

In a sector where staying ahead means staying informed, geospatial data is the strategic and financial advantage no asset manager can afford to overlook.

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