Have you ever wondered why only three people sometimes sit in a giant meeting room by themselves?
As the future workspace evolves and the hybrid working model becomes more common than ever, it could be challenging for many property owners to know exactly how to optimise the joint workspaces and meeting rooms to provide a creative and productive environment that meets each employee’s needs.
This was the case for the Nordic Real Estate Investment Management Company, Areim.
Areim is all about seeing opportunities where others see problems. Located in their main office in Stockholm, they faced challenges in determining their employees’ specific meeting room requirements and identifying ways to enhance the working environment. These challenges were primarily caused by variations in employee schedules, which affected specific requirements for meeting rooms. Additionally, Areim noticed that some pre-booked meeting rooms were not fully utilised, leading to unnecessary space that could have been used more effectively.
Seeking to achieve a solid understanding of their office utilisation, Areim joined forces with Nordomatic and implemented the data-driven Space Utilisation-tool Spica Insight. By using Spica Insight, Areim gained the ability to track and analyse real-time data on how their office space was being utilised. This valuable information was contextualised within the organisation, empowering Areim to make informed decisions on optimising their office space to its maximum potential.
We talked with Areims Head of Asset Management Sweden, Jerker Victor, about collaborating with Nordomatic and the potential of working data-driven to optimise office spaces.
What is the most crucial aspect a service partner should possess to collaborate with Areim?
“When implementing a technical solution, we are primarily interested in what conclusions can be drawn from the implementation. With Nordomatic, we have had a tight and direct dialogue with sales and integration. It’s crystal clear that Nordomatic aspires to help us according to our needs.” – Jerker Victor
What challenges did you face before deciding to move forward with Spica Insight?
“As property owners, we face a challenge in understanding how our offices are used. We can certainly have our theories, but we rarely have proof of when meeting rooms are fully occupied and the free hours. With Spica Insight, we transition from guessing into knowing and can fully adjust depending on our employees’ behaviour.” – Jerker Victor
Areim is an independent Nordic property owner and fund manager with a vision to invest in new forms of development, for a sustainable society, beyond the expected. They aim to create lasting value for our stakeholders by balancing good financial performance with sustainable community development and care for people. Since its inception in 2003, Areim has invested in underdeveloped properties where they can add long-lasting value.
How are you using Spica Insight today?
“In the system, we can see the coldest and warmest rooms, which are the most popular and which days and times are most utilised. I sign in almost daily, observing the number of people on site and analysing the data to conclude. What I find very clever about the tool is that we can see the percentage of room occupancy and receive diagrams based on that information. These diagrams suggest how we can improve the rooms even further. ” – Jerker Victor
Nordomatic exists to accelerate an open and sustainable future, and we do so by integrating technology and adding smartness to buildings. With the acquisition of Spica Technologies in March 2022, Nordomatic aims to integrate building controls with workplace management software seamlessly. This integration has enabled our customers to optimise energy consumption, enhance hybrid work strategies, and share data through unified platforms effortlessly.
What value do you see that Spica Insight will contribute to Areim in the long term?
“With this solution, we obtain the answer to how we can work knowledge-oriented. Now, we have a solution in place where we can see how the product is being used. At a later stage, we plan to utilise Spica Insight with our tenants and assist them in optimising their space in the best possible way.” – Jerker Victor
What is the immense value Areim has gained from collaborating with Nordomatic?
“I think this system is at the forefront and provides us with much insight. It is great to have tools that make it easy to adjust as much as possible. From the data in Spica Insight, we can see trends and how many people are on-site, and we could use that data to get people to the actual office. Many conclusions can be drawn based on Spica Insight, and the proximity to the contact at Nordomatic has been much appreciated.” – Jerker Victor
Click here to learn more about AreimLearn more about Spica Technologies and Smart Cloud here
Tove Ljung
Marketing & Communication Partner