Corporate real estate teams are overwhelmed with data while simultaneously lacking actionable insights. As companies manage the complexities of hybrid work environments and changing space utilization patterns, the challenge isn’t finding technology solutions, it’s building the data foundation necessary to make those solutions effective.
Julie Henline, Executive Vice President at Wisp by Apex42, has witnessed this evolution firsthand over her 24-year career in space management. What began as a leap of faith from recruiting into a small Gensler office in La Crosse, Wisconsin, has developed into leading a technology platform that helps enterprise clients make data-driven workplace decisions.
“AI is not going to solve your problems if you have a poor data foundation,” Henline emphasizes. “Garbage in, garbage out doesn’t get better if AI is parsing the data versus a human, it’s still garbage.”
From Professional Services to Technology Platform
Wisp’s journey reflects broader industry trends in corporate real estate technology. Originally part of Gensler’s professional services offering for desktop CAFM (Computer-Aided Facility Management) systems, the team recognized consistent challenges their clients faced with existing solutions.
“We realized there were some consistent challenges and themes we were seeing with our clients and the CAFM systems available at the time,” Henline explains. “SaaS business software was becoming more popular and we saw it as an opportunity to deliver services in a new way.”
The transition from consulting to technology wasn’t immediate. For years, the team operated as what Henline describes as “a tech startup within Gensler,” building what would become Wisp while maintaining their professional services foundation. This dual approach, software plus ongoing support, remains central to their value proposition today.
“We like to say it’s software as a service plus service,” Henline notes. “We provide ongoing support and partnership with our clients. It’s not just a pure software play.”
The Data Standardization Challenge
The complexity of corporate real estate data management has increased significantly with hybrid work models. What was once “a simple math problem” of matching seats to employees has become a multifaceted challenge requiring inputs from across the organization.
“It used to be just a simple math problem. I’ve got this many seats, I’ve got this many butts, and there it is,” Henline explains. “But now it’s a lot more challenging.”
The data inputs required for effective space management span multiple departments and systems: portfolio information, occupancy and utilization metrics, lease data, employee sentiment analysis, network analysis of team collaboration, and forecasting business growth and departmental changes.
“Part of the challenge is real estate teams don’t have great data, or they have too much of it and don’t know what to do with it, or it’s not standardized,” Henline observes. “It’s broken in silos. That’s one of the tricky things with corporate real estate, they need data inputs from across the organization, things that fall outside their ownership.”
This data fragmentation creates particular challenges for AI implementation. While artificial intelligence dominates technology discussions, Henline advocates for prioritizing data governance over flashy features.
“There’s a lot of things coming out right now that are built on AI. It still doesn’t solve the challenge. Time and energy are needed up front to establish processes, standards and clean data pipelines.”
The Hybrid Work Reality
The shift to hybrid work has fundamentally altered space utilization, creating new complexities for real estate teams. Companies now manage a mix of dedicated and flexible seating while ensuring spaces justify the commute for employees.
“It’s not just about managing free address space. There’s still people within the organization that have dedicated seats,” Henline notes. “As more companies get called back to the office, if I’m making the commute, the space has to be worth my while—and this may include a dedicated desk.”
Demand for different types of spaces has grown, with shared and collaboration areas becoming increasingly important. The traditional model of 100% individual workstations is giving way to more flexible arrangements.
“The benchmarks for individual desking—both dedicated and shared seating—has evolved and the demand for different types of team and collaboration spaces has increased.”
Technology Integration Challenges
One area Henline sees significant room for improvement is conference room design and technology integration. The challenge isn’t just having the right technology, it’s ensuring audiovisual capabilities are considered early in the design process.
“With thoughtfully designed conference rooms, the focus should be on the work they support,” she explains. “Different work modes require different technology and resources. Specifying these items earlier will help guide the layout of the physical space.”
This integration challenge reflects broader issues with hybrid work environments. Companies must create spaces that provide equitable experiences for both in-person and remote participants.
“The tech plays a role in making the commute worthwhile,” Henline explains. More immersive technology can provide an improved hybrid meeting experience.”
Breaking Down Silos
Perhaps the most significant opportunity Henline identifies is connecting pre-design strategy with post-occupancy data. Currently, the real estate lifecycle operates in silos, with valuable insights from space utilization rarely feeding back into planning decisions.
“There is a lot of data and information that we help our clients manage after they move into their newly designed space and it’s not well connected back into the pre-design strategy in the way that it could be,” she observes. “It’s still a siloed and broken workflow that presents great opportunity today.”
The speed of hybrid work has made this disconnection more problematic. Pre-pandemic, organizations could tolerate disparate data systems and slower decision-making. Today’s dynamic work environment requires more integrated approaches.
“With the speed of hybrid work, that no longer works because it’s moving so fast. There’s so many inputs. It’s not a simple math problem,” Henline explains.
The solution involves creating what she describes as “a living ecosystem” where workplace management, planning, and strategy operate as integrated functions rather than separate processes, enabling better automation for space allocation and more effective post-occupancy evaluation.
“Ideally, organization are set up to more dynamically track trends, measure against the plan and be more agile in fine tuning their strategy,” Henline notes. “Better connected data will yield a better foundation to predict the future.”
Looking Forward
As corporate real estate teams navigate ongoing changes, Henline’s advice centers on fundamentals rather than flashy technology features. Success requires clear objectives, identifying necessary data sources, and establishing governance processes.
“Start with the end in mind and really look at what you’re trying to answer, then focus on the data you need to answer those questions,” she recommends. “If you don’t have it today, or if that data exists in another department within the organization, ensure that you’re co-creating shared process and data governance standards.”
For an industry often attracted to the latest technological solutions, this focus on data foundation may seem less exciting than AI-powered features or cutting-edge sensors. However, as hybrid work continues to evolve and space utilization becomes increasingly complex, the companies that invest in proper data infrastructure will be best positioned to make informed decisions about their real estate portfolios.
The future of corporate real estate technology isn’t just about having better tools, it’s about creating the data foundation necessary to use those tools effectively. As Henline’s experience demonstrates, the most successful solutions combine technological capability with the human expertise needed to interpret and act on the insights those technologies provide.
