By implementing a unified platform, organizations can leverage information from throughout the enterprise to completely capitalize on the productiveness advantages of AI, unlocking a sequence of accelerating worth. Some {industry} professionals, nonetheless, report challenges deploying AI, in keeping with latest analysis from Eptura. A more in-depth examination, although, reveals how a unified answer helps overcome doable obstacles by improved information seize and AI-backed options.
The 2025 Office Index report integrates analysis with information from 25 million customers of the Eptura platform and findings from a survey of 200 VP and C-suite executives from departments throughout the enterprise, together with IT, operations, HR, finance, and actual property, inside massive firms which have greater than 5,000 workers.
In-office attendance is up, however hybrid stays a preferred work mannequin
A key discovering within the report is that extra persons are coming to the workplace — they usually’re coming extra usually. In actual fact, 33% of world desk bookings for greater than three days per week have already elevated 12 months over 12 months, and 34% of companies plan to extend in-office days. It’s not solely workers who’re coming again. up to now three years, guests per location have practically doubled throughout all areas.
The report additionally reveals, nonetheless, simply how strongly many stay dedicated to the hybrid work mannequin. Desk bookings are nonetheless most frequent Tuesday by Thursday, forming a mid-week mountain, and this development is constant throughout the Americas, Asian-Pacific, and Europe, Center East, and Africa.
Though there are some industry-based variations in workplace attendance, hybrid as a piece mannequin seems to be a permanent development, which implies facility and office leaders want higher methods to offer an excellent worker expertise whereas additionally making probably the most environment friendly use of workplace area.
Platforms with embedded AI assist facility managers assist worker expertise and maximize area
By unlocking the worth chain with AI-embedded options, there are numerous methods organizations can higher automate processes and allocate assets to completely assist worker productiveness whereas enhancing facility effectivity.
Customer administration
AI-embedded office administration options enhance customer administration by automating and streamlining the check-in course of. Facial recognition and pre-registration options in a customer administration system (VSM) scale back wait instances and enhance safety, making certain a smoother and extra environment friendly worker and customer expertise. Office and facility leaders can then use AI to leverage the information captured by VSM into actionable stories on occupancy and utilization. By figuring out peak instances, they will modify staffing and assets to make sure workplace employees have the facilities they have to be productive, whereas upkeep groups have uninterrupted entry to belongings and gear.
Actual property analytics
By automating information assortment and evaluation, these techniques assist knowledgeable choices about area allocation and structure. For instance, organizations can use sensors to trace which areas of the workplace are most ceaselessly used and at what instances, permitting managers to leverage AI to then optimize the workspace to raised meet the wants of workers. This results in extra environment friendly use of actual property, decreased prices, and a extra productive and comfy work atmosphere.
By general developments, organizations can achieve actionable insights into how finest to rightsize their portfolios. Relying on the information, they could select to develop or consolidate workplace area. Smaller strikes may be simply as impactful. For instance, shifting departments that usually work collectively onto the identical ground helps collaboration whereas lowering actual property overhead.
Predictive upkeep
AI-embedded options might help facility and upkeep groups predict when gear is more likely to fail or require repairs, permitting managers to deal with points proactively, lowering downtime and upkeep prices, making certain that the workplace atmosphere stays practical and comfy for workers. For instance, the groups can use AI to watch HVAC techniques, lighting, and different essential infrastructure, so that they find out about potential issues earlier than they develop into disruptive. A proactive strategy helps in sustaining a excessive commonplace of facility operations, even because the variety of individuals within the workplace will increase.
Implementing a unified platform helps overcome perceived AI challenges
When requested “What challenges do you face implementing AI throughout your group?”, many responses centered on silos and abilities. In actual fact, the three commonest solutions within the report are:
- 48% Inconsistent information for AI to ship significant values: Organizations can have information that isn’t uniform or dependable, which might make it tough for AI to ship correct and helpful outputs. The problem can come up from information administration points or the presence of knowledge from a number of sources that aren’t well-aligned, resulting in points in information high quality and consistency
- 52% Inadequate cross-platform integration or information consolidation: Organizations can battle to combine AI instruments into their present infrastructure, significantly in enterprise-level organizations with complicated IT environments the place making certain that each one techniques talk and share information successfully is usually a bigger challenge
- 58% Inadequate worker ability units and data: Corporations can really feel their workforce lacks the mandatory coaching and expertise to successfully implement and make the most of AI applied sciences. This notion may very well be linked to an absence of inside experience in information evaluation, machine studying, and expertise administration
Implementing a unified platform with embedded AI helps organizations tackle these reported challenges instantly.
A unified worktech answer helps AI implementation with dependable information seize
By eliminating information silos, a unified platform ensures all office and facility information from office is centralized and built-in, together with data associated to office administration, facility operations, and worker actions, all saved in a single, complete system. By consolidating information from numerous sources, the platform ensures that data is constant and updated, which is crucial for dependable AI outcomes.
With real-time information entry, the platform permits fast and knowledgeable decision-making — each from managers and AI. For instance, AI can robotically modify room bookings based mostly on present occupancy ranges or monitor vitality utilization to scale back prices, all because of dependable and centralized information. The seamless integration and real-time entry make AI suggestions extra correct and actionable, finally main to raised outcomes and fewer handbook effort.
Embedded AI streamlines and simplify workflows with a better, extra intuitive person expertise
Most workers don’t want extra coaching to benefit from the worth of AI. As a substitute, as a result of AI automates most of the steps in current workflows, workers obtain the identical targets whereas inputting much less data and making fewer choices. They’re additionally ready to make use of extra pure, intuitive methods of interacting with the platform. In actual fact, AI acts as a type of behind-the-scenes assistant, simplifying processes by taking up most of the repetitive, error-prone admin duties.
For instance, pattern-based reservations simplify workspace reservations by robotically reserving areas based mostly on worker preferences and deciding on desks close to colleagues. It eliminates the necessity for workers to manually seek for and e-book workspaces, making certain they will simply discover and reserve areas that meet their wants.
With automated crew days, one other sturdy instance, workers can plan workplace days with their groups by robotically reserving desks and contemplating seating preferences. Backed by AI, this course of streamlines the method of organizing crew schedules and workspace preparations, whereas with natural-language reservations, workers can use pure language instructions to search out and e-book workspaces, making the reservation course of intuitive and user-friendly. The characteristic helps scale back the necessity for workers to navigate complicated reserving techniques, saving effort and time.
Clever worktech helps ship AI throughout the enterprise
Extra persons are coming to the workplace — they usually’re coming extra usually — however the persistence of the midweek mountain developments means facility and office leaders want new methods to assist hybrid employees whereas optimizing actual property portfolios.
“Usually, the applied sciences organizations personal are disconnected and the information just isn’t capable of move between separate techniques. That makes it tough for executives to get the insights they should make knowledgeable choices, and to maximise productiveness with a larger use of AI,” explains Brandon Holden, CEO Eptura, within the 2025 Office Index report.
“With the appropriate expertise in place, we consider organizations can now unlock unmatched worth by harnessing the ability of 1 unified answer, cross-platform information analytics, and embedded AI,” Holden explains.
Obtain the complete 2025 Office Index report to study extra about these developments and the way they instantly have an effect on your group.
By Erin Sevitz
Erin has 15 years of expertise, together with 10 years in thought management on office administration and the constructed atmosphere. In her present position she oversees groups answerable for worktech insights and fascinating Eptura’s 16,000 clients worldwide. Beforehand she led communications for the Worldwide Facility Administration Affiliation, a world {industry} nonprofit devoted to skilled improvement for office strategists, constructing managers, and company actual property.
