For all the sustained discussions about mobile apps and voice-activated home assistants, the profound effect technology, and Big Data, are having on the property sector is often forgotten. Buildings are physical, after all, and while the benefits of technology might be tangible, the ways software works can seem mysterious, if thought of at all.

However, data about commercial real estate can be harnessed in a variety of ways to benefit the businesses and staff who occupy offices. Factors such as oxygen levels, humidity and temperature of a workplace can be closely monitored to improve working environments, as they have been proven to affect staff wellbeing and productivity.

New workplace technologies are going a step further to give employees control over their surroundings, be it through personalised lighting controls or individual temperature settings. Others, such as chatbots, are becoming widely adopted: a fifth of businesses have already incorporated them into thei