Saminder "Sammy" Pahal is Managing Director at the UK PropTech Association, part of the British Property Federation. For Pahal, the next five years of real estate value will be shaped less by the tools organisations adopt than by the conditions they are able to create around them.
"Everything starts with data you can trust," she says. That means confidence that teams are working from the same data, interpreting it consistently and using standards that allow information to move across systems.
It is a deceptively simple starting point. Because the things she describes — shared standards, consistent interpretation and genuine interoperability — are precisely the things the built environment sector has historically struggled to build at scale. Not for lack of ambition, but because they require coordination across organisations, sectors and functions that rarely move at the same pace.
The first phase of PropTech was largely about standalone capability: individual tools solving individual problems. Pahal thinks the next phase is fundamentally different. "The next phase of value won't come from standalone tools, but from integration and interoperability - solutions that connect systems, allow data to flow, and support adoption at scale." That is where she sees PropTech companies adding the most value: helping organisations move beyond fragmentation.
Fragmentation is still the dominant reality for many real estate organisations, even sophisticated ones. Data sits in silos. Tools do not always speak to each other. Teams work from different versions of the same picture. The adaptability Pahal describes — responding not just to tenants and occupiers, but to the public, changing market conditions and wider macro trends — depends on an evidence base the whole organisation can trust and work from together.
Pahal has spent a lot of time thinking about why technology does not embed in the way it should. Her view is that organisations often misframe the problem. "Good adoption is ultimately about consistency in behaviour, but with the ability to evolve. It's not just about introducing a system - it's about embedding it into day-to-day processes and ways of working, so it becomes part of how teams operate."
Good adoption is not passive. It requires the right habits, but also the ability to test, learn and adapt as technology changes. Pahal identifies five conditions that underpin genuine adoption.
"Good adoption looks like informed, evolving use, where organisations get better over time at understanding what works, what doesn't, and why."
On the question of whether PropTech improves outcomes for people and places, rather than only improving efficiency, Pahal is clear that this does not happen by accident. "I believe this has to be a shared responsibility across the ecosystem - which means alignment between the public sector, private sector, and central government - particularly when it comes to decision-making and setting direction."
Her point is that technology needs to be connected to a wider purpose. "PropTech needs to be embedded into policy and linked to national goals for the public and for places. If technology isn't connected to that, we risk it being an afterthought rather than the underpinning tool that could help us make the right decisions for the public."
It is a challenge to a common assumption in technology adoption: that if the right tool is built and deployed well, good outcomes will naturally follow.
Pahal's view is more demanding. Tools are necessary, but not sufficient. What determines whether technology genuinely serves people and places is whether it is deployed in service of a clear, shared and publicly accountable purpose, and whether the right institutions are involved in shaping how it is used.
"From a UKPA perspective, a big part of our role is helping to bring those stakeholders together, increase transparency, and ensure that innovation is grounded in real challenges."
This piece is part of the VU.CITY Impact Report. Link to the full report here.