There’s been a lot written about “disruptive technology”—innovations that displace established technology or create a completely new industry—in the last decade. To gain some insight into ways that tech might upset commercial real estate in the near future, I organized a webcast with David Krane, managing partner with Google Ventures, in November 2015. The results can be found in an article from Winter 2016 issue of Knowledge Leader, “Will Your Business Be Uberized?”

Download the Winter 2016 edition of Knowledge Leader magazine

For many, the business that best encapsulates the idea of technological disruption is Uber. Founded in 2009, Uber’s business model takes advantage of consumers’ ever-growing reliance on smartphones and the ability to pay via an online account. Passengers can request a ride with a push of a button, be driven to their destination, and no money has to change hands. Uber’s service has taken personal transportation by storm, inspired numerous competitors, and completely upended the taxi industry. In fact, Uber’s success has become something of a model for disruptive tech; so much so, the term “Uberization” has become synonymous with disruptive business models.

Despite Uber’s fame for disruption, disruptive technology certainly dates back further than 2009. Google is one of the elder disruptors of the Information Age, and their experts are well-positioned to see how tech will disrupt industries beyond personal transportation. David Krane has been with Google for 16 years (the Internet has only existed for about 21 years, believe it or not), and he has lots of wisdom about the tech world to share.

Download the latest issue of Knowledge Leader to learn how David Krane sees tech disrupting commercial real estate in the near future. He touches on tech’s impact upon urban planning, robotic building construction, and the life of corporate workers 10 years from now.

“All the ways that we used to do things
are being disrupted, middle men are being
pulled out, and buyers and sellers are literally
working together in incredibly fast,
transparent new ways.”

David Krane, Managing Partner, Google Ventures

Will commercial real estate be Uberized? Only time will tell, but reading Knowledge Leader might help you prepare for the future.

As Executive Vice President for Colliers International in Vancouver, Colin works with some of the area’s largest companies to find real estate solutions for their business challenges. He recently took a year to travel to 16 cities around the world to research the future of the business of law and office space, speaking regularly at conferences about his finding and workspace predictions.