JLL Opens a New Initiative That Starts to Look Like a Tech Consulting Firm

JLL has been increasing its focus on technology for some time. Not just as a user, but also as a vendor and investor. And now the company has taken another step, with its technology division, JLL Technologies or JLLT, launching a strategic technology program, “which provides assessment, strategic planning, goal setting and performance measurement services for real estate technologies,” as a company release says.

“The Strategic Technology Program helps real estate leaders better manage and operate their real estate technology for optimal outcomes,” it adds. “Real estate leaders can use the program’s technology assessment, management and measurement offerings to align their technology portfolio to their building systems and data, sustainability, and facility management objectives.”

This really turns JLL Technologies into a type of consulting arm or firm that is familiar in high tech. In addition to selling and implementing its own products, this potentially opens the door for a more vendor-agnostic approach in which the company can sit back and offer advice, doing profitable business even if it isn’t selling specific products or ongoing services.

“JLLT houses decades of talent from all corners of CRE – developers, technologists, brokers and more. Together with other business lines in JLL, it delivers a comprehensive portfolio of purpose-built software platforms, apps, hardware and technology services,” is a statement in the release that makes this clearer, then adding that the firm can also bring in “innovations from venture-backed companies” through the relationships its venture capital arm has. “JLLT’s objective is to meet and exceed the industry’s demands for transactional, operational, experiential and data-driven excellence.”

This sounds a lot like not only some of the big pure consulting firms, but large vendors like Dell or HPE or IBM that offer their own products and can also step in to provide a consulting view with a breadth of experience and the opportunity for additional revenue even if a direct product line isn’t in play.

There are four areas in which this new aspect of JLLT will address:

Building – “Tools that tune buildings and workspaces to drive for optimal performance, inform sustainability objectives, and enable real estate services teams to interact with building and enterprise systems.”

Workplace – “Enterprise technology solutions that help maximize employee efficiency and enhance their workday experience.”

Sustainability – “Platforms that measure and improve energy use, water use and waste to help companies reach their net zero carbon goals.”

Data & Analytics – “Governance, integration, reporting and modeling that leverage data and analytics platforms to achieve financial, operational and experiential breakthroughs that power insight-driven real estate decision.”

Some of these areas—sustainability and workplace, for example—look like they could eventually open doors outside of CRE altogether.