Data Uncovered: consistency and privacy the two key issues

Consistency and privacy are two of the biggest issues to deal with when using data, experts agreed at at Real Asset Media’s Data Uncovered: Meeting the Future Challenges of Data roundtable, which took place this week at CBRE Investment Management’s offices in London.

“Data privacy is the biggest challenge, as we need to protect our own and our clients’ data,” said Miguel Angel Bermudez, director – global analytics, CBRE IM. “We create in-house tools, emulate what’s out there but for our own use and we have used AI tools for a while to find answers to specific questions.”

As the amount of data that need to be gathered, processed and validated increases all the time, more issues arise on how to ensure data protection.

“We’ve got a good handle on data but there’s a long way to go,” said Jonathan Avery, head of technology and data – real assets, Legal & General Investment Management. “There’s more work and more due diligence to be done on privacy and data protection. It’s a journey to get everyone involved and understanding what their role is and what their individual skills set can bring to the whole.”

To achieve the best results it is important to steer away from the silo mentality and get people in different roles and with different expertise to cooperate and cross-pollinate ideas.

Consistency of data is crucial to be able to make meaningful comparisons. The goal for each company is to bring all data into a consistent standardised format. But at present there’s no consistency across portfolios or across regions.

“There will never be agreement on a global standardisation template that works for everyone,” said Martin Betts, vice president, commercial real estate for EMEA, NTrust. “Algorithms are updated every week. It’s always work in progress, we are learning all the time.”

Efforts to standardise the world are fruitless. There will never be a time when everyone wants to drive the same car, or when the same tech solution will work for everyone.

“Platform connectivity is the best we can hope for,” said Ainun Ayub, global product head for real assets, Citco. “We’re all at different points of a digital journey but, for everyone, the benefits to be gained are exponential.”

Technology is becoming increasingly powerful, but with power comes responsibility, as the saying goes.

“Managing data responsibly is crucial,” said Ayub. “As systems and platforms get more integrated, then a mistake can be catastrophic. Beware of thinking AI can solve every problem, because the nature of technology is that it’s ever changing, so you need to work with the existing architecture but keep building and adding on.”

In a fast-moving landscape, what is needed is keeping up with changes and innovations, whether it’s machine learning or artificial intelligence.

“AI is happening so much faster than any other transformational technology, using it is like switching from a fixed landline to a mobile phone,” said Andrew McLennan, MD and global head of technology, product and proptech for Private Assets, Nuveen. “Technology, in my opinion, is not a support function but has to be transformational to be successful. In future we’ll talk about a before-AI world and a post-AI world. Expect change: 2024 will be remembered as the year of data.”