2019 forecast: William Newton (WiredScore)

In 2018, the public woke up to the fact that they are the item being sold to advertisers by Facebook and Google.

People’s regard for their own privacy and fear of manipulation by fake news has led to a backlash. There must be progress to a more honest method of exchange between services that users value and financial benefits that companies want.

Commercial real estate should pay careful attention as striking a balance between privacy and user experience will be at the heart of tomorrow’s smart buildings.

There will be further consolidation of proptech companies. The winners will be those that solve human problems effectively, at scale, and demonstrate their ROI clearly – when the ‘R’ is becoming increasingly multi-dimensional. Some start-ups will become entrenched, some will join forces with larger organisations to achieve a scale of distribution difficult for small companies and others will call it a day.

Resolution: To try to not go a single working day without talking to a client. It’s easy to get dragged into internal work that is important to driving a start-up forward, but only by engaging with and listening to clients will we improve existing products and create new products that serve their needs.

William Newton, president and EMEA MD at WiredScore