From Fragmented Operations to Data-Driven Property Management

Hemsö’s Journey Toward Connected and Smarter Buildings

When Hemsö began its digitalization journey more than five years ago, it wasn't driven by operational challenges or cost-cutting pressures. The business was performing well. Instead, leadership recognized that the real estate industry was entering a new era shaped by digitalization, data, and PropTech.

“It was a strategic decision. We wanted to step into a new era and truly understand what digitalization, proptech, and data could mean for a real estate company,” says Fredrik Hörnsten, Chief Digital Officer at Hemsö.

Fredrik joined Hemsö during the pandemic in a newly established role with a clear mission: explore how emerging technologies could create long-term value across the organization.

Early Pilots Revealed a Bigger Challenge

The first years focused on testing new technologies within operations, HVAC, and building performance. Together with partners such as Myrspoven, Hemsö explored how AI and data could support smarter building management.

“We partnered with Myrspoven early in the journey, and I’ve always had strong confidence that this was the right direction. But it required us to first build up and modernize our infrastructure,” says Fredrik.

The pilots quickly revealed that technology wasn't the main challenge.

“A crucial insight was that our underlying data and infrastructure simply weren’t ready. The properties had been built and managed in very different ways, control systems varied, and much of the work was still being handled locally in Excel. We couldn’t just ‘layer AI on top’ and expect results.”

Building the Digital Foundation

Following the pilot phase, Hemsö shifted its focus from testing technology to building the foundations required to support it.

The work centered around three key areas:

• Digital twins to create a consistent view of the property portfolio
• A centralized data warehouse and dedicated data team
• Connected buildings with standardized infrastructure extending to field level

“To work in a truly data-driven way with HVAC, energy, and indoor climate, everything has to be connected. Control systems, sensors, networks, and platforms need to speak the same language. It takes time, and it requires investment.”

A major infrastructure program lasting more than two years laid the groundwork for standardized monitoring, analysis, and optimization across the portfolio.

The Biggest Challenge Wasn't Technology

While infrastructure was critical, the greatest transformation involved people and processes.

“The real estate industry is deeply rooted in tradition. People are used to working locally, going out to the property and ‘fixing the problem’ on site. When you move toward digital operations and data-driven support, you have to start trusting tools, data, and analytics. That’s a significant shift.”

Moving from property-by-property management to a more centralized and collaborative way of working required new behaviors, new competencies, and trust in digital tools.

“If you don’t bring employees along on the journey, it becomes easy to blame the technology when something doesn’t work. But often it’s about maintenance, foundational data, or how the systems are being used. The real change lies in behavior.”

When the Value Becomes Visible

As the digital foundation has matured, the benefits have become increasingly tangible.

Today, Hemsö has significantly greater visibility across its portfolio, particularly within HVAC operations, energy performance, and indoor climate management.

“We’re now starting to see real value. We can analyze properties remotely, monitor energy performance and indoor comfort, detect deviations more quickly, and make better-informed decisions.”

One example is procurement and planning, where structured and accessible data now supports decision-making across multiple business functions.

“Connected buildings are a game changer. It’s only then that analysis, optimization, and long-term control truly become possible.”

Advice for Other Real Estate Companies

Fredrik believes many organizations underestimate the scale of the transformation required.

“This isn’t something you simply ‘buy.’ It requires new competencies, change management, and a new way of leading. And it takes time.”

His advice is simple: start with clear business value, invest in the foundations, and bring employees along throughout the journey.

What's Next?

With the digital platform now in place, Hemsö's focus is shifting toward maximizing the value of its investments.

The company aims to improve operational efficiency, strengthen the workplace environment, enhance tenant experiences, and reduce costs through smarter building operations.

As part of this next phase, Hemsö participates in the Innovation Vault, a collaboration led by Myrspoven where customers contribute insights and influence future product development priorities. Through Myrspoven's Enterprise model, participants also gain visibility into upcoming roadmap initiatives and planned innovations.

“Now it’s about unlocking the power of what we’ve built. Supporting the organization so the technology is used to its full potential, and continuing to evolve through new collaborations.”

“We Dared to Take the Leap”

Looking back, Fredrik returns to one defining factor.

“I’m most proud that we dared to take the leap. We had leadership that believed in investing in digitalization and stayed the course even when it was difficult. Only now are many of the benefits starting to pay off, and we still have a lot left to do.”

Hemsö’s journey demonstrates that digital transformation is not a technology project; it's a long-term organizational commitment. Building the right foundation takes time, but once in place, it enables smarter decisions, better indoor environments, more resilient operations, and continuous improvement across an entire property portfolio.