There is an argument that the internet of things is not really about connecting “things”, but rather about connecting “beings”.

In order to truly connect people, we must be able to comprehensively synchronise our thought processes in real time when we orchestrate, contemplate and execute.

Many people have asked us whether proptech found its origins in the IoT. To an extent, we believe so. Connected sensors make buildings smart, offering leverage for many application developers to innovate.

Take the example of Nest, the thermostat full of sensors that learns your behaviour and applies it to maximise your energy savings. When Google acquired Nest Labs for $3.2bn (£2.6bn) in early 2014, it must have had the ambition to use Nest as a platform to secure its entrance to the connected home. But almost three years on from the acquisition, results so far have been quite disappointing. Currently, the IoT is limited to linking up certain smart lights, a basic alarm system, a music streaming service or a smart plug.

But proptech is about a whole lot more than just making buildings smart, much like property is so much bigger than just its collection of individual buildings.

The map of proptech innovations in the UK, put together by James Dearsley of the Digital Marketing Bureau, has 33 clusters of innovation, representing more than 230 companies. Narrowing all property innovation down to IoT would be a serious flaw. The bulk of the innovation is centered around the many different people touching the property industry – the investors, employees, sellers, tenants and service providers. More complete and correct would be to speak of the “internet of beings”.

The IoB can be defined as a human-centric network based on collective insights and intelligence. A system that allows us to synchronise our thought processes.

One of the first to publicly use the term was Salesforce founder Marc Benioff at Davos in 2014. He said: “Behind the internet of things is an internet of beings that companies need to connect with in new ways.”

Transposing this idea back to property, if we observe most areas of successful innovation today, we will find that their true origin is no complex algorithm, they are simply rooted in the connecting of people.

Examples of proptech businesses that have successfully implemented powerful IoB mechanisms include:

• Brickvest.com, which helps property developers raise capital over an international investor network of small to mid-sized investors that lack access to institutional-quality real estate;
• Getrialto.com, a digital solution connecting commercial landlords and developers with their leasing agents to maximise efficiency in leasing vacant property;
• Getofficeapp.com, a fully integrated office assistant on your mobile;
• Plentific.com, a home services marketplace to help you find professional local tradesmen to meet your home services needs;
• Searchflow.co.uk, a provider of conveyancing search solutions, empowering solicitors with property intelligence; and
• Chainels.com, an online private community for retailers and their property managers to make decisions and manage relevant information from a single point of reference.

Property is a people industry, and IoB is how technology is truly changing the way the industry works. 

But, while the bulk of the business value may be created by enabling or better empowering people by means of technology, it is the IoT, and increasingly virtual reality, that is fuelling the mind with futuristic possibilities.