Invisible Digital Experience: Why the Best Coworking Tech Goes Unnoticed

Invisible digital experience is the new baseline.

When digital experience works perfectly, people rarely notice it.

Reliable WiFi, frictionless meeting room booking, instant access, and consistent performance across locations don’t generate praise — they generate trust. Members only notice technology when it fails, and expectations today are shaped by every other digital interaction in daily life, not by offices of the past.

As James Lowery explains, creating this “forgettable” experience is anything but simple. It requires constant monitoring, automation, proactive intervention, and operational discipline behind the scenes. The paradox is clear: the more invisible the experience feels, the more work is happening underneath.

This is increasingly critical in coworking, where digital friction directly impacts occupancy, retention, and brand perception.

 

Interoperability makes the ecosystem stronger, not weaker.

A major theme of the discussion was interoperability — and what the coworking industry can learn from adjacent proptech sectors.

As platforms grow, there’s often a temptation to close ecosystems, restrict data, or limit integrations. But James argues that this thinking ultimately slows innovation and limits value for operators.

True interoperability does not “shrink the pie.” It makes the market bigger by:

• Enabling faster deployment across portfolios

• Allowing best-of-breed systems to coexist

• Reducing risk and vendor lock-in for landlords and operators

The most effective tech stacks tend to rely on a small number of complementary partners rather than dozens of stitched-together point solutions. When systems are designed to integrate cleanly, operators gain flexibility without sacrificing reliability.

For landlords and operators, this also means taking a more active role as buyers — setting expectations around data access, API compatibility, and long-term flexibility as standard requirements.

 

Growth is back — but consistency matters more than footprint.

Recent US market data shows coworking inventory and square footage growing steadily, with strong momentum in cities like Brooklyn and Tampa. But the most important insight isn’t about expansion — it’s about how growth is managed.

As James notes, the winners won’t be the brands with the most locations. They’ll be the ones that can scale consistent occupancy and experience across their portfolio.

That reflects a broader industry shift:

• More focus on improving existing locations before expanding

• Portfolio rationalisation where performance doesn’t justify complexity

• Larger, more intentional new sites designed around experience, not just space

This “flight to quality” raises the bar for everyone. Digital experience is no longer a differentiator — it’s a prerequisite.

 

Operational intelligence is how seamless experience is delivered at scale.

Delivering invisible digital experience consistently requires more than good intentions. It requires operational intelligence.

During the episode, James describes how automation and integrated monitoring transform day-to-day operations — shifting teams from reactive firefighting to proactive optimisation.

Examples include:

• Automated provisioning and configuration for new sites

• Portfolio-wide health checks completed in seconds rather than days

• Continuous monitoring that identifies issues before members feel them

This kind of intelligence is what allows operators to grow without multiplying operational complexity. It’s also what enables reliability at scale — a critical factor as coworking portfolios expand and diversify.

 

“Set and forget” doesn’t work in workspace technology.

One of the most practical takeaways from the conversation was the need to abandon a “set and forget” mindset.

In traditional real estate, buildings are delivered and then largely left alone. Technology doesn’t work that way. Integrations evolve, dependencies change, and edge cases emerge over time.

Operators and tech vendors who protect experience treat testing as an ongoing discipline:

• Regularly validating integrations

• Actively testing for failure, not just success

• Continuously refining systems as usage patterns change

This approach ensures that digital experience remains seamless — even as the underlying environment evolves.

 

From selling space to delivering outcomes.

The discussion closed with a shift that’s reshaping the entire sector: coworking is moving from selling desks and rooms to selling outcomes.

Who pays for workspace — an individual or a corporate buyer — significantly affects expectations, decision-making, and perceived value. But in every case, experience is central.

The most forward-thinking operators are using data to:

• Understand how space is actually used

• Tailor offerings to different customer needs

• Support more meaningful renewal conversations

Rather than focusing purely on square footage or utilisation, the conversation moves toward productivity, flexibility, and business impact. That transition is complex, but it’s where long-term value is created.

 

Key takeaways for landlords and operators.

• Invisible digital experience is now expected, not exceptional

• Interoperability enables scale, flexibility, and innovation

• Operational intelligence underpins reliability and consistency

• Workspace value is shifting from space to outcomes

As coworking and flex continues to mature, the organisations that succeed will be those that make complex digital systems feel simple — and deliver experiences members can rely on without thinking about them.

 

Explore how leading landlords and operators deliver reliable digital experience across their portfolios.