We were once asked to solve what sounded like a straightforward integration problem.
An operator needed their inventory management platform to stay in sync with two different access control systems.
On paper, it was a well-defined project.
🪪 Synchronize users.
🔐 Provision and revoke access automatically.
✅ Reduce manual work.
Nothing unusual.
As we worked alongside the customer’s team, something else began to happen.
We noticed duplicate workflows (and avoidable errors) being created across multiple systems.
Accounting teams were waiting on manual exports and imports before they could invoice customers.
Leadership had no reliable view of occupancy across locations.
Sales teams couldn’t easily see which products customers already owned.
Different departments had quietly built their own workarounds to compensate for gaps elsewhere in the technology stack.
None of these issues were part of the original scope.
But they were all connected.
By the time the access control project was complete, we weren’t just discussing door access anymore.
We were redesigning identity management.
Improving data strategy.
Removing accounting bottlenecks.
Building better reporting.
Supporting sales enablement.
Today, we continue working alongside that customer across almost every part of their business.
Not because the original integration was unfinished.
Because their business never stopped evolving.
That experience fundamentally changed the way we think about integrations.
Projects finish. Businesses evolve.
The industry’s biggest software companies noticed the same thing
That shift isn’t unique to commercial real estate.
Some of the world’s largest technology companies have independently arrived at the same conclusion.
Instead of simply delivering software, they’re embedding engineers alongside customers for months or even years.
The model was pioneered by Palantir, whose Forward Deployed Software Engineers became central to delivering software in highly complex environments.
Since then, organizations including AWS, OpenAI and Anthropic have adopted similar customer-embedded engineering models.
Whether you look at this job role at Palantir, AWS announcing a $1 billion investment in embedded engineering, or MarketWatch’s coverage of OpenAI and Anthropic following a similar model, the industry has given this operating model a name: Forward Deployed Engineering.
So, what is a Forward Deployed Engineer?
A Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE) is an engineer who works directly alongside customers, continuously improving systems as the business evolves.
Unlike traditional implementation consultants, they aren’t measured by whether a project reaches go-live.
They’re measured by whether the customer continues to succeed.
Technology changes. Businesses change faster.
The engineer stays close enough to evolve both.
The project may finish. The business evolves.
Projects have milestones.
Businesses have momentum.
One reaches a finish line. The other keeps moving.
Every API changes. Every workflow evolves.
Every customer introduces another exception.
Every acquisition, new location, pricing model, or AI initiative changes the technology landscape.
Traditional implementation projects assume the work ends when the solution is deployed.
Reality looks different.
The day after launch, the business is already changing again.
The implementation may have been successful. But the next opportunity has already appeared.
That’s why so many businesses feel like they’re constantly starting over.
Commercial real estate evolves faster than most industries
Commercial real estate has always been operationally nuanced.
Members and visitors follow different journeys.
(Sometimes even members of member businesses have their own journeys and experiences.)
Meeting rooms have different pricing models.
Enterprise customers negotiate custom agreements.
Access permissions change daily. Even more frequently if you’re running on-demand services.
Locations share infrastructure while operating independently.
Marketing needs different information from finance.
Operations solve different problems from community teams.
Software isn’t simply supporting the business.
In many cases, software is the business.
That means integrations are operational infrastructure, not just technical projects.
There is no perfect implementation model
Native integrations. No-code automation. Internal engineering teams. Development agencies.
Every approach has strengths.
Every approach solves an important problem.
Most of them, however, optimize for delivering work.
Forward Deployed Engineering optimizes for continuously improving operations.
It’s a subtle difference.
But over time, it becomes a compounding competitive advantage.
The integration was never the real project.
One of the biggest misconceptions about integrations is that the code is the valuable part.
It isn’t.
The valuable part is everything learned while building it.
Why accounting requested an exception.
Why one customer follows a unique workflow.
Why two systems intentionally don’t sync.
Why leadership rejected an earlier approach.
That understanding compounds.
The first project is always the hardest.
The second is easier.
The tenth is dramatically faster because the engineer already understands how the business operates.
The code delivers the solution. The knowledge makes every future solution better.
Engineers build software. Forward Deployed Engineers learn businesses.
The most valuable thing a Forward Deployed Engineer learns isn’t an API.
It’s the business.
The people. The priorities. The exceptions.
The relationships between systems.
The operational trade-offs.
Every project adds another layer of understanding.
Every conversation improves the next recommendation.
Every implementation becomes faster because the engineer isn’t starting from zero.
That’s the real advantage: Not faster coding. Better understanding.
Why Syncaroo naturally evolved toward this model
Long before we heard the term Forward Deployed Engineering, we’d naturally evolved toward the same approach.
Not because it was fashionable.
Because it consistently produced better outcomes.
There’s another important difference.
A general Forward Deployed Engineer still has to learn commercial real estate.
We don’t.
We already understand the platforms, operating models, customer journeys and day-to-day realities that make this industry unique.
You’re not simply deploying engineering capability.
You’re deploying years of accumulated industry context.
Looking ahead
Forward Deployed Engineering isn’t replacing software outright.
It’s replacing the assumption that software implementations are ever truly finished.
As commercial real estate becomes more connected and AI becomes embedded in everyday operations, the organizations that move fastest won’t necessarily be those with the most software.
They’ll be the ones with the deepest understanding of how that software supports their business.
Because projects finish.
Businesses like yours, evolve.
