Cheaper and easier to run, less wasteful, and with a better chance of having enough seats at meetings. Is this the building of the future?
There are good reasons to believe that our buildings – like many other things in our lives – are poised to get really smart.
We are not there yet, say those involved in the property management industry, but the direction is clear. One recent forecast, by Navigant Research, put the value of the “smart buildings” market at $US3.6 billion ($4.7 billion) in 2017. In less than a decade that is predicted to nearly triple in value, reaching $US10.2 billion.
Elsewhere, the same research firm gives three reasons why commercial property managers are primed to adopt artificial intelligence in a big way.
For one, the investment in sensors, controllers and gateways – all necessary to create, transport and collect the data used for automation – has either already been made or is now being made. Secondly, customers increasingly expect technology to deliver better services. Leveraging technology to deliver better customer service makes obvious sense.
And third, there’s a top-line advantage for technology adoption, for example through savings in energy and operations costs.
Building operators now have the opportunity to use data captured in everyday operations to improve the customer experience.