AutomatedBuildings.com Article - I’ll Have IoT with That Please

The commercial real estate market (CRE) is continuing to show signs of improvement. Leasing activity is gaining momentum. Rents are strengthening. There is an increase in transaction and investment activity. There is a healthy upturn in new construction and development. Lending and financing have opened up. And then there is the Internet of Things (IoT). Yes. IoT.

There has been much discussion as of late on what IoT means and how does it impact and relate to the world of commercial real estate. IoT is an important aspect to the overall ecosystem within CRE and has and will continue to play a key role in how we interact, collaborate, operate, manage and “smarten up” our buildings. IoT is emerging as the third wave in the evolution of intelligent buildings.

IoT requires more than “just being on the Internet” or simply adding connectivity. IoT offerings require value propositions and design thinking from the set-go. It requires reimagining the business you are in, the way you operate your facilities and the challenges that present themselves and creatively determining how to most effectively solve them though interoperability, integration and intelligence within a secured environment.

IoT isn't coming; it's already here. Companies have been working on and in the Internet of Things for decades. Look at our own industry. We have been developing, delivering and deploying IoT for years in our buildings and facilities. We’ve been connecting devices and systems to each other, to people and measuring, collecting, analyzing, monitoring, and sharing information about them.

A couple of things have jumpstarted IoT lately; on the consumer side it is due to mobile and the app revolution. Almost everyone has a smartphone and is open to using apps to make their lives easier. IoT benefits people by making more relevant information and control available to them at the right place and the right time. On the CRE side, always-on connectivity, real-time insight and machine-to-machine to people interaction makes IoT attractive in helping manage and operate our buildings.

IoT is upping the game in CRE in a wide range of capacities including real-time exchange and management, mobility, data, analytics, the Cloud, maintenance, cyber security and intelligence at the edge. IoT is driving additional benefits and ROI around operational efficiency and performance, cost savings, increased interface with building stakeholders, sustainability, improved occupant experiences, tenant retention and increased asset value. IoT is enabling us, our buildings and entire companies to become connected and interact in ways we never thought possible. It is enabling us to capitalize on the total vision of a data-enabled building enterprise and have access and make use of data that is continuous, actionable and smart. It is making everyday life easier and allowing us to do more of the things that matter to us.

IoT is meeting the challenges of today’s building operational and performance issues with unified service solutions that inter-link all the required pieces of connectivity, real-time visibility, collection, synchronization, organization, dissemination, security and storage to manage a single facility or a portfolio of facilities. For example, IoT is empowering advanced building systems to be data driven with data sharing and inter-operable capabilities such as Web-enabled data visualization that makes it easier to access, collect and apply relevant information to analyze the performance of building operational systems. IoT is permitting automated fault detection and diagnostics (FDD) that detect and report faults and facilitating the deployment of Automated Demand Response. Furthermore, with data normalization, business intelligence and API management requirements being pushed farther to the edge of the network, IoT is enabling us to move from connected devices to connected intelligence and allowing us to redistribute and process data independently at the edge device level and within the Cloud supporting real-time decision making at the networks edge. Additionally, the proliferation of new intelligent devices, equipment, solutions and services based on IoT technology is leading to the flattening of the network architecture and to equipment and devices that are connected directly to IP networks.

[an error occurred while processing this directive] IoT is also having a positive effect on CRE IT and OT. IT and OT come from two very different places and are foundationally different. They come from different perspectives and disciplines with contrasting cultures, objectives and histories. IoT is bringing together and helping these two functions collaborate with each other in ways never seen before.

It is difficult to get through a day without hearing or seeing discussions about the Internet of Things. The discussions around IoT have increased dramatically and for good reason. IoT is now a household name as well as a business one, sparking excitement and delivering benefits and value. While the foundations of IoT are not new, CRE is at the cusp of IoT and is being reshaped by it. IoT is being used to make smarter decisions and build smarter solutions. Of all the things that are taking place right now in and around commercial real estate, perhaps the biggest one is the Internet of Things; it’s the one that’s going to give us the most opportunity during the coming years.

Lynxspring is changing way devices and systems communicate and collaborate across enterprises. Our technologies, solutions and services are enabling building owners, operators and facility managers to go further to manage and operate their facilities and equipment smarter, safer, securely, more efficiently, and at peak performance levels.

The company’s JENEsys Building Operating System is an open, unified, building operating system that combines connectivity, integration and interoperability, supervision and control, energy management, visualization and actionable information (data & analytics) into a single, integrated architecture within a cyber-secured environment. The JENEsys Platform is scalable and allows organizations to continually build off the same network deployment and add additional applications as desired.

Marc Petock is Vice President, Marketing at Lynxspring and Connexx Energy where he leads corporate and product marketing strategy and execution, brand management, public relations and communications to support both companies strategic and growth initiatives. Marc is a contributing author, noted speaker and recognized industry leader having earned Realcomm’s “Top 35 People to Watch” for the last seven years in a row, Who’s Who in M2M, a Digital Impact Award and several other industry accolades. Marc also serves on the board of directors of Connexx Energy and Project Haystack and is an advisor to Realcomm.

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