Today’s Smart Buildings Value Propositions Today, it's no longer disputed that the transformation to smart, connected buildings can result in lower operating costs, conservation of energy and better occupant experiences.

Marc Petock, Vice President, Marketing Lynxspring & Connexx Energy Contributing Editor

The smart buildings technology market is expected to grow rapidly with the global building automation and control systems market expected to be worth over US$26 billion by 2019, according to the latest published report from World Market Intelligence’s 2015 World Building Automation and Control Systems (BACS) study.

So what’s driving this growth? 

I believe we are experiencing a 3rd wave of transformation where key trends are driving the way we design, build, lease, operate, transact and use our buildings and facilities.  Smart building technologies have matured to enable facility optimization through the convergence of information technology and building automation. Building owners and decision makers are increasingly aware of the business value of these solutions. Over the last five years we've seen a consistent increase in the creation of smart buildings by both real estate and facilities leadership. Today, it's no longer disputed that the transformation to smart, connected buildings can result in lower operating costs, conservation of energy and better occupant experiences.

The pace at which technology, automation and innovation has impacted the commercial buildings industry over the past several years has been unprecedented. The proliferation of more powerful intelligent devices, the increase in the use of sensors, IoT, our ability to capture data from different sources, the increase of more advanced analytics, has all created an exponential rise in the volume, velocity, and adoption of these systems. It has also produced a multitude of new choices.
As building owners and operator’s operational challenges have evolved, so have the value propositions. Today’s value propositions are very different from that of even just a decade ago. Back then, the value proposition was based on limited choices, primarily around HVAC, single buildings, middleware, connectivity and integration and revolved around delivering lower operating costs.

We then shifted to value propositions which were grounded on convergence, remote access, open, visualization, more connected systems (HVAC, lighting, elevators, digital signage, irrigation etc.), and the need for energy efficiency and sustainability. In addition, we began to apply the technology and value propositions to both new construction as well as retrofits.

[an error occurred while processing this directive] So how what about now? IoT is making its presence felt within our buildings and workplaces. Not only is it transforming how we manage and operate our facilities, it also is changing the way we work and interact with our facilities. Our traditional offices are changing and so too are the people working in them. IoT is presenting new opportunities for creating, operating and servicing our facilities and is leading the way for new business value delivery. We are seeing an increase in applications, the flattening of the network architecture, more inter-connected equipment and devices connected directly to IP networks and with more robust analytics, we are seeing a move toward connected intelligence that is allowing us to redistribute and process data independently at the edge device level and within the Cloud. Today’s value proposition is all about financial optimization, business intelligence, operational performance, cost savings, cyber protection, increased interface with building stakeholders, improved occupant experiences and increased asset value.

Today’s value propositions for smart buildings is very different from that of a decade ago thanks to the pace of technology innovation and the changing needs of building owners and operators.