11 episodes of the Beyond Buildings Podcast. What have we learned, and what thoughts and questions have arisen from the first two episodes?

Nicolas Waern "The Building Whisperer" https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolaswaern/ https://twitter.com/BuildWhisperer Contributing Editor

Falling in love with Smarter Buildings

In episode one of the series we talked to Tommy Hagenes who came from the building automation side and is working with Smart Technology and is a driving force in the Proptech space. We talked about what he is doing, what the differences were with APIs, BACnet introduction, secure communication to and from the building and that BACnet still has its place. It was a great episode and I remember laughing and learning a lot. It ended with us discussing if building connectivity challenges.

Questions after the episode:

·        Should building automation systems be in the cloud?

·        Should logic reside on the edge?

·        What will 5G and distributed intelligence, small footprint AI-algorithms have to do in a Smart Building setting of the future?

·        What is the ultimate connectivity strategy to create sustainable buildings with a software/hardware layer that can pass the test of time?

·        Do we need a decoupling of hardware and software?

“AI is not a magic wand; it is not Terminator; it does not mean dystopia; it is just a tool. Treat it as a tool designed to make lives simpler.” - Garry Kasparov
- Dealing with inevitability

Taking buildings to the cloud and into the future

In episode two of the Beyond Buildings Podcast we talked to Chris Hallendy and Chad Ruch from Resolute Building Intelligence on how they solve problems for customers. They are using the ecosystems approach to some extent, and leveraging the Niagara framework and Honeywell systems approach. We talked about what is going on in today’s landscape, what AI means in the context of building automation, getting data in and out of buildings and also about the data-strategy side of things. Resolute has spent millions on setting up a robust cloud infrastructure to support their customers and I remember that I brought up the edge strategy side of things as well.

Questions after the episode:

·        How will distributed and edge intelligence affect cloud spending and cloud strategies?

·        Where to start with crafting a data-strategy?

·        When is a good time to start with AI and Machine learning? (yesterday)

·        How can building infrastructure be designed to pass the test of time?

·        Will future companies be software companies that just happen to do real estate?

·        What are the drivers for change in this industry and how to align with where the world is going, as well as where customers are right now?

The answers to these questions

These episodes were recorded “a long time ago”. I don’t know about you but I learn something new in every meeting I have and what was right 6 months ago, should definitely be right now as well, but the context just keeps getting larger and larger.

The episode Digitalize my asset with the legendary Tyson Soutter answers a lot of these questions above and newer episodes that haven’t aired yet will cover most of them. Especially more about digital twins and a natural way of utilizing modern technologies like 5G, AI, ML, edge and distributed intelligence, in a way that people can understand. And not only understand, but also allow them to work in their respective silos, but with a shared context.

The reason why I read everything is because my role is to advise decision makers and companies what the world is going to do a month, a year, a decade from now. I try to have a holistic understanding of what is needed to stand out from competition, in order to better advise on pros and cons, and be the strategy partner for both technology and organization-advice in a Smart World Environment (Construction/Industry/Smart Buildings and Cities).

Please reach out if you have any questions and comments or if you have any ideas on what I should write next!

Sincerely,

Nicolas Waern

“Smart World Architect” and Digital Transformation Expert –
Helping companies find their role in a Smart World Context

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