Aimed squarely at site funders, owners, managers, integrators, consultants and users, SmartBuildingsTech Notes (SBT Notes) is our weekly blog digest of news, analysis, and expert takes, as widely reported from around the smart buildings technology industry.
Correctly understanding smart building data
FacilitiesNet has just turned out an investigative article on "how to make smart building data smarter." The piece describes how to convert smart building data into "reliable, useful, and actionable" information.
"Too much data is as useless as no data," writes FacilitiesNet executive editor Greg Zimmerman.
As further explained by Isaac Chen, vice president of building technology systems for WSP, and just one of many buildings experts quoted in the piece, “Data itself has no intrinsic value. Turning data into information is the goal.”
Before laying out the experts' views, FacilitiesNet's Zimmermann sets the discussion's table stakes:
The challenge is really twofold: First, how do you create a robust, interoperable, integrated smart building automation system that can provide the data you want in a format you need?
And secondly, how do you extract and present that data from this system so that it’s actionable, and without suffering from paralysis by analysis?
A smart buildings crystal ball
IoT For All has this month posted its podcast interview with WiredScore’s Arie Barendrecht, regarding "the future of apartments and the smart building landscape."
In the podcast, Barendrecht holds forth on the smart building space, offering his crystal ball analysis of what the commercial and residential buildings of the future might involve, and explaining what incentives he sees pushing the market at large toward smart building adoption.
WiredScore, a platform that has been evaluating internet connectivity in office buildings and multifamily real estate to help tenants since 2013, can provide prospective tenants with a detailed snapshot of available connectivity to ensure they find the best buildings to meet their tech needs.
Online BMS fuels cybersecurity risk
Why do hackers love smart buildings? The Wall Street Journal takes a look.
Here's a hint: When all of a building’s systems reside online, the cybersecurity danger becomes that much greater.
As further noted by WSJ's Suman Bhattacharyya, "Once hackers gain access to any one building-management system, they can often find their way into others."
Rethinking smart buildings post- COVID-19
In 2021, Honeywell conducted a study with KRC Research with a goal to uncover the challenges, priorities and assessments of more than 1,500 facility managers in the United States, China, Germany and Saudi Arabia, across the education, healthcare, data center and commercial real estate industries, as they re-orient thier business strategies to cope with the pandemic.
As pointed out by a new piece from Energy (UK) describing the study:
75% of surveyed US facility managers say COVID-19 has caused them to permanently rethink how their facility operates.
Nearly 60% are more likely to invest in indoor air quality optimisation and other healthy building solutions -- rising to 70% who are willing to invest in smart building solutions that help drive efficiency and support sustainability efforts.
As quoted by the article, Vimal Kapur, President and CEO, Honeywell Building Technologies, observes, "A notable transformation driven by the COVID-19 pandemic is prompting US facility leaders to reconsider their operational strategies and invest in smarter, healthier technologies."
