The US commercial real estate sector is rapidly developing new ways to interconnect every facet of ‘the building’. While we’re not here just yet (despite the claims of some cell service providers) 5G promises a whole new tech landscape.

More than just ultra-fast download speeds, 5G means edge computing, millimeter wave spectrum, and ultra-low latency, that will reshape how we drive, how we get entertainment, and how we move about the built environment.

Data from Verdantix’s Digitization of Facilities Management series, shows that owners and operators of smart buildings are focused on using technology to accomplish their corporate priorities. Investments in building operations and smart technology are largely driven by wanting remote management systems, air quality sensors and analytics, and contactless access, according to their most recent survey. [1] As a partner of our recently put it to us “the fourth industrial revolution is intelligence.” Data and more importantly diagnostic and predictive tools to analyze interpret that data will be crucial.

The next era of owning and operating commercial real estate will rely evermore on data as better connectivity and technological efficiency continue to progress. The big priorities for operators and the downstream implications for the built environment reveal the importance of real-time and remote monitoring:

  • Offers a single pane of glass to see and diagnose building issues
  • Enables truly predictive maintenance where equipment condition can be tracked and facility teams are alerted to future potential failures with a high degree of accuracy.

With more connectivity and more data building owners and operators can: Improve tenant experience, tenant communication, create healthier and safer buildings, drive better maintenance practices, improve overall system health.

Coming to a conclusion about the exact future of the smart building landscape is a fools errand, given how unpredictable the world and the tech sector has proven to be. However, we can predict that as with all things, technology and the need for more data will drag buildings into the 21st Century.

[1]The New Digitization Agenda For Smart Buildings During COVID-19, Verdantix Research