The exponential growth in importance of buildings’ technology infrastructure has reached a point where in-building connectivity, sensors, IoT services and data analytics aren’t a luxury — they’re essential for driving a raft of benefits in areas such as energy efficiency, occupant well-being and as a way to maximise a property’s value.

But unleashing the full power of IP networks across the built environment requires a different mindset from the siloed, fragmented and inefficient project delivery and support models of the past. One that removes complexity, simplifies deployments, and de-risks management.

Encouragingly, this transition to a more converged model of technology provision in buildings is underway and gaining momentum but in an industry with so many layers of sub-contractors, it’s no surprise that inertia is still rife.

A converged delivery model has been part of the LMG playbook for a number of years. As the market is finally waking up to the need to follow our lead, now seems a good time to be looking beyond that, at what comes next.

Set it DON’T forget it

In the short term, converged delivery is all about realising immediate efficiencies and de-risking. The introduction of IoT-enabled systems and data-driven insight is more of a longer-term goal.

What this means is that a converged delivery model is just the beginning of the story. If we are truly focused on extracting maximum value from our buildings, then we have to look beyond the immediate benefits and find further gains.

As an example, let’s think about the issue of technology obsolescence. While modern connectivity and IoT systems can transform buildings today, in the not too distant future, these technologies will eventually become obsolete. Better, cheaper and/or more efficient technology will come to market, or maybe even entirely different ways of doing things.

It’s easy to fall into a ‘set it and forget it’ mindset, but this will only lead to rivals surpassing you as technology evolves. The lifecycle of any building probably extends well beyond 50 years – but technology evolves in much shorter cycles. Nobody really knows what connectivity and in-building technologies we will be talking about in 5-10 years’ time, never mind 50.

Designing a future-proof network is very difficult, but absolutely necessary. Sustaining intelligent building systems over time depends on having a plan for migrating to new systems in the future.

As A Service delivery

The logical end point of this way of thinking is to move to a full As A Service (aaS) delivery model.

For building owners and users, the aaS delivery model removes all risk of obsolescence with regular refreshes of all equipment designed around the development cycles of the technology industry rather than the lifecycle of the building.

The aaS model also reduces the cost barrier to technology upgrades/improvements by adopting the provision of all technology requirements on an ongoing monthly OPEX model – charged on a per room or per desk basis. Not only does this ensure you always have the most up to date equipment to maintain the longevity of your infrastructure, it also takes away the risks, and the inertia, associated with CAPEX heavy, disruptive forklift upgrades.

And finally, by committing to a long-term aaS model, building owners and users can completely free themselves from technology siloes by allowing a service partner to take full responsibility for all implementation and ongoing maintenance/servicing of a building’s tech infrastructure. This has the added benefit of providing full data visibility across all building systems to ensure that both owners and occupiers can make better decisions on how to use their facility, better serve occupant needs and lower maintenance costs.

Staying at the forefront of building technology

From local properties to sprawling multi-national portfolios, aaS delivery models will play a central role in ensuring a fully-integrated, IoT-enabled future for the built environment. The ongoing services enabled with aaS ensure you stay at the forefront of building technology for your estate’s entire lifecycle.

LMG already offers aaS delivery – so if you want a building with a technology infrastructure that’s fit for the future, why not give us a call?