Each building is at a different stage of its life and has different needs depending upon its use and the needs of its landlords and occupants. Smart buildings can differ from one another and yet still be smart – not unlike humans where someone can have emotional intelligence while another has only mathematical smarts.

The industry dialogue on trends in smart buildings, accelerated by the pandemic, has risen from the level of how buildings function (silos of mechanical expertise and the advent of IP backbones) to how buildings should function for the owners, landlords and occupants.

You could call this the digital transformation of buildings. Like the rest of the world and its industries, buildings can be transformed by the new digital technologies and can then automate and enable functions or services we've never had before. This involves integrating various building systems, such as lighting, HVAC, and security, into a unified digital platform. This integration allows for centralised control and optimization for improved operational efficiency and energy savings.

Building owners and CRE (corporate real estate) recognise that smart buildings survived the pandemic better than normal buildings. As organisations gradually transition back to in-person work, smart building technologies play a crucial role in ensuring a safe and healthy environment for occupants. These technologies include contactless access control, air quality monitoring, remote working, and occupancy tracking. And now the building owners and the real estate industry are discovering – in their efforts to bring people back to the office – the smart building is the smartest way to create a more appreciated environment to attract employees back to offices.

On top of that we have the EU and other political bodies insisting (via legislation) that building owners consider sustainability and ensure the digital transformation of buildings includes the ability to be green. With nearly 75% of the EU’s stock of buildings not yet energy efficient, retrofitting rises to the top of the list.

There's a lot of need out there and that's perhaps one of the best reasons to come to ISE and to see the various technologies and products for the built environment.

It's also a reason why experts in the built environment have been able to address smart building as a service. Building-as-a-service (BaaS) encompasses a wide range of offerings, including energy management, maintenance, control room, and occupant experience enhancements.

BaaS is an opportunity for building owners and landlords to rely upon the expertise of a new class of systems integrators, building system integrators, and master system integrators who can integrate the various technologies for the full benefit of occupants, landlords, and owners.

Integration is at the heart of smart building and that means interoperability is the brain of the smart building corpus.  Integrators need the ability to view each building as the individual structure that it is – and to bring a portfolio of technologies for the best results for building stakeholders.

Today’s smart building is emerging as building-wide network, augmented by IoT and sensor technology, where everything in the building is a node or endpoint – a network where all the data is collected to automate, personalise, and control the experience inside the building.

That’s very smart, but the real goal of the smart building industry won’t be reached until we arrive at the time when all buildings are smarter, and we no longer need the word 'smart'. We’ll be back to talking about just 'buildings' because 'smart' won’t be a distinguishing feature when all the buildings share a variety of intelligence.

A message from ISE: Stay informed!

ISE is the world-renowned annual tech show for the AV and systems integration industry, taking place in Barcelona, 4-7 February 2025. It will spotlight the latest smart building solutions from leading manufacturers, including building automation systems, smart lighting, and audio solutions for creating sustainable, accessible and smart public buildings.

To discover the latest solutions and innovations from the smart building suppliers exhibiting at ISE, as well as the hottest industry trends, sign up now for updates.

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