Operations Performance Management ties together building systems
One of the main goals of commercial real estate (CRE) building owners and managers is to develop a strategy to save operational and energy costs while providing world-class tenant experiences in order to increase asset value.
To achieve this purpose, the internet of things (IoT) is seen as a key solution. However, the implementation of IoT in CRE still leaves some challenges as disparate systems in commercial buildings cannot effectively communicate to each other.
To deal with these challenges, an emerging technology dubbed Operations Performance Management (OPM) provides the CRE sector with applications to unlock the potential of IoT technology.
Many commercial buildings currently rely on manual or disparate methods of coordination, which makes difficult to reach optimization of processes and improve efficiencies in a scenario where tenants want to have more control over their experience in commercial buildings. For instance, in many buildings, managers are lacking a central place to control building processes such as lighting, heating and security.
OPM enables employees and tenants to take actions based on context-rich and real-time information about their smart environments in commercial buildings.
OPM brings together data that?s captured by a variety of systems and connected devices for context-rich orchestration. This technology enables CRE developers to access valuable data points remotely or on-premise, which illustrate how commercial buildings such as office buildings and apartment complexes are operating, how tenants are experiencing and working within those spaces, and how they can improve operations moving forward.
This emerging technology also creates an orchestrated ecosystem within built environments, which puts the power in the hands of CRE developers, owners, operators and managers to control and adjust systems and processes in real-time.
OPM can connect all of a building?s major systems so that data becomes contextualized and usable. Some of the systems that can be connected by the new technology includes IT systems, asset management/leasing, ERP, financial and investment systems and IoT sensors – lighting, HVAC, occupancy, access cards.
Through OPM, access control can be integrated into the elevator, surveillance cameras can be connected into a single system and client check-in-kiosk can be integrated with emergency alarm systems, among several other possibilities.
?OPM is critically important for CRE property owners and managers in the CRE sector to unlock the full potential of IoT investments and deployments. The CRE sector is aware of the challenges associated with ensuring a truly cohesive IoT implementation strategy as owners and managers look to pursue digital transformation in built environments,? Mike Monteith, co-founder and CEO of ThoughtWire, told In-Building Tech. ?There is a strong interest in understanding how to streamline system-wide updates and integrations to more seamlessly connect disparate IoT systems and devices. However, most owners and managers are not yet fully aware of the solutions available and the benefits they can obtain with OPM,? he said.
?OPM may be an emerging category of software but it has existed in the industrial world for decades. We?re currently the only vendor bringing this brand of complex system orchestration and optimization to the built environment. OPM?s success in manufacturing and other heavy industry indicates a positive market outlook for its application in CRE,? the executive said.
Monteith highlighted that OPM is a strong value proposition for an industry that is trying to lower operating expenditures while also trying to add more digital enabled services to better engage with tenants.
Commenting on the outlook for this technology, the executive said that OPM would probably reach a maturity point in 3-5 years. “We?re at the early stages of adoption of not just OPM but a variety of emerging technologies that are designed for digital transformation for CRE.?