Catherine Sbeglia

‘Buildings have to be programmable,? says Cisco?s smart building lead

‘Cisco has added elements of smart buildings to everything it’s doing,’ the exec says

According to Bob Cicero, Cisco?s smart building lead for the Americas, technology and connectivity have become the fourth utility, after water, gas and electricity. As a result, Cisco has been focused on created a strong smart building portfolio to support its opinion that buildings ? residential and commercial ? must become smarter and more dynamic to keep up with tenant expectations and to support a greener future.

?We believe buildings should be programmable,? he said. ?If you think about the built environment today, it?s a very rigid infrastructure. But we believe that buildings should adapt to users, versus them adapting to the building. This shift of mindset to where we?re thinking about a building as a programmable entity, that?s really enabled by all the technology that?s becoming connected.?

Cicero explained that the first ?foray? into smart buildings was figuring out how to get everything connected into a single infrastructure so that everything was communicating. Now, he continued, the industry is at the point where it?s thinking about the collective elements of the entire building, including the people occupying them, as well as ancillary goals around sustainability and efficiency.

?Our focus over the past few years has been making buildings much more efficient by gathering data about occupants,? he said, adding that Cisco has also been prioritizing created a heightened level of control over things like lighting and window shade to reduce energy waste.

Basically, Cicero explained, Cisco has “added elements of smart buildings to everything [it’s] doing,” including using surveillance cameras to count and track building occupants and using Webex room kits to sense things like the temperature, humidity and noise levels of a room.

Cicero claimed that with this level of connectivity, Cisco can tell a user how much energy is being used and where, ?down to a tenth of watt for every 90 watts of energy.?

?Sensing capabilities are fundamentally becoming part of the fabric of the building. We?re using and grabbing that data and [?] we establish a common data and we?re exporting that data up into the cloud [?] to be able to run models on it from an AI and ML standpoint,? he said. ?It?s an aggregation of all that data from sources you may not have thought as traditional sources as gaining intelligent from.?

Three ways to prevent smart buildings from being hacked (Reader Forum)

Smart buildings ? those that deliver outstanding outcomes for all users, through digital technology, to exceed their evolving expectations ? have the power to transform the way we live, work and communicate. With the right technology at their fingertips, landlords can equip their offices for the modern workforce that has grown accustomed to a highly tech-enabled lifestyle. Our research shows that 80% of employees want to work in a technologically advanced office, so a tech-enabled environment isn?t just a nice-to-have for the working world. It?s essential.

When implemented properly, smart technologies enable landlords and building managers to make buildings smarter by using more advanced systems such as access control, fire alarm, and compliance management. However, security does not end with fire safety and traditional barriers to the outside world. Cybercriminals have become a real threat, invading everything from nanny cameras to refrigerators. Virtually any Internet of Things (IoT) device could serve as a conduit to breach an entire network. This is such a concern that, reportedly, President Biden?s?Peloton will not be allowed to enter the White House for fear of a security breach.

Using technology as a new incentive to bring the workforce back to the office requires proper thought to implement state-of-the-art technology without compromising digital or personal safety. Here are three considerations for landlords to ensure that their smart buildings remain secure.

1. Keep security in mind from day one?

Smart and connected are often used interchangeably, but there is an important differentiator. While any aspect of a building could be ?connected? ? lights, plumbing, heating and cooling, access control, to name a few ? they are not necessarily ?smart.? The smarter the building, the larger the attack surface. A truly smart environment is seamlessly integrated and is purpose-built with security in mind from day one, minimizing the risk of potential threats.

2. Establish the correct protocols and standards

Cybersecurity cannot be obtained without first establishing the necessary policies, practices, and testing processes that ensure the building?s systems and data are secure. Those policies must then be adhered to in order to ensure that security is maintained. This encompasses not just the approach to securing the networks but also ensuring the building users are aware of cyber best practices and regularly follow standard procedures.

To create environments that are safe, secure and free of cyber threats that could compromise users? privacy or security, landlords must establish protocols in their buildings to empower tenants to have safer environments for their users and their data. These can range from something as simple as ensuring that the computers used for monitoring building management systems aren?t used for sending emails or as complex as segmenting networks based on vendor usage. In doing so, landlords can minimize the risks and the potential consequences of a system failure, whether in error or through deliberate action from a malicious hacker outside of the system.

3. Focus on protecting data

Smart buildings contain a treasure trove of data that can be used to learn more about how the space is being used, how much energy is required, and how it can be customized to better suit employee needs. Given that every smart asset produces vast amounts of data, organizations need to securely collect, analyze and make smart use of it without compromising security. This means having robust data governance frameworks and physical protection of the data networks.

The office of the future is smarter and more secure

Smart technologies have transformed the way we live, work, and communicate. But without strong security, they can be at risk of becoming a hacker?s playground. By focusing on cybersecurity and data protection from day one and establishing exemplary standards and protocols, landlords can deliver smart buildings that provide users with outstanding experiences without sacrificing security.

Telenor’s new subsidiary will offer IoT software, hardware for building management

Telenor hopes Bldng.ai will help it become a dominate player in Norway’s smart building market

Norway-based telecoms group Telenor announced the creation of a new smart building subsidiary Bldng.ai as part of its plan to become the largest provider in Norway?s smart building market.

The subsidiary, to be led by the company?s current Head of Smart Buildings Steffan Phillip Thorvaldsen, will provide a platform for customers through which property owners and tenants will gain better control of their IoT network and will offer both software and physical infrastructure solutions, as well as any related services.

Helping customers deploy and manage IoT devices and connections inside their facilities represents a huge opportunity for telecoms service providers. In fact, according to RG Reports Globe the global smart building market is expected to be a $79 billion opportunity by 2025.

Almost as if setting the stage for this most recent smart building development, Telenor last week, announced that it has reorganized its regional and international IoT portfolios under a single brand moniker, Telenor IoT, in order to synchronize product development, improve technical support and ?accelerate the customer facing business.?

?The new operating model reinforces our competitive edge for the 5G era and makes our product portfolio easier to buy for any customer searching for world class IoT operation and platform capabilities. We are also getting scale benefits on new technology investments,? Mats Lundquist, chief executive at Telenor Connexion and manager of Telenor IoT, commented.

PropTech in the time of COVID-19

I was supposed to go to Cannes, France in March, and then maybe in June, for the annual MIPIM event. Instead, I ended up engaging with the event virtually, trading the South of France for my one-bedroom apartment in Madison, WI. I realize that, given everything going on, this doesn?t really register on the list of things to be upset about, but, as we all continue to use our homes as offices and classrooms, it seemed like a relevant thing to complain about in a conversation about PropTech and real estate in the time of COVID-19.

At a recent virtual MIPIM event ? this one meant to take place in New York City ? real estate leaders participated in a webinar to discuss how technology will impact the future of the industry, and inevitably, questions about the lasting impact of the pandemic, which has changed the way we interact with physical spaces, came up.

Like many others deeply familiar with the technology sector, Michael Phillips, principal and president of real estate investment and management company Jamestown, pointed out that COVID-19 accelerated a number of technologies that were already ?in the works,? such as frictionless building access and the increase in the ?monitoring of bodies.?

?Technology is an incredible tool,? he said during the webinar, but when it comes to what the future holds for PropTech, he added, ?I think the jury is still out. We?ll know more in 12 months.?

He did go on to say that there are some trends that can be extrapolated, such as more localized working and shopping trends as people seek to avoid transportation.

As Phillips mentioned, contactless building access, such as keycards, smartphone access or smart locks, is one of the most obvious ways in which Proptech can offer a valuable solution in the time of the COVID-19 pandemic. Again, this trend was already emerging before the pandemic, but interest is only accelerating as people are now wearier of door handles.

At last year?s MIPIM PropTech NYC event, I spoke (face-to-face!) with the Co-Founder and President of Openpath James Segil about his company?s keyless access control product that grants access to a building via the user?s smartphone. He said that people want reduced friction and that ?they want a safer environment.?

When he referenced safety back then, he meant security. But, now, employees and tenants want to feel safe from infection, so while a keyless product had merit a year ago, it has even more today.

Other possible trends in real estate include the implementation of non-contact infrared thermometers, like we?re seeing in parts of Asia, which are placed in building entry ways and are used to measure the body temperatures of those entering. This technology is particularly useful in large, public spaces like airports, but its popularity could grow in the coming months as people begin to trickle back to offices and other locations.

In fact, in May, the Wall Street Journal reported that RXR Realty, which owns Rockefeller Center in Midtown Manhattan, will be installing thermal cameras to monitor employees as they return to work in the 32-story office building.

Even the materials used to construct surfaces might change. According to a scientific study, a hybrid of metallic materials like zinc and silver can help reduce the transmission of bacteria when used on high-touch surfaces.

While Winston Fisher, a partner at Fisher Brothers, agreed during the webinar that ?post-COVID change is coming,? he also called the belief that everybody will continue to work from home when it?s all ? or mostly ? over ?honestly silly.?

?That?s just not the way we interact,? he said, maintaining that the office real estate market will continue to be critical moving forward.

For him, the future is about ?data, data, data,? regardless of the impact of the pandemic. ?What?s the data gathering of real estate? That?s the future. What does it mean to have a smart building can manage energy consumption?? he provided. ?We really need to be thinking about [?] how AI robotics and automation will have dramatic impacts on real estate.?

Corning exec on bringing the speed of mmWave indoors

According to Corning, only 10% of buildings in the U.S. currently utilize a dedicated indoor solution for 5G, and because 5G?s truly mind-boggling speeds rely on high-frequency millimeter-wave spectrum?which doesn?t penetrate well?indoor deployment continues to be a big problem for network growth. To address these challenges, the technology company is working with Qualcomm to develop 5G mmWave infrastructure specifically for large indoor spaces, because as Corning?s VP of Wireless Solutions Michelle Engarto said, we can?t continue to close the door on 5G.

?It?s only natural that carriers are going to want to bring [5G] cellular signals indoors,? she explained to IBT. ?We should not expect 5G to stop at the door of a building, particularly because 80% of calls are initiated indoors.?

And it?s not just phone calls. Engarto said that Corning wants to provide this solution because the number of applications that require high-speed, massive bandwidth and slow latency is only on the rise.

The 5G system will leverage Corning?s virtualized RAN architecture to manage the attached mmWave small cells, and will be enabled with Qualcomm?s 5G infrastructure technology, utilizing the Qualcomm Small Cell 5G Platform FSM100xx.

Engarto explained that because mmWave-based 5G is currently not a standalone solution (it requires LTE to work), she expects that we will ?see the likes of 4G? for a long time. She added that mWave is a non-standalone solution is actually an asset, because it makes it possible to combine the additional capabilities of mmWave without having to replace the network or all the existing infrastructure.

?Millimeter-wave is a nice complement. It certainly has higher bandwidth and much higher speeds than you?ll get with 4G, which is necessary for certain applications,? she continued. ?The carriers are also doing some clever things with carrier aggregation and [Dynamic Spectrum Sharing] to make sure that they?re getting the max benefits from all the spectrum they?re deploying.?

Beyond mmWave?s penetration problem, it also brings with it the need for more processing power.

?You can imagine that everything is multiplied by a huge factor because you?re trying to move so much data, so much faster,? Engarto provided. ?So that has its own technical challenges, as well, in terms of finding algorithms and making sure you can appropriately handle the data.?

There are some obvious verticals that would be interested in such a solution, like any place where a large number of people are gathering and all want access to their devices, such as a stadium, transportation hub or conference center.

But Engarto believes there are some less obvious interested parties, as well.

?The less obvious ones are where people have a need for very high reliability, but also the need to move a lot of data and have very low latency. There are safety applications, and industrial applications. We?re seeing a lot of machine learning and automation applications where you may have a lot of robots in a factory that can reconfigure themselves,? she stated.

She even brought up remote surgery as a possible use case for an indoor mmWave solution.

Corning, of course, is aware of the speculation surrounding the possibility of mmWave making it indoors reliably.

?There?s been a lot of questions about mmWave and if it?s going to work,? Engarto said. ?It is going to work and it?s going to deliver outstanding performance.?

Poor in-building 4G coverage will impact public safety, security

Nextivity, Spry Fox Networks to facilitate in-building 4G coverage for organizations across the U.K.

In preparation for new Emergency Services Network (ESN) in the U.K., Nextivity and Spry Fox Networks are joining forces to facilitate uninterrupted, in-building 4G coverage for public and private sector organizations across the U.K.

The companies have aligned their partnership with a cross-government program to roll out a new Emergency Services Network (ESN) that will replace the current Airwave service used by blue light organizations. The service, which will be reliant on 4G mobile coverage delivered over the EE network, will be used by?the fire/police/ambulance services, local authorities, healthcare establishments, utility companies, private enterprises, as well as first responders such as inshore/offshore and mountain rescue.

According to the government site, ESN will deliver ?Secure and resilient mission critical communications to emergency services? and ?a modern voice and data platform? to enable emergency services to ?improve front-line operations.?

Colin Abrey, VP International Sales, EMEA, Nextivity commented, ?With 4G poised to replace Airwave for critical communications services, reliable coverage inside buildings will no longer be a nice to have but could mean the difference between life and death.?

Abrey added that because Nextivity?s products are easy and affordable to install, while also providing the necessary coverage to satisfy current health and safety requirements, they?lend themselves really well across small and large buildings with poor or no cellular coverage.

Steven Ballantyne, director of technology and innovation, Spry Fox Networks, said, ?By combining?Spry Fox Networks? own, innovative QuantumPath advanced service assurance system with Cel-Fi signal boosters, we not only provide our customers the in-building coverage they need but we also pro-actively monitor the availability and quality of voice and data services over the solution, ensuring they are available when needed?.

DAF trucks, the U.K.?s leading commercial vehicle manufacturer, was one of the first organizations to benefit from the collaboration by commissioning a robust in-building coverage system at its newly built headquarters for commercial and safety reasons.

Other coverage projects have included the brand new TECA Conference Centre in Aberdeen, the vitally important Scottish National Blood Transfusion Centre, and key branches of Metro Bank.

In an October interview with RCR Wireless News, Abrey discussed the current regulatory state around the use of signal booster technology to resolve poor coverage problems in the U.K. He explained that historically, the deployment of such technologies deployment has been both expensive and complex due to restrictions set up by regulatory agencies. However, thanks to a relaxation in licensing laws for the use of mobile signal boosters,?introduced by Ofcom in April, repeaters can now be freely deployed in the U.K. as long as they meet certain specifications.

Specifically, installed mobile signal boosters must be network-specific, not create network interference, detect and mitigate downlink and uplink signal variations and control amplification based on location relative to the base station to which it?s connected.

The fact that Cel-Fi by Nextivity signal booster is the only product portfolio that satisfies Ofcom?s mobile repeater license exemption specification, was, according to a press release, a huge factor in Spry Fox Network’s decision to work with the company.

Cel-Fi?s products have been designed with the Intelliboost chipset at their core, and the baseband processors are optimized to process radio frequency signals with incredibly low latency, ensuring seamless operation between mobile networks and handsets for all 3G and 4G/LTE technologies and services.

Attack surface area, data privacy challenges in PropTech

Every year, the number of IoT devices expands drastically, a trend that has no real end in sight. For the PropTech industry, there is a great deal of concern around how to plan projects that can accommodate and secure all of the elements of the IT/OT environment that are becoming increasingly necessary. At a panel at this year?s MIPIM PropTech in NYC, industry experts cautioned property developers and business owners about the dangers of an expanding attack surface area and the challenges around the data privacy of individuals accessing their properties.

Sandy Jacalow, chief information officer at Meridian Capital Group explained just how much cybersecurity has changed over the past few years. ?At one point, we just used to think about malware and email. It?s gotten so disruptive now,? he said. ?A lot of proptech challenges have to do with vendors still are not incorporating cybersecurity into what they?re doing. And then you have the users, who are probably the weakest point in all cybersecurity.?

While Robert Entin, executive vice president and chief information officer at Vornado Realty Trust agreed with Jacalow that users are the weakest point in cybersecurity, he specified that this is particularly true in IT. ?In OT,? he explained, ?the weakness is the devices that aren?t ready yet.?

As more and more IoT devices are introduced, so are more required connections to the internet or the cloud. According to Karl May, co-founder and CEO of Join Digital, this expands the attack surface in a way that is ?very difficult to characterize.?

Further, as that attack surface expands, the possibilities for gaps in security also increase and become more challenging to address. ?We?re trying to market things more as mobile and accessible,? noted Erik Hart, chief information security officer at Cushman & Wakefield. ?Everything is connected, and you can do it remotely. With these OT systems, it?s not as easy to patch them.?

He added that the proptech industry is investing a lot of money into closing some of these security gaps in their networks. ?That is what I think organizations really need to look at. What is that attack surface area and how do you eliminate the risk? Sometimes you can?t just patch it, but you might be able to put some other controls around it.?

According to May, reducing the number of network entry points ?radically? should be one of the first priorities when improving cybersecurity. ?If you go from hundreds or thousands down to one, it?s much easier to guard that one point. That?s our philosophy, number one. Number two is [?] the reality is that is that there are really sophisticated technologies out there that do provide more segmentation for traffic on networks,? he stated.

This, he said, not only reduces the opportunity for bad actors to get in, but also allows for the ?micro-segmentation? of every camera, sensors, user, device and so on. Keep those separate from each other, he continued. ?Then you need the tools to not let the systems access each other?s data, which is really one of the biggest problems.?

Another emerging element of cybersecurity is the concept of personal or private data privacy. And for Jacalow, this is becoming ?very much imbedded into proptech? because it carriers implications about tenant and worker movement and biometrics.

When discussing the Ring doorbell, specifically, he offered, ?who owns your data? The images of you or your friends walking into your house? Who owns those images of your biometrics??

These are complicated questions with complicated answers, and while some states, like California have introduced bills to protect consumer data, most are still grappling with the challenge.

Not every panelist agreed on the severity of the data privacy issue. Entin pointed out that the average person uses a number of different applications and devices that record and share their private data. Therefore, to focus on one single device like the Ring doorbell doesn?t make much sense.

?Between every app we use, our lives are filled with giving up our data willingly for a better way of life,? he said. ?And to some extent, this is the reality. The youngest generation that grew up with the internet in their hands, are they going to have the same concerns that we do? I?m a little less worried about that than others only because the reality is it?s out there.?

Intelligent access control a ‘must have’ for connected buildings

Smart access control is a connected element of a building that can be felt by tenants and employees

NEW YORK CITY-The global?smart building market?is expected to reach the value of over $160 billion by 2026, according to Acumen Research and Consulting. Further, because interest in energy-efficient solutions is rising, commercial buildings are expected to experience the highest growth during the forecast period.

In general, experts believe that the most successful commercial and residential real estate developers will be the ones that fully embrace emerging connectivity technologies.

One such connected piece of tech is Openpath?s keyless access control. A direct response to the frustrations of using a keycard or key fob, the company?s solution ? which is activated via a user?s phone, even when the phone remains in a bag or pocket ? allows for secure building access that is a breeze for workers or residents to utilize and for property owners to implement.

While speaking with In-Building Tech at MIPIM PropTech NYC, Openpath?s Co-Founder and President James Segil said it?s becoming very important for employees and tenants to have ?a more connected experience.?

?They want reduced friction, they want a safer environment,? he continued. ?As an employer, for example, you will attract and retain good talent, which in a 3.5% unemployment world, is really hard to do.?

Segil noted that there has been a lot of investment in all kinds of different guest and visitor technology in an effort to better track who enters and leaves a location. ?There is a lot of investment in cell phone boosters for better cellphone use inside buildings. Same with internet connectivity,? he added.

The challenge face by many property owners, Segil pointed out, is that many of these connectivity improvements are invisible to the user. ?A property owner explained this to me: I can upgrade the internet connectivity in my building from 500 mbps to a gigabit per second. But the tenants don?t see it. It?s not tangible,? he said.

However, a connectivity amenity like Openpath, he continued, is an update that a user sees and interacts with every day. It?s a component of a more intelligent, connected building that can be felt by tenants and employees.

And further, it?s a ?must have? technology, as opposed to a ?nice to have? one. ?Access control is a mandatory line item in order to be PCI complaint, HIPPA compliant, fire code ready. You have to have an electrified access control system,? he explained. ?[Workers and tenants] need to be able to unlock doors to enter their building. It?s an amenity that people appreciate. If you?re a tenant looking for a connected building, something like this is appealing to you.”

He also explained that a keyless door access system can improve how a property owner manages a space by reducing the amount of menial tasks a building management team has to perform, such as printing badges or having fobs made or changing codes or locks whenever an employee leaves a position.

Deloitte study revealed that due to a number of factors, tenant preferences are changing drastically. As urbanization and globalization increase and technology advancements, such as AI and IoT, become the norm, property developers and owners are going to have to put a lot of thought into where to spend that next dollar.

An access control system is a necessary security measure, as well as an amenity people use every day and understand, so implementing one that is intelligent and easy to use, is, Segil said, a no brainer.

Variety of verticals are interested in smarter ecosystems

According to?Himanshu Khurana, CTO of Honeywell Building Solutions, while the term ?smart building? might be used by some verticals and not others, various industries and environments, including hospitality, airports and hospitals are all showing increased interest in establishing smarter ecosystems.

?The stakeholders care about the outcomes for their vertical,?Khurana said. ?You hear the term ‘smart building’ most when somebody is designing a new corporate headquarters. For some of them, it means that it has to have a dynamic work environment for employees. For others, it has to mean sustainability.?

He used a hospital as an example to illustrate that some verticals won?t say they want a “smart building,” necessarily. Instead, they might point to pressures to increase patient throughput and ask for a building technology that provides the least amount of resistance in this area. ?So they might choose a real-time patient technology to help achieve that goal, and this is part of the smart building ecosystem,? said Khurana.

As interest in new connectivity technologies like 5G and smart buildings increases globally, experts warn against the increased cybersecurity risk that comes along with technological advancement. Khurana?s message is no different.

?Security has become an important focus area,? he stated. ?When you connect some part of a building to the cloud or to an external network, you?re actually creating a risk for the entire system.?

According to him, cybersecurity in this connected era brings out the need to focus on the end-to-end network security of the whole system. He also believes that when building new solutions that are inherently connected, the development of those solutions changes. ?You need a more platform perspective. You need to be able to update them more easily, and update them remotely. There are new security standards that the software has to comply with; that?s coming in in a big way.?

Lastly, he sees a developing need for the joint decision making between facility and IT about in-building systems and how they are managed. ?That?s bringing some very interesting maturity on these things and it?s helpful because not only do you have to do that for cybersecurity, you kind of have to do that for new IT technologies in general,? he said.

Khurana concluded the conversation by highlighting how critical it is for those developing connectivity solutions to keep in mind what data is being generating in these systems, where that data is being stored and managed, how it is being protected, and how the platform can help create new solutions faster.

In August, Honeywell launched the next generation of Enterprise Building Integration (EBI), Command and Control Suite (CCS), and Digital Video Manager (DVM), a suite of solutions enabled by the Honeywell Forge for Buildings platform.

5G to power Los Angeles smart building

With help from Connectivity Wireless Solutions, Coretrust Capital Partners?is employing 5G to transform its downtown Los Angeles tower into a smart building. The transformation, which includes a Distributed Antenna System (DAS) comprised of 317 multi-band antennas and 20 software defined remotes for fiber optic connectivity that cover the 1,244,925 million square feet of the 48-story tower, will provide improved cellular coverage and internet connection.

In a press release, Thomas Ricci, Coretrust managing principal described the architecture of the technology, saying it will ?encircle the building like a string of pearls.?

The hope is to achieve uninterrupted cellular service throughout the entire building, including the underground parking garage and the elevators, two locations notorious for having unreliable and weak signals. Ricci also commented that the internet speeds are ?lightning fast? and will be able to handle any size document, video or portfolio that needs to be sent or received.??Even large-scale architectural drawings can be sent in seconds,? he added.

Thom Antonopoulos, chief revenue officer at Connectivity Wireless Solutions said that studies reveal the importance implementing 5G and other smart building technologies in the near future because early adopters are going to see the most benefit to their cost and operations.

A smart building is any structure?that uses automated processes to automatically control the building?s operations by using sensors, actuators and microchips to collect and manage data.

The smart space trend?is not new, as automation and IoT has been doing their fair share to advance the field, but with 5G rollouts accelerating, 5G-enabled IoT applications are being introduced, kicking smart space development into high gear.

Capable of near real-time data transfer speeds, 5G does wonders in reducing latency and improving connection speed and reliability and is expected to facilitate more and better IoT applications for intelligent building technologies over the next few years.

Last week, Ericsson announced plans to build its first U.S. smart factory in Lewisville, Texas, not too far from its North American headquarters in Plano, Texas. The factory, powered by 5G solutions developed specifically for the industrial space, will produce advanced antenna system radios to enable rapid 5G deployments, according to a company press release.