International. A recently released Johnson Controls report revealed that smart building investments are essential for leaders looking to improve sustainability, safety, and save money.
The study is titled "Cracking The Smart Buildings Code: A Spotlight On Retail And Commercial Real Estate" and was commissioned in 2023 by Forrester Consulting, on behalf of Johnson Controls.
"Smart buildings are not just a trend; they are increasingly recognized as a necessity for the modern commercial real estate market," said Vijay Sankaran, vice president and chief technology officer at Johnson Controls. "This report highlights the urgent need for integrated systems and expert partners to navigate the complexities of today's commercial real estate market and achieve long-term success."
The executive said that the digitization of buildings offers an immense opportunity to get a clearer picture of how facilities operate to create sustainable, healthy and safe environments, a fundamental differentiator for both tenants and buyers of commercial real estate. It also highlighted that 75% of retail and commercial real estate leaders say smart buildings are important to accelerate their digital transformation efforts.
According to the study, nearly two-thirds of leaders indicate that smart buildings are important for reducing costs, accelerating sustainability initiatives, and driving business growth. These results reveal that leaders in the retail and commercial real estate sector are looking for outcomes that have a positive impact for building owners, occupants, and the bottom line.
Other key findings
- Competitive differentiator: Investing in smart buildings is a competitive differentiator. Smart buildings not only help leaders in the commercial and retail real estate sector achieve sustainable, safe and efficient results, but also competitively differentiate their facilities in the market.
- Integration gaps: Only 13% of leaders in commercial and retail real estate say they have fully integrated building systems, leading to inefficiencies and increased risks. This lack of integrated data and insights is reducing operational efficiency (62%), reducing customer loyalty (59%), and increasing regulatory penalties (57%).
- Vital information: Data creation is crucial to decision-making across various departments, including safety, sustainability, and facilities management, and many leaders recognize the current risks they face from having limited data.
- Partner expertise: Leaders are looking for partners with advanced technology, integration capabilities, and industry expertise to drive smart building initiatives.
"As a leader in the smart building industry, we have a deep understanding of how connected, data-driven solutions provide deeper insights into a building's performance and how we can optimize equipment performance and enable proactive services," said Julie Brandt, president of Building Solutions North America at Johnson Controls. "This report confirms what we are already hearing from our customers: that smart buildings are critical to the design, operation and maintenance of indoor environments, and ultimately generate value."
At the heart of Johnson Controls' smart building strategy is OpenBlue, an industry-leading ecosystem of connected technologies, expertise and services. By combining data from all systems in a building and using advanced AI-augmented digital experiences, OpenBlue provides actionable insights and controls that save more energy and reduce more emissions than is possible with siloed systems. It also helps customers simplify carbon disclosure reporting and regulatory compliance with building performance standards.
