This is how the Internet of Things can bring the human touch to smart buildings

By Chris O’Connor, general manager, Internet of Things Offerings for IBM

The Internet of Things (IoT) is transforming how we work and live in more ways than any of us can track.

Rapid advances in technology, such as cognitive analytics, pervasive connectivity, and embedded sensors are transforming every industry. This transformation is leading to improved operations and lower costs, as well as engaging and personalized, or more "human," experiences.

Facilities management is an area where we are seeing huge strides being driven by the IoT. Smart buildings are helping owners improve operations and decrease costs while creating a more personalized environment for tenants.

Buildings become aware of their occupants’ needs

We are quickly approaching the day when we will walk into a building and it will instantly become digitally aware of the environment it needs to create to make us more successful. Buildings and facilities are places we all work, collaborate, and build. And the IoT is helping to make buildings become more than containers, but rather places that help occupants increase their productivity.

Cognitive buildings may seem futuristic, but there are already leaders that are promoting environmentally aware buildings, while others are using asset tracking and facilities management solutions to transform how they manage buildings.

Personal, intuitive, and user-friendly buildings

Cognitive buildings have already become a reality. ISS, a global leader in facilities management, is using the IBM Watson IoT Platform to transform the management of more than 25,000 buildings around the world.

ISS is the world’s fourth largest private employer with more than half a million employees managing everything from concierges to security and catering to sanitation for thousands of high profile clients. They also use consulting and advanced facilities management technologies to transform the services it provides to its building owners around the world with the goal of making buildings more personalized, intuitive, and user-friendly.

Another example of smart buildings is the work KONE — a global leader in the elevator and escalator industry — is doing to take advantage of IoT data to improve people flow. KONE is using a cloud to collect and store equipment data, build applications, and develop new solutions. The platform will gather data from sensors and systems connected to elevators, escalators, doors, and turnstiles in KONE’s maintenance base.

Instead of having to call a service engineer or stick to maintenance schedules, KONE can predict and respond to selected technical issues in real-time, with the ability to run tests remotely and make commands over the cloud. Through advanced analytics, IoT data is being used to enable new services and new experiences for KONE’s customers.

The IoT is connecting the unconnected and making buildings come alive with more user-friendly functionality and services. Every building has its own function and personality, and the IoT and cognitive computing enable us to understand and control them in powerful new ways that will transform the way we manage and experience buildings around the world.

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A version of this story ran on IBM's Internet of Things blog.