Category: Smart Building

Smart buildings present a unique healthcare cybersecurity threat

The virtual and physical realms are becoming increasingly enmeshed through the world of the Internet of Things. The rate of Internet connections is outpacing companies’ abilities to secure them. As a result, a large driver of cybercrime is the least-protected networks and systems found in the healthcare information technology world – building automation, or smart building technology.

COVID-19 Lockdown Leaves Empty Smart Buildings to Ponder Their Failings

To date, the smart building’s health applications have focused on maintaining the best indoor temperature for occupants, developing lighting in tune with the human circadian rhythm, or improving air quality with sensors-enabled ventilation. While all these systems do support general health and, therefore, an improved ability to fight disease, they do not help control the spread of coronavirus. With many experts claiming that this kind of pandemic may become more common in the decades ahead, the smart building may need to start looking into its in-depth toolkit to see how it can help.

Financing smart buildings: contributing to your core business

Conversion to smart buildings turns a former cost into an enabler of business. Digitally enabled office space can be personalized, so the profile of the person working in a given area — immediately on login — dictates information access, security protocols, climate control preferences, room automation and services access/charging and much more. The building effectively becomes a multi-faceted administrative assistant, automatically managed and controlled through digital transformation. Everyone benefits — owner/landlord, operator, tenant and user.

Coronavirus: Will offices be safe for a return to work?

As lockdowns start to ease in many countries, so the tentative return to work begins, leaving people understandably concerned about how safe a space an office will be in the middle of a global pandemic. There is likely to be an increase in the amount of technology used to monitor employees. From thermal cameras taking your temperature when you enter the building to apps or wearables to alert you if you get too close to colleagues, work could soon have the feel of the Minority Report movie.

Managing network connectivity as the fourth utility

When internet connectivity is accepted as a necessary part of building infrastructure, alongside electricity, water, and gas, it is known as the fourth utility. Just like with utilities, the first step in network infrastructure is conducting a physical site survey, and then determining different connectivity options. Utility-grade infrastructure can meet varying requirements for low- or high-bandwidth devices and applications and supports Wi-Fi as a backhaul service.

Webinar: Pop-Up Healthcare: How to Support the Fight Against COVID-19

As alternate care sites (ACSs) are being deployed to provide medical services in non-traditional environments, their ability to operate efficiently and reliably make a life-saving difference. This free webinar will explain the role that the government, healthcare organizations and contractors play in ACS success; and the technology, cabling and connectivity that will be needed to support these sites.

White Paper: Assessing Smart Buildings – The Time is Now for a Holistic Approach

There’s no denying the growing demand for smarter buildings – regardless of building type or industry vertical. The question becomes: How do building owners, REITs, and developers assess the overall intelligence of a building? Currently, the market lacks holistic assessment criteria to evaluate or rate a building’s intelligence. There are several well-known and respected programs that measure and assess portions of building intelligence, such as its sustainability or connectivity, but for commercial real estate investors, a holistic approach is overdue. In a new position paper, TIA proposes six key categories to address when evaluating and building smarter buildings: Connectivity, Health & Wellbeing, Life & Property Safety, Power & Energy, Cybersecurity and Sustainability.