Databroker is gearing up to participate in the 10^th annual “Living Bits and Things” Internet of Things (IoT) event. Databroker’s Vincent Bultot (Client Solutions Manager and DataMatch Advisor) will be speaking at the event on the potential of leveraging data towards the advancement and utilisation of smart buildings, and the creation of new business models in the smart buildings and smart cities sectors.

Living Bits and Things is the premier IoT event in the Central and Eastern Europe region, gathering industry leading speakers and participants to Ljubljana, Slovenia since 2011. This years’ event, which will be held online due to the COVID-related travel restrictions, features dozens of speakers over two days from September 23-24.

Participants will have the chance to not only listen to presentations under the two key themes - (1) Digital Strategy: The Blueprint for your Future, and (2) Digital Transformation: Security, Privacy and Social Impact – but also to interact with speakers and with each other through a series of online networking events, workshops, and virtual booths.

Vincent’s presentation, entitled "A New Data Leverage Model for Smart Buildings", goes into the many ways that data has potential to unlock value and drive innovation in the smart buildings sector.

The data gathered from sensors in buildings is essential for supporting the enhancements that make buildings “smart.” Take the example of sensor data gathered from essential building infrastructure like air filters and heating units. That data can be used to develop predictive maintenance models, enabling building managers to identify problems and streamline maintenance procedures. In the status quo, on average 80% of a building’s lifetime cost is associated with maintenance (meaning only 20% is associated with construction costs). Data-driven building management improvements can reduce maintenance costs by improving efficiency of existing infrastructure and by automating operational procedures.

Reducing costs through such data-driven measures is an important step towards meeting sustainability goals and creating more competitive economies. Beyond this, however, there are opportunities to develop data ecosystems that enable entirely new business models. Examples include researchers purchasing data generated by smart building sensors to develop more efficient building designs, to optimize worker productivity, and to gain insights into consumer behavior.

“By connecting building owners, their occupants, and third-party service providers ranging from utilities to retailers, we can unlock data-driven business models that go beyond merely offsetting the costs associated with managing buildings. Ultimately there’s potential to leverage data to turn buildings into revenue generating assets within and supporting a wider smart city and regional ecosystem.”

 - Vincent Bultot, Databroker Client Solutions Manager and DataMatch Advisor

An example of a current player in the emerging smart building data ecosystem is Phoenix Contact, a global market leader and innovator in the field of electrical engineering and automation that also provides robust and custom-designed solutions for smart buildings. The latter include energy monitoring and efficiency sensors, as well as operational systems like door automation, lighting automation, boiler management, and domestic water pumping.

With data gathering sensors deployed and managed by providers like Phoenix Contact, it becomes possible to connect individual buildings to a wider smart city ecosystem, which in turn opens up the possibility of creating new business models. For example, in the case of a property that generates energy through solar panels, wind, or some other micro-grid source, the property can move from an energy cost model, to an energy trading model by storing energy during off peak hours and selling energy to the grid during peak hours. Of course, to achieve this, we need a way to transparently monitor the data streams so that all parties are assured of the veracity of the information collected.

Phoenix Contact generates volumes of data through its Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) controllers installed in buildings. That data, when empowered to join the wider data ecosystem, unlocks value-added applications. Connecting data generated through Phoenix Contacts’ PCI controllers to the wider ecosystem of data is achieved through, among other methods, Databroker’s distributed peer-to-peer marketplace for data, Databroker.global.

“Databroker.global is critical infrastructure for unlocking the value of smart building sensor data because it connects those who generate data with those who need it and provides a way for them to securely exchange data at market price. By unleashing market forces on sensor data, we can drive innovation in smart buildings towards the creation of more sustainable, more productive, safer, and more comfortable cities.”

– Joris Huegaerts, Business Area Manager Industry Management and Automation at Phoenix Contact

Watch Vincen't presentation on our YouTube channel.

If you’re in the smart cities ecosystem and interested in the potential of leveraging data to provide new value add and to create novel business opportunities, please don’t hesitate to connect with Databroker!

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