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and solutions you’re using have security and standard sets. Realcomm: With so much emphasis on energy, how do we
Some of the older building automation systems breaches in make sure the operational and occupant experience benefits
the media lately were failures to adhere to security guidelines. are not overlooked? Energy is a huge component, but not
This is where an organization’s IT department can really help the only one.
the real estate and facilities group by making sure those secu-
rity guidelines are followed. Mike: Energy is just the low hanging fruit. You can see energy
Mike: Fortunately, we haven’t had any major security issues. The savings on a monthly bill so it’s easy to attack first. It can be
Target security breach around Black Friday is on everyone’s more difficult to capture the other, harder to quantify benefits,
mind and has really made us revisit how we handle the such as improved tenant satisfaction and retention because
security of our smart buildings. We consistently work with your buildings are so efficiently run. These are definite benefits
our IT Group and other third party companies to review our derived from a well-executed smart building automation
networks and determine if we are vulnerable or not. strategy that also add to the bottom line.

Realcomm: Overall, where do you think the industry stands on Darrell: We sold the Smart Building Program anchored in an
the smart buildings adoption curve? energy return on investment. We installed all the data points
and gathered data to tell us where the systems weren’t
Darrell: I think more and more companies are definitely starting operating as designed or outside the standard, giving us
to jump the chasm. People are making investments, especially engineering information to really-fine tune the building assets.
if they have a champion to really drive smart buildings initia- So, now the building systems are running as designed and
tives. Not having a person who understands the benefits can providing the level of comfort they were designed to provide
seriously challenge an organization’s ability to change, which is in the first place. We sold it as the electrons—the meter
adoption. People understand they can no longer do nothing; slowed down and we saved costs. But the added benefit was
they just aren’t sure what to do and how to get started. improved productivity and employee experience, which, as I
said earlier, is paramount for Microsoft. The ‘aha’ moment for us
Mike: I think we are inching ever so closely to the top of the was the realization that the project benefits went way beyond
adoption curve but we’re not at the peak just yet. This is, in my the energy savings.
opinion, where everyone has high expectations and is invest-
ing heavily in the idea of smart buildings. As we will see at Content
this year’s conference, the majority of the building owners management
are putting something ‘smart’ into their buildings. It might
only be HVAC or lighting controls at this point but the
adoption rate is increasing.

Realcomm: What big idea or innovation is needed to ac- at your Document
celerate the adoption of smart buildings technology? Is fingertips... and Content
value and efficiency enough to sell it, or are there other Management
crucial factors? always. Designed for
Commercial
Darrell: I believe the challenge isn’t a big new idea or technol- Commercial real estate is one Real Estate
ogy, it’s education, and helping companies understand the of the most document intensive
value proposition. He lp them find answers to fundamental industries. But SmartCabinet
questions like: What are the five things I need to do? What users have figured out the code.
are the criteria that make an investment smart? Do I even SmartCabinet captures, stores,
qualify? Are my buildings ready? I tell people that ask to manages, delivers, and preserves
join a group focused on this topic so they can talk to those content. And by design, it becomes
that have been successful. Oh, and I tell them to come to their offsite disaster recovery model
IBcon, it’s the best education investment they can make. too. Safe. Secure. Compliant.
The technology is here and it’s now affordable; education is SmartCabinet aligns business
what’s going to accelerate the adoption. objectives with IT priorities
for win-win solutions.
Mike: I agree. The adoption is here and costs are coming down.
Now, it’s educating ourselves and figuring out what we, as Learn more at
building owners, do first. What solutions do we install? Is www.docclarity.com
it scalable to run all parts of your buildings? Technology is or call direct at 440-582-9720
consistently changing and the fear that newer, maybe better
solutions will be coming out can paralyze you. But doing
nothing should no longer be an option.

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