OTI President Brian Turner moderated a panel of leading real estate and smart building experts at the Realcomm IBCon 2017 conference in San Diego. The panel covered the major questions challenging the industry today, from operational technology vs. information technology and the role of the CIO for real estate companies.

1. TRACK:
Top of Mind
SESSION:
OPERATIONS and INFORMATION Technology – Closing the Gap
PRESENTED BY:
Brian Turner, OTI (Moderator)
Sandeep Dave, Chief Digital & Technology Officer, Global Workplace Solutions, CBRE
Maureen Ehrenberg, Executive Managing Director, Integrated Facilities Mgmt., JLL
Gerhard Karba, CEO, IX-Strata
Richard Newberry, CEO, KMC Controls

2. The Topic - Summarized
There was once a time when IT and building operations had no reason to talk.
After all, IT used to be about printers and workstations, and operations
handled buildings systems such as HVAC and lighting. Recently this separation
of powers is radically changing. Smarter building equipment, the increased
adoption of building networks, IoT and the increased visibility of issues such as
cybersecurity and privacy are bringing these two worlds together. It is no longer a
matter of if, but when, the IT and real estate operations groups will collaborate on
the consummate building design.
For organizations that have made the transformation to an integrated
strategy, they wonder how they ever did it any other way.

3. Business Purpose and Desire
• Business justification has been made…
– Reduction in cable
– Consolidation in servers, both in capacity and compute power
– Gain valuable leasable square footage
– Centralized security, physical and network
• There is a real desire amongst building owners and managers to operate state-of-the-art buildings
with true next-generation capabilities.
• Tenants are more demanding when it comes to amenities and comforts available in the buildings
they lease.
– AT&T

4. Technology
• Cost of technology has continued to decline
• Technology innovation continues to increase
• Manufacturers of building systems are adopting the latest technologies (wireless and wired) into
products, for little to no premium.
– HVAC Equipment
– HVAC Controls
– Lighting Controls
– Access Control and Video Surveillance
– Vertical Transport
– Fire Detection and Life Safety
– Utility Metering
– Environmental sensing
– Ambiance
– Others

5. IP Networking and Security
• IP Ports are easily made available in buildings today
• Port security is easily defined and configured
• Cabling and fiber infrastructure is more flexible and scalable
• Secure VPN Technologies have been made simpler to install and manage
• Network security, on all networks, is well accepted as a business requirement today
• POE is more robust and making its way into more hardware
• Bandwidth is an expectation, not a luxury

6. Real World Examples
• General Growth Properties – Shopping Centers
• Grupo CINSA – Commercial Office Buildings
• Reichman International – Commercial Office
Buildings
• Infomart Data Centers – Data Centers
• Example – Hospitals
• Ford Motor Company – Automotive
Manufacturer
• Stanford University – Higher Education
• Hudson Yards – Smart City

7. People – Are we ready?

8. “Mind the Gap”

9. Panel Members
Richard Newberry
Advisor
KMC Controls
Gerhard Karba
CEO
ix-strata
Maureen Ehrenberg
Executive Managing Director,
Integrated Facilities Mgmt.
JLL
Sandeep Dave
Chief Digital & Technology Officer,
Global Workplace Solutions
CBRE

10. Closing the Gap?
IT has a complete support infrastructure in place…
Is IT ready to take on the support for OT?
Should IT take on the support for OT?

11. Closing the Gap?
Is there a technical skills gap in the OT community?
If so, what is it and what is the best way to address it?

12. Closing the Gap?
The power play in the C-Suite…CIO v. COO…Myth or Reality?
Should these two be replaced by C-IOT-O?

13. Closing the Gap?
What are the culture differences between IT and OT?
Will these cultures converge? Do they need to?

14. Closing the Gap?
How fast can an organization make the changes necessary for
completely converged or partially converged IOT?

15. Closing the Gap?
What needs to happen to realize IT - OT Convergence on
scale?
(people, process, technology)?