Building Engines Connect 2024, our first annual virtual user conference, has set the stage for a transformative journey in property management technology. With an inspiring opening keynote from CEO, Daniel Russo, and VP of Product Management, Sharon Hunt, the event was packed with exciting announcements, industry insights, and forward-thinking strategies.
Russo kicked off the conference: “Our mission statement at Building Engines is to deliver an exceptional experience for everyone in every building.”
Read on to learn how Building Engines is doing just that, helping property teams meet their goals.
Celebrating platform growth and user expansion
During the keynote, Russo discussed the exponential growth of the Building Engines platform, Prism. Expanding beyond our original focus on commercial office spaces, we now service over 55k buildings across multifamily, healthcare, industrial, and retail sectors. Russo shared some exciting statistics:
- Users: Over 300,000 users on the Prism by Building Engines platform.
- Buildings and square footage: Over 55k buildings and 5.2B sq ft managed on Prism, with a majority of growth coming from industrial and retail segments
- Mobile usage: Significant growth with mobile usage. With numbers nearly doubled, it reflects the platform’s efficiency and accessibility.
- Tenant communications: More than 600,000 communications sent in Prism, highlighting increased engagement.
- Billables: $465M of billable tenant charges, showcasing how Prism is creating more value in buildings.
Key industry trends and strategic shifts
Russo dove into several commercial real estate (CRE) insights and highlighted five notable industry trends.
1. Navigating office space challenges
The office space market is experiencing increased vacancies, affecting rent and property sales. Russo acknowledged the challenging environment, stating, “This is affecting our business and probably 90% of you on this call.” To navigate this, many property owners are diversifying their portfolios, moving towards industrial, multifamily, and medical office investments.
2. Evolving IoT and smart buildings
The anticipated wave of IoT and smart buildings investment has been slower than expected. However, leak detection remains a bright spot, serving as an essential risk mitigation strategy for property management. Russo emphasized the importance: “Detecting a leak quickly is critical to prevent extensive damage.”
Other use cases have been slow to receive adoption. Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) sensors were all the hype during the pandemic but have more or less evaporated post-pandemic.
3. Operational efficiency and remote management
Property management models are shifting. We’re seeing more property managers overseeing multiple buildings remotely, a trend that demands more robust software solutions. Engineering teams are moving to mobile models and more reliance is being put on 3rd party vendors. This change, driven by a need for efficiency, is already standard in retail and industrial sectors and is now becoming prevalent in office spaces.
Technology is needed to manage these new models. And important data visualizations are needed to measure if the investments into these new models are paying off.
4. Sustainable future
With global temperatures reaching new highs, sustainability is no longer just a buzzword. It’s a necessity. Russo highlighted urgent needs, saying, “Owners have big decisions to make regarding investing in older buildings or focusing on sustainability certifications to attract tenants.” Building Engines is making an oversized investment in this area to help owners and property managers make the right business decisions for a greener future.
5. Harnessing AI’s power
Unlike IoT, AI’s potential in property management is enormous and underhyped. Russo expressed excitement about its capabilities. “AI is here, and it’s here to stay,” he said. From streamlining operations to enhancing customer insights, AI will play a pivotal role in shaping the future. There are many valuable use cases for AI to be used in CRE portfolios, and Building Engines plans to stay at the forefront of bringing these efficiencies to customers.
Future vision and upcoming innovations
Hunt took the stage to outline groundbreaking advancements and shared a glimpse into the future of Building Engines’ tech advancements. Here are some of the key initiatives.
1. Sustainability modules
New Prism features will help monitor and achieve sustainability goals, tracking utility consumption and the impact of green investments.
2. Modernizing tenant payments
Hunt highlighted the inefficiency of current payment processes, which can take up to 90 days. The new system aims to reduce this to under seven days, using digital methods to streamline transactions.
3. Enhanced AI and data strategy
By expanding property-specific data collection, Building Engines aims to provide actionable insights that drive better decision-making. This strategy underscores our powerful reporting capabilities, setting the stage for future innovations.
And there is a vision Building Engines has for the future of GenAI specifically. It includes being able to query operational data with natural language, interpret images and pull information out of contracts, leases, and equipment manuals, get recommendations for how to improve efficiencies and tenant retention, and automatically generate graphs for the insights you need and pin them to the dashboard.
A glimpse into the future
Russo and Hunt concluded the keynote with a clear message: Building Engines is committed to continuous innovation, transforming property management with cutting-edge technology and industry-leading strategies.
We’re thrilled to have had such a successful Building Engines Connect event and look forward to continuing this journey together. Stay tuned for more updates and innovations from Building Engines as we move towards a smarter, more sustainable future in property management.
