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For the inaugural APAC & EMEA SME Workshop, Tyson Soutter presented on the “ROI of Smart Buildings Solutions”, providing a Tech Vendor’s perspective on the matter. Joining Tyson for a panel style discussion afterwards was Even Augensen from GK, who along with Pro Members in attendance, debated what the ROI of a Smart Building solution is.
Tyson Soutter is the Director of Global Business Development at Clockworks Analytics. Having forged his career in Australia working with leading technology vendors such as Bueno and Willow, Tyson moved to Europe taking up roles with Siemens and eventually Clockworks. Tyson’s deep domain expertise in Fault Detection and Diagnostics (FDD) provided the jumping off point for the SME Workshop as he discussed the ROI or a Smart Building solution from a Tech vendor’s perspective
Following Tyson's presentation, we heard from Even Augensen, Business Developer for GK. With a background as a sparky (translates to Electrician in Aussie lingo), Even found his way into the world of controls and building automation systems (BAS) taking up roles with Siemens before moving Contractor side with GK. Even provided a sounding board for Tyson’s presentation by giving a Contractor’s perspective on the ROI of a Smart Building solution and some of the internal challenges he’s faced trying to transition from preventative to data-driven maintenance
The Return on Investment (ROI) of a Smart Building solution - this is one of the most hotly debated and widely discussed topics in the world of Smart Buildings. Every person you speak with has a differing opinion on the matter. Opinions have been forged based on the individuals own unique experience either as a tech vendor, consultant, contractor, facility manager or landlord.
Over the last 15-20 years we’ve seen a wave of PropTech companies enter the market, make lots of noise, and promise big things. Propmodo, a US based media brand that focuses on technology and innovation in commercial real estate and the built environment, estimates that over 9000 PropTech companies have sprung up over the past decade alone. Tyson states that the tech vendors that will still be around in 10 years time are “the companies that deliver long term business value and secure themselves as a legitimate business and the ones that deliver a clear ROI”. And the most tangible ROI that can be measured and accepted by customers is Opex savings.
Tyson argues that any technology that reduces operational expenditure (Opex) in the short term is what matters most to the majority of landlords. There is a strong case for this in the world of FDD where vendors gain trust quickly through delivering Opex savings and then make themselves sticky by focussing on the longer term benefits such as lease renewables, capital planning and assisting with ESG reporting.
But it’s not all about Opex savings. Tyson states that what’s most important is to find what’s important to your customer. This doesn’t mean finding what’s the core business of the prospective company, it means finding what’s important to your customer that makes them successful. Tyson breaks down what he sees as the most common benefits for real estate landlords
The first step when communicating the ROI of a Smart Building is finding your audience. What this essentially means is understanding the needs of your client and then ensuring you communicate the value of your offering to the relevant stakeholder in the right language
Tyson breaks down this process into 6 steps,
1. Building Type - What building type your client owns and manages (retail, office, industrial, airport, hospital etc)
2. Stakeholder Engagement - Who you are talking to? (which stakeholder are you communicating with)
3. Core Business - What is their core business and what’s important to them?
4. Language - Select the right language for the audience you’re communicating with
5. Transparency and accountability - provide your client with tangible, measurable, and validated results that can stand up to scrutiny
6. Investment Strategy - What is your clients investment strategy (long term hold, reposition aging stock, quick flip, etc)
Out of the all the steps above, Tyson iterates that tech vendors often fail to get a foot in the door, or stay the course once deployed, not because the product is underperforming but because they communicate their value incorrectly to each stakeholder type.
Let’s break this down a little further into the various personas and how value should be communicated to each stakeholder
C-Suite
Facilities Manager
Technicians
Tyson states that “you have to show benefits to each stakeholder and find value at each level”. The most important stakeholder group he argues is the technical buying audience, “If you can’t get the trust and support of a technical audience, every smart building solution will fail”
And it’s not just about slicing and dicing the value being delivered to suit the audience, it’s also about choosing the right language. If you speak too technical to the C-Suite they won’t understand you. If you go too high level with a technical person they won’t trust you. As Tyson states, “you won’t find long term success with a customer if you can’t communicate in the right language, and you will be removed”
Tyson also points out that sustainability and carbon are becoming more important and companies are being held accountable to track and report on scope 1,2 & 3 carbon emissions. There are already penalties in place for companies who miss their carbon targets or wrongly report their associated emissions.
Globally, emission trading schemes (ETSs) and carbon taxes cover 30 percent of emissions, with prices rising as high as $90 per ton (in the European Union). Tyson and Pro Member Nicolas Waern speculated that the price of carbon could reach as high as $1600 per ton, depending on who you ask.
The underlying sentiment is that carbon tracking and reporting will have equal if not greater value to energy tracking, and Tech vendors that are able to translate their value into a carbon emissions reduction, or can provide accurate tracking for their scope 3 emissions will provide long term value for their customers.
The final point Tyson touches on is around dispelling the notion of using the 3-30-300 rule when communicating the value of a smart building solution.
3-30-300 Rule
Tyson argues these numbers can be misleading and questions the accuracy of them. As he states, “we all know that this exists, but accurately quantifying and validating these numbers has proven difficult”. Getting a Smart Building technology approved at scale based on the 3-30-300 methodology is not something Tyson has seen.
The microphone was then thrown over to Even to provide a Contractor’s perspective on the ROI of a Smart Building solution. Even and Tyson had recently worked together to integrate FDD into GK’s Mechanical and BMS maintenance offering. When it comes to selling smart building solutions such as FDD, Even states that “the greatest challenge is to sell them internally”. Getting traditional organisations to embrace technology and evolve their service offering by leveraging technology such as FDD has not been easy. After all, preventative maintenance is a robust, profitable service delivery model. Not everyone within GK’s business was convinced that FDD would be a good idea, but after a pilot program Even and his team proved that using FDD helped
GK are now restructuring their maintenance agreements to include FDD for the purpose of delivering higher value maintenance to their customers with the end goal of creating happier customers.
If you are interested in diving deeper into this subject, Pro Members can watch a recording of this Workshop on Nexus Connect! Catch the recording here, ROI of Smart Buildings.
1. Building Type - What building type your client owns and manages (retail, office, industrial, airport, hospital etc)
2. Stakeholder Engagement - Who you are talking to? (which stakeholder are you communicating with)
3. Core Business - What is their core business and what’s important to them?
4. Language - Select the right language for the audience you’re communicating with
5. Transparency and accountability - provide your client with tangible, measurable, and validated results that can stand up to scrutiny
6. Investment Strategy - What is your clients investment strategy (long term hold, reposition aging stock, quick flip, etc)
Out of the all the steps above, Tyson iterates that tech vendors often fail to get a foot in the door, or stay the course once deployed, not because the product is underperforming but because they communicate their value incorrectly to each stakeholder type.
Let’s break this down a little further into the various personas and how value should be communicated to each stakeholder
C-Suite
Facilities Manager
Technicians
Tyson states that “you have to show benefits to each stakeholder and find value at each level”. The most important stakeholder group he argues is the technical buying audience, “If you can’t get the trust and support of a technical audience, every smart building solution will fail”
And it’s not just about slicing and dicing the value being delivered to suit the audience, it’s also about choosing the right language. If you speak too technical to the C-Suite they won’t understand you. If you go too high level with a technical person they won’t trust you. As Tyson states, “you won’t find long term success with a customer if you can’t communicate in the right language, and you will be removed”
Tyson also points out that sustainability and carbon are becoming more important and companies are being held accountable to track and report on scope 1,2 & 3 carbon emissions. There are already penalties in place for companies who miss their carbon targets or wrongly report their associated emissions.
Globally, emission trading schemes (ETSs) and carbon taxes cover 30 percent of emissions, with prices rising as high as $90 per ton (in the European Union). Tyson and Pro Member Nicolas Waern speculated that the price of carbon could reach as high as $1600 per ton, depending on who you ask.
The underlying sentiment is that carbon tracking and reporting will have equal if not greater value to energy tracking, and Tech vendors that are able to translate their value into a carbon emissions reduction, or can provide accurate tracking for their scope 3 emissions will provide long term value for their customers.
The final point Tyson touches on is around dispelling the notion of using the 3-30-300 rule when communicating the value of a smart building solution.
3-30-300 Rule
Tyson argues these numbers can be misleading and questions the accuracy of them. As he states, “we all know that this exists, but accurately quantifying and validating these numbers has proven difficult”. Getting a Smart Building technology approved at scale based on the 3-30-300 methodology is not something Tyson has seen.
The microphone was then thrown over to Even to provide a Contractor’s perspective on the ROI of a Smart Building solution. Even and Tyson had recently worked together to integrate FDD into GK’s Mechanical and BMS maintenance offering. When it comes to selling smart building solutions such as FDD, Even states that “the greatest challenge is to sell them internally”. Getting traditional organisations to embrace technology and evolve their service offering by leveraging technology such as FDD has not been easy. After all, preventative maintenance is a robust, profitable service delivery model. Not everyone within GK’s business was convinced that FDD would be a good idea, but after a pilot program Even and his team proved that using FDD helped
GK are now restructuring their maintenance agreements to include FDD for the purpose of delivering higher value maintenance to their customers with the end goal of creating happier customers.
If you are interested in diving deeper into this subject, Pro Members can watch a recording of this Workshop on Nexus Connect! Catch the recording here, ROI of Smart Buildings.
1. Building Type - What building type your client owns and manages (retail, office, industrial, airport, hospital etc)
2. Stakeholder Engagement - Who you are talking to? (which stakeholder are you communicating with)
3. Core Business - What is their core business and what’s important to them?
4. Language - Select the right language for the audience you’re communicating with
5. Transparency and accountability - provide your client with tangible, measurable, and validated results that can stand up to scrutiny
6. Investment Strategy - What is your clients investment strategy (long term hold, reposition aging stock, quick flip, etc)
Out of the all the steps above, Tyson iterates that tech vendors often fail to get a foot in the door, or stay the course once deployed, not because the product is underperforming but because they communicate their value incorrectly to each stakeholder type.
Let’s break this down a little further into the various personas and how value should be communicated to each stakeholder
C-Suite
Facilities Manager
Technicians
Tyson states that “you have to show benefits to each stakeholder and find value at each level”. The most important stakeholder group he argues is the technical buying audience, “If you can’t get the trust and support of a technical audience, every smart building solution will fail”
And it’s not just about slicing and dicing the value being delivered to suit the audience, it’s also about choosing the right language. If you speak too technical to the C-Suite they won’t understand you. If you go too high level with a technical person they won’t trust you. As Tyson states, “you won’t find long term success with a customer if you can’t communicate in the right language, and you will be removed”
Tyson also points out that sustainability and carbon are becoming more important and companies are being held accountable to track and report on scope 1,2 & 3 carbon emissions. There are already penalties in place for companies who miss their carbon targets or wrongly report their associated emissions.
Globally, emission trading schemes (ETSs) and carbon taxes cover 30 percent of emissions, with prices rising as high as $90 per ton (in the European Union). Tyson and Pro Member Nicolas Waern speculated that the price of carbon could reach as high as $1600 per ton, depending on who you ask.
The underlying sentiment is that carbon tracking and reporting will have equal if not greater value to energy tracking, and Tech vendors that are able to translate their value into a carbon emissions reduction, or can provide accurate tracking for their scope 3 emissions will provide long term value for their customers.
The final point Tyson touches on is around dispelling the notion of using the 3-30-300 rule when communicating the value of a smart building solution.
3-30-300 Rule
Tyson argues these numbers can be misleading and questions the accuracy of them. As he states, “we all know that this exists, but accurately quantifying and validating these numbers has proven difficult”. Getting a Smart Building technology approved at scale based on the 3-30-300 methodology is not something Tyson has seen.
The microphone was then thrown over to Even to provide a Contractor’s perspective on the ROI of a Smart Building solution. Even and Tyson had recently worked together to integrate FDD into GK’s Mechanical and BMS maintenance offering. When it comes to selling smart building solutions such as FDD, Even states that “the greatest challenge is to sell them internally”. Getting traditional organisations to embrace technology and evolve their service offering by leveraging technology such as FDD has not been easy. After all, preventative maintenance is a robust, profitable service delivery model. Not everyone within GK’s business was convinced that FDD would be a good idea, but after a pilot program Even and his team proved that using FDD helped
GK are now restructuring their maintenance agreements to include FDD for the purpose of delivering higher value maintenance to their customers with the end goal of creating happier customers.
If you are interested in diving deeper into this subject, Pro Members can watch a recording of this Workshop on Nexus Connect! Catch the recording here, ROI of Smart Buildings.
For the inaugural APAC & EMEA SME Workshop, Tyson Soutter presented on the “ROI of Smart Buildings Solutions”, providing a Tech Vendor’s perspective on the matter. Joining Tyson for a panel style discussion afterwards was Even Augensen from GK, who along with Pro Members in attendance, debated what the ROI of a Smart Building solution is.
Tyson Soutter is the Director of Global Business Development at Clockworks Analytics. Having forged his career in Australia working with leading technology vendors such as Bueno and Willow, Tyson moved to Europe taking up roles with Siemens and eventually Clockworks. Tyson’s deep domain expertise in Fault Detection and Diagnostics (FDD) provided the jumping off point for the SME Workshop as he discussed the ROI or a Smart Building solution from a Tech vendor’s perspective
Following Tyson's presentation, we heard from Even Augensen, Business Developer for GK. With a background as a sparky (translates to Electrician in Aussie lingo), Even found his way into the world of controls and building automation systems (BAS) taking up roles with Siemens before moving Contractor side with GK. Even provided a sounding board for Tyson’s presentation by giving a Contractor’s perspective on the ROI of a Smart Building solution and some of the internal challenges he’s faced trying to transition from preventative to data-driven maintenance
The Return on Investment (ROI) of a Smart Building solution - this is one of the most hotly debated and widely discussed topics in the world of Smart Buildings. Every person you speak with has a differing opinion on the matter. Opinions have been forged based on the individuals own unique experience either as a tech vendor, consultant, contractor, facility manager or landlord.
Over the last 15-20 years we’ve seen a wave of PropTech companies enter the market, make lots of noise, and promise big things. Propmodo, a US based media brand that focuses on technology and innovation in commercial real estate and the built environment, estimates that over 9000 PropTech companies have sprung up over the past decade alone. Tyson states that the tech vendors that will still be around in 10 years time are “the companies that deliver long term business value and secure themselves as a legitimate business and the ones that deliver a clear ROI”. And the most tangible ROI that can be measured and accepted by customers is Opex savings.
Tyson argues that any technology that reduces operational expenditure (Opex) in the short term is what matters most to the majority of landlords. There is a strong case for this in the world of FDD where vendors gain trust quickly through delivering Opex savings and then make themselves sticky by focussing on the longer term benefits such as lease renewables, capital planning and assisting with ESG reporting.
But it’s not all about Opex savings. Tyson states that what’s most important is to find what’s important to your customer. This doesn’t mean finding what’s the core business of the prospective company, it means finding what’s important to your customer that makes them successful. Tyson breaks down what he sees as the most common benefits for real estate landlords
The first step when communicating the ROI of a Smart Building is finding your audience. What this essentially means is understanding the needs of your client and then ensuring you communicate the value of your offering to the relevant stakeholder in the right language
Tyson breaks down this process into 6 steps,
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