How New Technology Will Affect The Built Environment • Remote controls: Buildings will be monitored remotely, allowing property managers to view and control systems, such as lighting and heating, ventilation and air conditioning, even from thousands of miles away. • Connect everything: The first question a facility manager or purchasing agent should ask before upgrading is, “Can that device network?” Smart chips will be present in virtually everything, and those that can’t connect to a network wirelessly will soon become dinosaurs. • Flexible work stations: Workspaces will be more
As Colliers International’s chief information officer, Sita has seen what's on the technology horizon in the research labs of innovative companies, such as Microsoft and Cisco. Things that sound like science fiction will soon be everyday conveniences. “I promise you, this is going to happen,” Sita says, describing a light bulb that doubles as a projector—making a computer flat-screen all but irrelevant. “This technology already exists, and while it’s not quite ready for prime time, it will be part of your life in just a few years.” Sita sees data storage and access moving swiftly from server rooms into “the cloud”—that ephemeral storage hub that allows everyone to access everything from everywhere. Increasingly, technology leaders are building collaboration tools that don’t rely on a singular network. Instead, data may be a mash-up of multiple sources, tailored to an individual’s specific need.
NOW WHAT?
FOUR SIMPLE STRATEGIES TO STAY AHEAD OF THE NEW TECHNOLOGY WAVE
1. Get in the game. If you’re still using a cellphone rather than a smart mobile device, trade up now. It doesn’t matter so much which mobile device you buy as it matters that you get on a good mobile platform. If you have a mobile device released in the last 12 months, you’re good to go. 2. Get it in the cloud. No matter what application you purchase or develop, create it in the cloud. If you’re attached to a legacy application, draw a road map to put it into the cloud. 3. Mobilize everything. Ensure every application and byte of data you have is accessible from a mobile platform. What doesn’t go mobile will soon become irrelevant. 4. Keep up at home. The largest data growth areas for cloud data storage are photos and videos. Don't risk losing special memories stored on your laptop or hard drive. Move this data to the cloud.
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modular, with office configurations assembled and reassembled like Legos. Because networking is wireless, individuals will be able to move around workspaces and change configurations on the fly to meet the immediate needs of the team. The only limitation will be the layout of electrical grids. • Repurposing rooms: Just as law firms scaled back large libraries that took up lots of square footage when their content went digital, server rooms and data centers are moving toward obsolescence as data moves to the cloud. • Less baggage: Instead of dragging around your laptop, phone, external hard drive, notes and more, the only thing you’ll need to carry is your smart mobile. This will be powerful enough to meet your needs wherever you go and capable of plugging into docking stations to instantly create your customized computing environment.
“Fear holds us back from going allguns-blazing into the cloud,” Sita explains. But he says those who are the first to jump on the sharing bandwagon are likely to reap the most benefits. For example, online real estate marketplace Zillow was at first criticized for releasing too much information about residential home values. Now, it’s the norm for house-hunters to check Zillow before making a bid, creating a new industry with a new Veresh Sita market leader. “We are entering the era of participation, where everyone will contribute their data sets, and this collaboration will totally disrupt the market,” Sita says. “The sooner you embrace sharing and moving information into the public domain, the faster you’ll win.” These shifts in technology are ultimately redefining our lives and the purpose of built environments. Sita describes a Starbucks corporate strategy that defined home as the first place people go and work as the second. It's Starbucks’ intent to make its stores the third place where people gather and socialize. But when data lives in a cloud and everyone’s wireless, the meaning of "work" ultimately shifts. “Work is no longer where you go—it’s what you do,” Sita explains. “Everywhere will be the new second place, and the places you go for experiences, such as the ball park, will be blended into places you can work.” The convergence of technology makes this possible, as devices are folded into each other. Just as the mobile phone appropriated a large share of digital photography, tablets may take over for laptops and smart mobile devices will perform as many functions as a personal computer. “We will soon become device-agnostic,” Sita explains. “I don’t care if you have a Blackberry, a raspberry or any berry. Your smart mobile will allow you to personalize your environment and connect with anyone or anything, anywhere. It will also be smart enough to know when to act like a phone, or a computer, or a slate, or even a TV.” George Jetson would be proud. K L Colliers international summer 2011
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