smart buildings in the age of covid-19

How COVID-19 clarified the necessity and value of smart buildings

Posted on Leave a commentPosted in COVID-19, Digital Transformation, Economic Impact, Internet of Things, IoT, Safe Spaces, Smart Buildings, Smart City, Smart Communities, Strategy

Smart buildings transform the spaces in which we work, live, shop, and relax. They implement innovations that change what we do, how we do it, and where we do it. The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted how we used indoor spaces, and despite our progress in combatting the disease, scientists believe it will persist. What then becomes the role of smart buildings?
This blog updates the definition of today’s smart buildings and describes its evolved roles.

Safe Space office picture

Creating COVID-19 Safe Spaces for Reopening and Return to Work (Part Two)

Posted on 4 CommentsPosted in Best Practices, COVID-19, IoT, New Normal, Safe Spaces, Smart Buildings, Smart City, Smart Communities, Strategy, Urban Planning

COVID-19 Safe Spaces are key to reopening buildings and facilities for in-person activities. Technology is a critical component of the COVID-19 safe space. There is no one technology that makes a space safe. A variety of technologies, working in tandem, is used in safe spaces.

This blog, Part 2 in a series, discusses the role of technology and IoT in the operation of a safe space. Key considerations, from the use case, operations and maintenance, and technology are presented.

Creating COVID-19 Safe Spaces for Reopening and Return to Work (Part One)

Posted on 5 CommentsPosted in Best Practices, COVID-19, New Normal, Safe Spaces, Smart Buildings, Smart City, Smart Communities, Strategy, Urban Planning

The discovery and regulatory approval of two COVID-19 vaccines in late 2020 has made reopening and return to work initiatives top priority for business and community leaders in 2021. Despite the vaccine, COVID-19 isn’t going away and many people are concerned about a return to in-person activities.

This blog introduces the concept of safe spaces to support reopening and return to work. A framework describing the elements of a safe space is discussed, along with ten best practices for planning safe spaces.

covid-19 safe spaces facilitate reopening and return to work

Responding to COVID-19 – a framework for smart cities

Posted on 2 CommentsPosted in Best Practices, COVID-19, Innovation Management, Product Management, product-market fit, Smart City, Smart Communities, Strategy

The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted cities and communities worldwide. As the number of infections and deaths surge, governments are turning to technology and innovative approaches for help. However, current efforts to engage the innovation communities are reactive, piecemeal, and have limited effectiveness.

This blog describes a Smart Cities COVID-19 Collaboration framework. It provides a structured way to identify the collaboration opportunities between cities, public health systems and the technology community.

smart city innovation labs

Smart city innovation labs – ten best practices

Posted on Leave a commentPosted in Best Practices, Industrial IoT, Innovation Management, Internet of Things, Partnerships, Smart City, Smart Communities

Smart city innovation labs provide an organized structure for cities, community, experts, and vendors to collaboratively create viable solutions. Successful solutions piloted in smart city innovation labs can then be scaled and deployed into a city’s operations and infrastructure.

Based on our experiences in creating, launching and operationalizing San Mateo County’s Smart Region innovation lab (SMC Labs), we share ten best practices for civic innovation leaders planning their own innovation labs.

Smart City Ecosystem Architects - eight things to do

Building Smart Cities – Eight Things That Matter

Posted on 1 CommentPosted in Best Practices, Digital Transformation, Industrial IoT, Innovation Management, Internet of Things, Smart City, Smart Communities

Whether you are planning or have already started your smart city journey, there are eight things that cities must get right. While smart cities are often associated with technology, it is but one component within the larger smart city ecosystem that needs to be addressed.

This article discusses the eight things that leaders and planners must get right, in order to build the sustainable and well functioning smart city.

Smart City Ecosystem Framework

Planning Sustainable Smart Cities with the Smart City Ecosystem Framework

Posted on 6 CommentsPosted in Digital Transformation, Internet of Things, Smart City, Smart Communities, Strategy

The smart city is a complex ecosystem of people, processes, policies, technology and other enablers working together to deliver a set of outcomes.

Despite this, many planners today are not taking an ecosystem approach to smart city projects. This article introduces the smart city ecosystem framework, a more holistic and multi-dimensional approach, to building more sustainable, scalable and relevant smart cities.

Industrial IoT vs IoT - know the difference

Industrial IoT versus IoT – do you know the difference?

Posted on 4 CommentsPosted in FAQs, Industrial IoT, Internet of Things, Product Management

Industrial IoT (IIoT) is not the same as IoT. Industrial IoT, a subset of the larger IoT, focuses on the specialized requirements of industrial applications, such as manufacturing, oil and gas, and utilities. Although IoT and IIoT share common technologies (sensors, cloud platforms, connectivity, and analytics), the similarities end there.

This article highlights key differences that product managers and buyers must know when planning industrial IoT solutions.