Having a portfolio filled with multiple commercial buildings is a wise investment strategy. As technology advances, it’s important to consider how you’ll use it to improve your investment portfolio. The owners of hotels, for example, continue to improve access to rooms, increase energy efficiency, and boost the safety of their guests. The owners of office suites leverage advanced technologies as well. While more buildings use smart technology, it’s important not to get left behind. With the right implementation strategy, not only can you improve the user experience of the tenants in your properties, you’ll save time and money in the long run.
Keyless Entry
This technology has been around for years, and yet many older commercial properties lag in this area. A keyless system isn’t that expensive to implement, but it can improve safety and security for everyone who uses your buildings. With keyless entry, there are a few different options to consider. One option is similar to hotels with key cards that need to be put into a slot and pulled out; another option is to use a key card that you simply wave across a sensor.
More advanced technology that uses biometric data ensures that only the right people are in the building. Using something like a fingerprint or retinal scan means that cards can’t be stolen and only the person who is supposed to get in the building can get in. This is especially helpful for access to certain areas of the building. Each tenant can assign time slots when their staff can come in and out.
Video Surveillance
No one wants to live like it’s in 1984, but there is nothing wrong with video technology in commercial buildings. It provides increased security in parking garages, stairwells, and other problem areas in buildings. While you wouldn’t implement video in your tenants’ office spaces, it can be beneficial to add them to the public parts of the building. When something happens on the property, this video footage can help provide clues to what happened. It can also protect tenants from unwanted guests, and it acts as video evidence in the event of a crime. All this aside, newer video technology allows access from mobile devices, and this can be helpful if tenants also have access to this so that they can see what’s happening in public spaces before they exit the building.
Automated Utilities and Billing
Running multiple buildings is a lot of work. If you don’t have the right systems in place, you’ll end up doing a lot of work manually, or hiring someone to do it for you. Automated utility billing using submeter billing software is a powerful tool. Instead of sending a person to all your buildings and having them do manual reads on all the submeters, this type of software can connect you with any smart meter and do readouts and produce bills in one. This advancement means that no one needs to manually create a bill and enter data after someone has completed the reads on the utilities. These submeters can accurately bill each of your clients and tenants with ease. It reduces incorrect reads and helps you get just the right amount of money from all your buildings.
5G Networks
5G technology is getting turned on throughout the world. This smart technology enables so much more than your cell phones. Imagine lightning-fast video conferencing, real-time document collaboration, and the use of AR technology. 5G also reduces lag time and other connectivity issues that people face while using fiber optic networks, 4G networks, and other internet connections. Can you think of the amazing things your business could do with this technology? By outfitting your commercial buildings with 5G towers and capabilities, you’ll be able to offer your tenants cutting-edge technology options for them to move their businesses forward. Not only will they be able to do business as usual, they’ll be able to think ahead to what they can do if they are connected in better ways.
IoT
You might think of the refrigerator that can order your milk, but the internet of things is so much more than a convenience tool. It can save your business time and money. Imagine HVAC systems that can sense the temperature based on how many people are in the building. This system can constantly adjust to ensure the temperature remains stable and comfortable, but also use as little energy as possible when it happens. This improves the sustainability of your real estate as well. IoT allows more things to be handled remotely, ensuring that when there is a problem, you can troubleshoot from the comfort of home or wherever you are. When applied to commercial buildings, there are many ways to use IoT technology.