DUBAI, 27 February 2007 — A three-day forum entitled BuilConn which began yesterday at the Jumeirah Beach Hotel here, brought together experts involved in the building industry, facility management and IT.
The focus of the event will be on the trends, drivers and opportunities in real-estate developments in the Middle East region, with particular emphasis on the role of connectivity in building systems and IT.
According to the organizer of the event, Anto Budiarjo, BuilConn will unite all the individuals involved in building and facility management to take a comprehensive view of the building industry, understand the technologies and trends that shape it, and discover the steps required to implement truly intelligent, integrated buildings. Budiarjo added that the forum, which is being held for the first time in the region, will also bwe held in Riyadh on March 3.
Budiardjo pointed out that there is a keen interest among developers in the region in relation to the smart technology and what benefits it brings to their businesses. “The general culture here is focused on the usage of technology and how it will help cut costs for the business which is in contrast to the US, where the companies question the technology itself and not so much the end-result,” he said.
Speaking to Arab News, Anas Sawaf, from Cisco Systems, said that the construction boom in the region is fueling a need among the developers to differentiate themselves and adopting such systems is seen as one way of doing this.
“Developers in the region are realizing that if they invest in smart building technologies then they will increase the premium of their properties by an average of 5 to 6 percent. With the expected cooling down of the construction boom approaching, many developers are realizing the importance of such technologies if they want to beat competitors and also to cut down on future management of their facilities,” he said, adding that Cisco is keen to promote such solutions because it is the global Internet Protocol leader.
“As a company we have saved tremendous amounts of money by implementing smart solutions to our operational needs. Even small companies can benefit from such technologies and cut down on their costs dramatically,” he said.
For Hani Bakr, executive director of Noortech, such smart technologies if applied in the Kingdom would help in conserving energy and add more value to owners of office buildings.
“When international companies come to the region, what they basically ask for is a ready office that has technology that meets international standards.”
