“Smart” Cities And Buildings: The Emergence Of The Cyber Safe Building

Smart commercial buildings are currently the highest users of IoT technology; and in a landscape where office vacancies are growing, simply providing a workspace in a great location is no longer sufficient. Technology is changing the most fundamental truth about commercial real estate, that value is based solely on location. The increase in IoT-enabled devices and interconnectivity between various building management systems (BMS) prompts larger questions about cybersecurity and data privacy concerns. These challenges are hardly new, but they are magnified in an IoT-connected world. Industry forecasts expect the IoT market will grow from an installed base of 15.4 billion devices in 2015 to 30.7 billion devices in 2020 and 75.4 billion in 2025. Many of these devices will be deployed in buildings, public works and critical infrastructure. Smart technologies will establish an urban landscape that is all-connected, all-sharing, all-knowing and imbued with a functionality that can provide unprecedented levels of comfort and convenience. The....