Andy Dyke, director of intelligent buildings at Mitsubishi Electric Iconics Digital Solutions looks at creating unified digital operations.
Commercial buildings face growing pressure to improve operational performance, reduce energy consumption, support evolving workplace needs, and deliver responsive occupant experiences. Meeting these expectations requires interoperable digital capabilities that create the foundation for connected operations, intelligent automation, enhanced occupant experiences, and future digital innovation.
Organisations can no longer rely solely on individual building systems to support digital readiness for new smart use cases. Effective digital buildings depend on a unified data layer that orchestrates siloed, real-time, and historical data, making information accessible across operational, analytical, and user experience applications.
HVAC systems, energy infrastructure, workplace management platforms, occupancy monitoring technologies, security systems, and other connected building technologies already generate valuable operational data. Bringing these data sources together provides the integrated foundation organisations need to understand how building systems, operations, and occupants interact.
Driving connected building performance
Connected operational data gives facilities teams visibility across energy performance, equipment health, environmental conditions, and critical infrastructure rather than requiring each system to be monitored independently.
Cross-system visibility can reveal insights and inefficiencies that individual systems cannot identify alone. For example, organisations can:
- Evaluate occupancy patterns alongside HVAC performance
- Assess equipment condition in the context of energy consumption
- Identify operational trends before small issues develop into larger problems
For asset owners and corporate occupiers, these insights can support more effective capital planning, prioritised investment decisions, improved reliability, reduced operating costs, and stronger portfolio-wide operational governance.
As buildings generate increasing volumes of information, a unified data layer helps transform disconnected information into a strategic asset.
Enabling better occupant experiences
Connected operational data also enables more responsive workplace experiences. Hybrid work has changed how organisations use office space, increasing the importance of understanding actual workplace utilisation. According to CBRE's 2026 Global Workplace & Occupancy Insights report, the global average building utilisation rate is 53%, highlighting the opportunity to better align workplace strategies with actual use.
Connected data can help organisations:
- Optimise meeting room availability and workplace services based on demand
- Make real estate decisions based on actual utilisation
- Enable occupants to reserve workspaces and locate available meeting rooms
- Personalise space conditions and simplify access to workplace services
Connecting operational and workplace information creates a more intuitive experience for occupants while helping organisations use space and resources more effectively.
Preparing smart buildings for the future
Connected operational data establishes the foundation for the next generation of smart buildings. As economic pressures increase and sustainability targets become more demanding, organisations need greater visibility into building performance, resource consumption, and operational outcomes.
Artificial intelligence will expand how organisations interpret building information, identify trends and anomalies, and support automation at scale. Lasting value, however, will depend on the quality, accessibility, and connectedness of the underlying operational data.
Every building generates operational data. Organisations that connect that information through a unified data layer will be better positioned to improve performance, reduce operational risk, optimise asset value, support sustainability objectives, enhance occupant experiences, and adapt to changing workplace demands.
In an increasingly digital world, connected operational data is not simply a technology enabler, but the foundation for digital readiness and smarter building outcomes.