Billions (in Canada) and Trillions (around the world) of dollars are being spent each year on the development and renewal of our infrastructure. Roads, bridges, homes, and [commercial, industrial, and institutional] buildings make the physical fabric of our communities. A small, yet growing portion, of this global spending goes to the systems that make this infrastructure work; such as security, mechanical, electrical, and transportation systems.

These systems have always been part of the DNA of the underlying infrastructure for our communities (nothing new there). However, the difference is that they are becoming smarter and more capable to have a profound impact on the performance of the infrastructure. Where historically these systems were subservient to the bricks, beams, and concrete they were housed in; it now seems they are being elevated in importance. The intelligent systems have now the ability to make our infrastructure come to life - and provide greater value to those that depend on it.

The great enabler of this shift is the world of information and communications technology (ICT), and more specifically the Internet and IP networks. Networks become the new addition to the DNA of our infrastructure. We have seen already numerous examples where connected and smarter infrastructure has the ability to positively impact economic, social, and environmental sustainability. My blogs have covered several of these examples, and please keep reading them as there are more to come.

The trend of smarter and more connected infrastructure is unstoppable as every sensor, device, system (and user) will become a node on the Internet and its worldwide networks. We [as in leaders in the construction, design, development, ICT industries, and many other stakeholders] have now the stewardship to channel this transformation into a direction that is repeatable and sustainable. Together we have the ability to (re)build the fabric of our communities through the intelligent use of technology and innovation. As we see this technology and innovation converge with bricks and mortar, we will end up with infrastructure that meets our, and our children’s, rapidly growing expectations in a resource constraint world.

At Cisco Plus in Canada on Wednesday May 16^th, a selected group of leaders in the infrastructure industry (architects, engineers, developers, builders) will gather to discuss the implications of “clicks and mortar”, and the opportunities it will provide to all that are interesting pursuing them. The future is here, let’s now optimize and monetize it, together.

When you are visiting Cisco Plus, please attend also the Business Session “Managing Unprecedented Change with Business Transformation” by Sandy Hogan (Cisco Vice President of Americas Business Transformation) on Wednesday May 16^th at 11am EST.

The facts on the usage and growth of social media continues to amaze me. The latest I heard was that almost 900 million people have registered accounts on Facebook (launched in 2004) and that more than 30 billion pieces of content are shared on the social network site each month. Twitter (2006) sees its membership grow by more than 1 million every day, and there are already half a billion people using the site generating nearly 200 million tweets daily, producing more than 8 Terabyte data every day (and consider that each tweet is only up to 140 characters). One hour of video is uploaded to Youtube (2005) each second. And when I write this, I am sure these facts already are obsolete. That’s Big Data, right there.

These are just a few great examples of how the consumer is driving tremendous transformation of the Internet and the networked world we live in (the consumerization of the Internet). Add in the third Internet evolution: it’s industrialization and the birth of “the Internet of Things”. It’s not just people anymore that instigate the tremendous traffic and transactions on the Internet. The IP enablement of systems and devices have extended the nodes in our networked world. More “Things” use the infrastructure to communicate—in addition to phones, tablets and computers, we see sensors, meters, power stations, street lights, busses and cars, home automation, media, gaming, signage, health systems, and many more devices in manufacturing, retail, security (and so forth) all become part of the fabric that makes the foundation of our smart and connected world.

In the next years, more than 15 billion devices will communicate over networks and the Internet—and some ICT executives predict the number will exceed 50 billion by 2020. The subsequent data volume, according to McKinsey Global Institute, is expected to grow 40% annually and will increase 44 times between now and 2020; surpassing 1 Zettabyte in U.S. Internet traffic annually by 2015 (50 times that of 2007, and roughly equivalent to 50 million Libraries of Congress).

Like cars on roads and water through pipes, all this data has to flow uninterruptedly and securely through a resilient infrastructure. The need for IP networks (and broadband) is exponentially growing and our latest generations expect full (and affordable) access to it. The enabled communication between people and people, people and machines, and between machines and machines already is providing unprecedented ways for increased productivity and value creation. Now, let’s take it further: add to all this data and constant flow of transactions the notion of intelligence and analytics. Let’s leverage the power of smarts to even further drive value back into the community, to its users, and every device and process that is reliant on it. Big Data will become rapidly Bigger as intelligence is added to it through advanced analytics and computing.

Companies in the telecom industry work frantically around the world to keep up with the rapidly growing demand. Faster hardware needs to replace the still young yet already outdated infrastructure in our existing communities. It’ll be a refresh cycle that may never finish nor slow down. Here is where new communities can substantially benefit.

New communities (like Rampart Avenir Communities) have the opportunity to lay the foundation for 1 Gb or even 10 Gb to the edge of the Internet fabric (in our homes, to our modes of transportation, and simply to every connected device). Sure, today this seems excessive, but the capital cost to do it right upfront will dwarf to the cost to upgrade later (as in a few years from now). With everything connected from inception; speaking native IP languages; where oversight and management is provided by integrated operation centers; where compute power is everywhere (cloud and fog computing); and where open access is available to everyone that wants to and can benefit from it—we truly can set the new standard as to how we can further enhance and transform environmental, economic, and social sustainability in an increasingly competitive and flatter world.

The opportunities are endless. Interesting stuff. Let’s talk more about this at the “Analytics, Big Data, and the Cloud” conference in Edmonton this week. It’s not too late to register.

There has been a lot of activity today on vacant land near the city centre of Edmonton. Public and private sector officials, citizens and press gathered in a make-shift tent to witness the groundbreaking of the Boyle Renaissance project. The crowd included renowned guests like the Mayor of Edmonton Stephen Mandel, TV personality Mike Holmes and officials at the Métis Capital Housing Corporation.

The groundbreaking was for a 90-unit residential project that will provide senior-friendly and barrier-free housing for Métis seniors and the disabled. The project is being spearheaded by Mike Holmes’ team, The Holmes Group, and his partners, and will result in an excellent facility that combines the highest quality of design, construction, energy sustainability and innovation.

Two partners joining Mike at the event were Enmax and Cisco Canada. Enmax Energy will provide the necessary infrastructure for district energy and combined heat and power, giving the building an advanced heating and power system that will use cleaner burning natural gas and meet the highest standards of building energy efficiency.

We at Cisco Canada will provide the network infrastructure that will form the “backbone” of the facility. The building will demonstrate the latest capabilities in systems convergence and provide for an intelligent, and connected, future-enabled environment. Over the top of this centralized IP infrastructure, the Boyle Renaissance will include Cisco’s Smart + Connected Communities (S+CC) Control4 Connected Home solution to deliver user friendly capabilities for the future residents of the building.

In the tent that has been put together for the groundbreaking ceremony, we are demonstrating the possibilities and capabilities of the Connected Home solution. The ability to completely control the home and advanced home applications from a single touch pad interface including turning off lights, lowering blinds adjusting room temperatures and changing channels on the TV– was proudly demonstrated by one of the Métis members.

The technology that will be implemented in the Boyle Renaissance project will provide cutting-edge and user-friendly features and functionalities that will enhance the quality of living for the project’s residents; and will make moving around a lot more effortless.

The success of this highly anticipated project (mind you, the first shovel only went into the ground today) is expected to become the model for future construction within the Métis portfolio and the City of Edmonton. I trust it will also spill over in the rest of Alberta and Canada at large.

We are all hopeful that together, we are re-calibrating the standards for 21st Century building development. Cisco Canada and The Holmes Group will continue to partner to push the envelope and move the ancient-old design and construction industry onto new, greener pastures with the latest and greatest innovation in design, construction and technology.

For more on today’s groundbreaking, please read the press release.

This year, the impressive collection of Canada’s top 100 infrastructure projects total an astounding $ 114 billion investment (18% more than last year !). Only five years ago, a list as impressive as this one would have gone unnoticed by companies in the IT industry. Our industry would have simply dismissed it as just concrete, big cranes, and increased traffic congestion.

On the flip side, the companies that are involved in the large projects would have not given IT much thought either. Traditionally, the IT components in construction would have been as low as 0.25% (civil) to as high as 3% (commercial) – probably not more than $ 400 million of the $ 114 billion investment. IT would have been a rounding error and afterthought.

Times have changed. IT is increasingly becoming required and even mission critical for the development of future infrastructure projects. The driving force will come from a need for connectivity; connected lighting controls and HVAC in buildings; transportation systems (e.g. automated toll systems); sensors; wireless devices in vehicles and on persons, and so forth. Everything is becoming connected and interdependent. The underlying networks will need to be build or updated to support the massive increase of traffic (bits and bytes) and activity (transactions).

Additionally, the required compute power for the “analytics” that is giving us the ability to optimize the performance of our infrastructure (utilization, economics, energy) is calling for data centers and the secure availability of the cloud.

Not long from now, I suspect that we will find some of the largest IT infrastructure projects rank in the top 100 as provinces, municipalities, and businesses will need to develop this mission critical infrastructure. IT will be more than a rounding error, and become like concrete as the foundation for a smart and connected world.

Contributed by Ron Gordon, Business Development Manager, Cisco Canada
rongordo@cisco.com

Effective January 1^st, 2012, the Ontario Building Code (OBC) incorporates the ASHRAE 90.1 – 2010 Standards which include a stated goal of achieving a 30% energy savings when compared to the ASHRAE 90.1-2004 Standard.  By all accounts, this is an aggressive target.

While I am the furthest thing from an ASHRAE expert, I cannot help but notice the increased reliance on Controls and Sensors in order to optimize HVAC and Lighting energy usage to help achieve the 30% savings.  The utilization of Occupancy Sensors, Static Pressure Sensors, CO2 Sensors, Temperature Sensors and Daylight Harvesting Sensors provides key control data to ensure the Building Automation Systems (BAS) [for the purpose of this blog we refer to lighting, metering, and HVAC] operate at their peak efficiencies and consume less energy. This also translates into the need for the BAS systems to be more integrated than ever before.

What if all the information and data acquired from a plethora of sensors and systems was served up for all the BAS systems to share, access and utilize.  Do away with duplication and traditionally closed disparate networks and implement a single, secure, converged network for all to use.  The ideal situation would be to incorporate all sensors onto the same network and provide open access to the information they provide.  To do this, the BAS systems would have to move away from their proprietary closed architectures to something more open and share common data and controls between them.

Take this to the next logical step and provide a common dashboard which gives real-time performance metrics and the ability to control the various BAS systems in unison.  Turn down lighting and HVAC systems in unoccupied areas and provide environmental conditioning on an as required basis similar to the way new inventory systems utilize “just in time” delivery controls.  This is a Smart + Connected Real Estate.

These steps will not only help meet the ASHRAE 90.1 – 2010 Standards, but also lay a solid foundation to meet new ASHRAE standards as they are designed and implemented.  After all, standards are constantly being updated with new targets and goals and any architecture which future proofs a building, enabling it to adopt new technologies to optimize performance is positive.

In summary and simple terms: future-enable your buildings, and be ready for ASHRAE 90.1 and new building codes with convergence of building systems on one IP network.

For the past three years Cisco has been a supporter of the Urban Land Institute (ULI) and has actively participated in most of their National events and forums. ULI’s latest Fall Meeting and Urban Land Expo with more than 6,000 attendees, just came to a close last week in Los Angeles and Cisco joined as Sustaining Member and Anniversary Sponsor. The meetings were as inspiring as they were sobering. Clearly, the U.S. real estate market is leading and responding to the economic anguish. There is very little new development happening and (growing) vacancies taint the existing real estate portfolios and market atmosphere.

Top of mind for the leading real estate professionals were the economic uncertainties in the U.S. and abroad (especially in Europe led by the Greece situation); the continuing  trouble in the housing market; the political instability (in the U.S. and around the world); and the perceived pressure to pay more attention to environmental issues like energy savings and carbon reductions. In these times of ambiguity, real estate owners have become more forceful and resourceful in providing features and functionalities that differentiate their properties over the very large existing (and mostly obsolete) building stock. Although the greening of buildings through LEED certification already was becoming widely accepted before the latest economic downturn, it seems that the pursuit of LEED accreditation is one of those factors that real estate owners and developers use to control the marketability and brand of their product. Many session presenters and panel members were flaunting the pursuit of LEED Gold or even Platinum certification: it appears to have become the new norm.

Here I was sitting with my Cisco hat on, becoming growingly surprised why nobody made any mention of ICT (Information and Communications Technology) as an enabler for their buildings to become leaner, greener, and meaner --- except for the few technology-focused breakout sessions, including the well attended opening session with Joe O’Connor (moderator, Cisco Smart + Connected Communities), Stan Gale (Gale International), Anil Menon (Cisco Smart + Connected Communities), Thomas Ike (Lutron Electronics), and Phil Williams (Webcor Builders).

Naturally, the omission of ICT from the real estate buzz did not come as a surprise to me. Compare it to asking the CEO of a leading financial institution or airliner what the top 5 issues are that are on her mind – it rarely is ICT. Considering we clearly have transitioned well into the “information age”, and are increasingly becoming part of a connected world (which nobody denies), it is rather disappointing that ICT does not often enough get called out as a leading enabler and solution (or even concern) for the challenges that we all face. And it certainly is not the lack of proof points by now, which demonstrate that the IT-enablement of buildings (Smart + Connected Real Estate) has a profound impact on the economic sustainability (reduced CAPEX, impact on OPEX, new business opportunities in real estate as we embrace the cloud for building analytics, for instance); environmental sustainability (energy measurement and visualization, energy and carbon reduction); and social sustainability (future-ready places to live, learn, work, and play; the marriage of virtual and physical in the design and planning of spaces and communities). – sorry for sounding like a broken record.

Yes, we can build (and renovate) buildings for less money up front, that cost less to operate, that virtually automatically optimize energy and carbon consumption, and provide innovative and dynamic environments for those that live, learn, and earn in them---with the use of existing information technologies (no more bleeding edge). I understand…it is a journey that we’re part of. Just like only three years ago I was questioned what Cisco was doing at the ULI; this year we seem to have become a household name and participant. I am not asked anymore why we are there…but am asked what we can do for them (the real estate world). We’re glad to be part of the journey. We are already looking forward to our participation at the 2012 ULI Real Estate Summit and the Spring Council Forum in May in Charlotte, North Carolina.

See you there. Hmmm…it’ll be a great opportunity to also check out Envision Charlotte.

We are walking into the Rêve, one of Tridel’s latest developments on King West in Toronto. This 14-storey residential building is one of the most advanced, enabled, and green communities in town.

As we walk in, we are greeted by the concierge that is not actually there. A high-definition Cisco TelePresence video solution beams the concierge in from some remote location. It’s as if she’s there and provides us directions as no in-person experience would have done any better. [Virtual Concierge]

On the 14^th floor, we enter the Eco-Suite. This sustainable home combines high quality design, environmental features, and the latest technologies in an effort to augment and improve the experience of condo living as we know it.

Where we once would expect light switches, we now find touch displays that control much more than light. For every room in the suite, we can control our lights, blinds, energy, TV and audio. It provides also the platform for accessing new web-based applications and value-added services. The same features and functionalities (and look and feel) are available on the TV screen, internet, and handheld devices.

Solar panels on the roof generate and augment power for the building, and many other environmental features such as green roofs, recycled building materials, and water-saving automatic faucets provide the ideal home for the environmentally conscious residents in the LEED-certified Rêve.

Surely, it is not about the technology or the panels on the roof, or even the TelePresence video solutions in the building.  All those are merely a means to an end: creating an environment (both physical and virtual) that becomes an extension and enabler for the rapidly changing expectations we have of life in an increasingly connected world.

We are looking for comfort, safety and security (both physical and virtual), health, flexibility and future-readiness, access to friends, family, and information, anytime and anywhere, and the ability to personalize everything around us as we see fit and when we see fit. We want to have all this while using as few resources as possible and leaving a smaller footprint in the world.

With the proliferation of connected devices (from tablets, smart phones, laptops, to the intelligence in our cars, and even our fridges and stoves) we can now surround ourselves ubiquitously with enabling technologies that provide the means to that end. Where typically this ability is limited to the devices that we carry; Tridel now made it integral part of the spaces that we live in.

Design, technology, the environment, innovation, and life… all becoming one.