A central focus at Realcomm IBcon in Savannah, Georgia, last week was artificial intelligence, but the smart building conference also looked at the management challenges of high-tech property amenities, how targeted HVAC interventions can yield big energy cost savings and how to ensure cloud-based technology platforms intended to improve facilities operations work as advertised.   

“The cloud is real and scary enough for them to try now, because they need AI,” said Etrit Demaj, co-founder of Kode Labs. “Surface level chat-bots are no longer enough. Attendees demand concrete operational AI use cases rather than standalone chatbots or marketing buzz.”

Collaboration and cohesiveness in systems was another focus — another way of saying facilities managers want to see technology that’s streamlined and integrates well with other technologies. For example, specification standards like Division 25, an industry-created framework to synchronize the tech standards that manufacturers and building operators use, are increasingly important as facility leaders look for building technologies that can work in concert with one another. 

Here’s a round-up of Facilities Dive’s coverage of the conference, which attracted thousands of building professionals over several days of programming.