Schindler announces the formation of BuildingMinds: The start-up aims to optimize the management and administration of real estate with a “Software as a Service” platform.
In partnership with Microsoft, BuildingMinds uses the Microsoft Azure and the Dynamics 365 Cloud platforms. Property owners are benefiting from Microsoft’s intelligent cloud and business applications, combined with Schindler’s expertise in providing global support to real estate clients.
Quick and effective service
BuildingMinds will provide a one-stop service platform for real estate management, changing the way buildings are managed. The start-up will develop a fully integrated, cross-product cloud solution that will provide building owners with greater visibility and operational efficiencies by enabling all properties and service providers to be networked and centrally managed.
BuildingMinds, headquartered in Berlin, the hotspot for start-ups in the building technology sector, will serve customers worldwide. By the end of the year, the BuildingMinds team will grow to more than 100 digitalization experts.
“Our partnership will drive innovation in the industry – with Schindler’s world-class expertise in building management combined with Microsoft’s powerful technology. BuildingMinds will help building owners across the globe with a variety of smart building solutions to tackle their multiple challenges, “said Jean-Philippe Courtois, executive vice president and president, Microsoft Global Sales, Marketing and Operations.
“Today, different, non-interconnected supplier applications are often used for the management and operation of real estate. As digitization progresses, real estate owners face the challenge of managing the data from their real estate portfolios across multiple applications, “says Jens Müller, BuildingMinds’ chief operating officer.
“The demand for data-based intelligent building management and the optimization of real estate assets is large and growing. Building on our industry knowledge and digitization expertise, BuildingMinds will continue to drive the industry forward, “said Silvio Napoli, Chairman of the Board of Schindler Group. “This closes a long-standing gap in emerging smart buildings. We are pleased to have a global leader such as Microsoft at our side in this significant task. ”
Smart-building is the future
Market research firm Orbis Research forecasts that the smart-building market will grow from around USD 8 billion in 2016 to around USD 58 billion in 2023. To capitalize on the opportunities of digitization, real estate companies are investing in new solutions that enable them to connect their properties with the ecosystems of their suppliers, service providers and their other assets. BuildingMinds and Microsoft are now pooling the resources needed to accelerate this change.
BuildingMinds is managed as an independent company of the Schindler Group. Schindler is the sole shareholder in the startup with funds of up to EUR 150 million. A quarter of these costs are expected in 2019.