It’s time property operations and FM leaders move away from legacy systems and embrace unified cloud-based O&M solutions for achieving exponential business growth and carbon efficiencies.

The real estate industry in Saudi Arabia is experiencing a significant boom, driven by infrastructure, housing, and entertainment projects such as Neom, Qiddiya, and the Red Sea Project. These ambitious developments have heralded an era of growth and innovation in the region. However, there is an urgent need to embrace modern technology to accelerate the business potential of the region and deliver a world-class experience for tenants and customers.

In this context, the Future-proof Roundtable hosted by Built Environment magazine, a bi-monthly publication of Media Fusion, and powered by Facilio, took place on June 13th at the Courtyard by Marriott, Riyadh. The Roundtable had 20 industry experts from Saudi Arabia’s leading businesses including real estate developers, FM service providers and consultants join in. The Roundtable consisted of two sessions, each addressing the pressing needs and challenges faced by the facility management and real estate operations industry today.

The Future of CaFM – Shift from legacy system challenges to embracing connected operations technology

In the first session moderated by David Carey, CEO and Founder of MET Consulting, the discussion revolved around the need for CaFM to evolve, challenges posed by legacy systems, the modern needs of organisations and emerging trends that are shaping the future of facilities management.

The participants identified the top objectives of FM service providers such as asset protection, efficient management of assets, and delivering increased ROI for clients. Priorities outlined included adhering to safety and compliance regulations, optimal use of resources, reduction in carbon footprint and delivery of superior customer experience.

“Our objectives have always been based on the triple bottom line which includes people, profit and environment,” said Sumith Sukumaran, Operations Manager of Quality FM. “As a company, we focus on these three elements to close the gaps and ensure our operations are environmentally sustainable.”

“The FM sector is moving toward digitalisation, so at present the challenge is to align their technology with client output,” said Mohammed Mousa, CEO at Zahran Operations & Maintenance. “With changing client expectations and market demands, the biggest challenge I see on the implementation front is that of aligning the technology with the output and expectations of our clients.”

Sukumaran highlighted that over the past few years many new service and business delivery modes have come into existence. There have also been stringent regulations coming into place in terms of health, safety and sustainability. The biggest challenge is to align with all these factors, provide a seamless end user experience, while also ensuring it makes financial sense.

Benjamin Weßendorf, Senior Director of Business Operations at Edgenta said, “While the industry moves towards rapidly changing technology and IoT, it needs to make financial sense for companies to be interested in implementing it.” He provided the example of sensor integration as a means to assist with the gathering of data for various purposes. Their aim was to move from reactive to proactive maintenance. But the challenge at present is investment, he stated.

There are plenty of technology solution options in the market, but the FM community needs to be wary of which they choose to implement. With time to value, interoperability and easeof-use being top priorities for FM managers, they are keenly evaluating new age cloud-based solutions which can meet these evolving priorities.

Vijayshankar Kavasseri, Operations Director at Musanadah said, “It’s important to keep things simple. End users should be able to use the technology to get a complete view of their building portfolio’s performance.”

The discussion moved to the participants talking about what barriers service providers are currently facing. Firstly, there is a need to build a culture within the company that can understand and embrace change. It is also important to have people who are familiar with this technology or are ready to be trained. Organisations need to invest in training so that teams are set up for success.

Mousa believed that creating an ecosystem was important. The CaFM systems at present may help with asset management and reactive maintenance, but they need to advance to be able to provide an ecosystem where different systems work together.

“A CaFM ecosystem where different stakeholders including the service provider, contractors, field teams, customers, and vendors all have control and access to real time information about the building portfolio has become a reality today. BIM as we know it today will completely change in the next few years,” said Sukumaran. He spoke about Facilio’s Connected CaFM system which they adopted at QFM, and how it ensured seamless delivery of services and offered plenty of scope for customisations. “Preventive maintenance, compliance and asset life optimisation have steadily improved since then. Staff efficiency has significantly increased, and we now have a happier workforce,” he added.

Malik Benameur, DESC Operations Manager at Dalkia said access to information and data is key. It's important to have a system that can help provide multi-stakeholder access and better visibility for the C-suite.

Technology as a Low-Effort Approach to Meet Sustainability Goals

Sustainability and Energy Management have taken center stage in building operations, with the imminent COP28 summit to be held in the UAE later this year. Facility management teams are under pressure to reduce their portfolio’s carbon footprint and achieve sustainability goals to align with Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030. But this can be a complex and time consuming process and organisations are turning to technology-driven solutions to minimise effort and create long-term value.

At the second session moderated by Swaliha Shanavas, Senior Editor, Media Fusion, experts examined barriers and roadblocks in their journey towards sustainability, the current green energy practices in place, and how connected technology can aid them in reaching their energy goals.

Many CRE operators still rely on outdated O&M systems. This lack of enterprise-wide digitisation in property operations hinders the industry's ability to fully harness the potential of modern technology to drive sustainable growth.

To remain competitive and future-proof their operations, real estate operators and FM service providers in the region must prioritise digitisation and embrace a unified platform-based approach to operations. Cutting-edge IoT-led technologies and AI-based solutions can revolutionise the way buildings are managed and operated, unlocking a new era of efficiency and sustainability, noted Sukumaran.

Predictive analytics and machine learning algorithms can identify patterns and trends in data. This enables them to predict and prevent equipment failures, optimise energy consumption, and improve overall sustainability. Preventive maintenance not only helps in reducing the environmental impact of buildings but also aligns with the global trend towards green buildings and sustainable practices.

At this point, there was also a cautionary note shared, where one of the experts mentioned how the Saudi market differs from others in some aspects - new technology is perceived to be complicated and expensive, and therefore acceptance takes time. Visibility of the return on investment and impact is needed for quicker adoption of these technologies. The right incentives will provide the impetus for organisations in Saudi Arabia to embrace change.

The participants of the roundtable agreed that there is a need to look at how other countries like Singapore have achieved their sustainability goals, and create benchmarks to do the same. With the current boom in the real estate sector in Saudi Arabia, it is essential to prioritise digitisation and adopt a holistic approach to property operations, leveraging cloud-based solutions to unlock new opportunities. With technology-led innovation in the real estate operations space, Saudi can stand out as a preferred destination for leading brands to work out from.