scholarly journals Platform-Based Business Models: Insights from an Emerging Ai-Enabled Smart Building Ecosystem

Electronics ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (10) ◽  
pp. 1150
Author(s):  
Xu ◽  
Ahokangas ◽  
Turunen ◽  
Mäntymäki ◽  
Heikkilä

Artificial intelligence (AI) is emerging to become a highly potential enabling technology for smart buildings. However, the development of AI applications quite often follows a traditional, closed, and product-oriented approach. This study aims to introduce the platform model and ecosystem thinking to the development of AI-enabled smart buildings. The study identifies the needs for a user-oriented digital service ecosystem and business model in the smart building sector in Finland, which aimed to facilitate the launch of scalable businesses and an experiential and dynamic business ecosystem. A multi-method, interpretive case study was applied in the focal ecosystem, with the leading real estate and facility management operators in Northern Europe as part of a Finnish national innovation project. Our results propose an extended comprehensive framework of the 5C ecosystemic model (Connection, Content, Computation, Context, and Commerce) and the possible paths of ecosystem players in the domain of smart building and smart built environment, both theoretically and empirically. The platform-oriented business models are missing, yet desired, by the ecosystem actors. The value chain and ecosystem platforms imply the quest for new (platform) models. Finally, our research discusses the need for new value-chain- and ecosystem-oriented AI development and big data platforms in the future.

2018 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 499-506
Author(s):  
Johan Simonsson ◽  
◽  
Mats Magnusson

Digitalization is frequently seen as an important source of service innovation, enabling new solutions where products and services are bundled into offerings. As the realization of such offerings frequently requires the inclusion of new technological components and implies changes to activities across the value chain, they often require collaboration with other companies. This article explores what challenges arise when different organizations collaborate in service innovation enabled by digitalization. This study investigates a joint project between three companies aiming to innovate, build, and verify a proof-of-concept for an automated return process at a European rental company in the construction industry. An explorative case study approach was selected, and data were collected through semi-structured interviews with key managers in the collaborating companies as well as through meetings and workshops during the innovation project. The empirical observations revealed four main challenges: (1) the formulation of shared and complementary innovation objectives, (2) the joint design of a new business model addressing both value creation and value appropriation, (3) the management of the collaborative project across organizational boundaries, and (4) the fruitful combining of multiple agile organizing approaches.


2021 ◽  
Vol 29 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Matteo Repetto ◽  
Domenico Striccoli ◽  
Giuseppe Piro ◽  
Alessandro Carrega ◽  
Gennaro Boggia ◽  
...  

AbstractToday, the digital economy is pushing new business models, based on the creation of value chains for data processing, through the interconnection of processes, products, services, software, and things across different domains and organizations. Despite the growing availability of communication infrastructures, computing paradigms, and software architectures that already effectively support the implementation of distributed multi-domain value chains, a comprehensive architecture is still missing that effectively fulfills all related security issues: mutual trustworthiness of entities in partially unknown topologies, identification and mitigation of advanced multi-vector threats, identity management and access control, management and propagation of sensitive data. In order to fill this gap, this work proposes a new methodological approach to design and implement heterogeneous security services for distributed systems that combine together digital resources and components from multiple domains. The framework is designed to support both existing and new security services, and focuses on three novel aspects: (i) full automation of the processes that manage the whole system, i.e., threat detection, collection of information and reaction to attacks and system anomalies; (ii) dynamic adaptation of operations and security tasks to newest attack patterns, and (iii) real-time adjustment of the level of detail of inspection and monitoring processes. The overall architecture as well as the functions and relationships of its logical components are described in detail, presenting also a concrete use case as an example of application of the proposed framework.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (15) ◽  
pp. 6810
Author(s):  
Corentin Coupry ◽  
Sylvain Noblecourt ◽  
Paul Richard ◽  
David Baudry ◽  
David Bigaud

In recent years, the use of digital twins (DT) to improve maintenance procedures has increased in various industrial sectors (e.g., manufacturing, energy industry, aerospace) but is more limited in the construction industry. However, the operation and maintenance (O&M) phase of a building’s life cycle is the most expensive. Smart buildings already use BIM (Building Information Modeling) for facility management, but they lack the predictive capabilities of DT. On the other hand, the use of extended reality (XR) technologies to improve maintenance operations has been a major topic of academic research in recent years, both through data display and remote collaboration. In this context, this paper focuses on reviewing projects using a combination of these technologies to improve maintenance operations in smart buildings. This review uses a combination of at least three of the terms “Digital Twin”, “Maintenance”, “BIM” and “Extended Reality”. Results show how a BIM can be used to create a DT and how this DT use combined with XR technologies can improve maintenance operations in a smart building. This paper also highlights the challenges for the correct implementation of a BIM-based DT combined with XR devices. An example of use is also proposed using a diagram of the possible interactions between the user, the DT and the application framework during maintenance operations.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nana O. Bonsu

AbstractThe UK Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution aims to ban petrol and diesel cars by 2030 and transition to electric vehicles (EVs). Current business models for EV ownership and the transition to net-net zero emissions are not working for households in the lowest income brackets. However, low-income communities bear the brunt of environmental and health illnesses from transport air pollution caused by those living in relatively more affluent areas. Importantly, achieving equitable EV ownership amongst low-and middle-income households and driving policy goals towards environmental injustice of air pollution and net-zero emissions would require responsible and circular business models. Such consumer-focused business models address an EV subscription via low-income household tax rebates, an EV battery value-chain circularity, locally-driven new battery technological development, including EV manufacturing tax rebates and socially innovative mechanisms. This brief communication emphasises that consumer-led business models following net-zero emission vehicles shift and decisions must ensure positive-sum outcomes. And must focus not only on profits and competitiveness but also on people, planet, prosperity and partnership co-benefits.


Facilities ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 33 (9/10) ◽  
pp. 553-572 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Arditi ◽  
Giulio Mangano ◽  
Alberto De Marco

Purpose – This study aims at capturing the perspectives of construction professionals into a classified taxonomy of the various characteristics of smart buildings and at developing an index able to define their level of smartness. Design/methodology/approach – A questionnaire survey has been administrated to construction professionals in the service of designers, constructors and owners. Results have been analyzed with the Kruskal–Wallis test and they have been used to develop a smartness index. Findings – Designers and owners are more focused on the energy issue than constructors. The energy captures the attention of practitioners with less years of experience, confirming that the awareness of the energy topic is rather recent. Originality/value – The main characteristics of smart buildings have been structured in domains and subdomains. Their importance has been rated by construction professional and a smartness index for smart building has been developed to provide with a convenient tool for evaluation and benchmarking.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 499
Author(s):  
Bob Doherty ◽  
Pichawadee Kittipanya-Ngam

This study contributes to the growing interest in hybrid organisations, sustainable business models and inclusive value chain development (IVCD). Recent work has identified that of some 570 million farmers in the world, more than 475 million farmers are smallholders in low-middle-income countries experiencing increasing food insecurity and rural poverty. Research argues that there is a lack of research that provides work on appropriate solutions for smallholders. This paper answers this call by a qualitative study of ten case studies, which draws on hybrid organising, sustainable business model and IVCD research to identify the novel business model characteristics that hybrid organisations use to create and manage more inclusive value chains for smallholders. These hybrid organisations are designed to create a value proposition that delivers sustainability upgrading for smallholders via both product, process and governance upgrades, empowers smallholders to achieve development goals and creates multiple value for social impact. We therefore identify the important characteristics of the hybrid business model to provide appropriate solutions for smallholders and overcome the challenges identified in the inclusive value chain development literature.


Water Policy ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 8 (6) ◽  
pp. 559-572 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charlotta Windahl

An increasing number of companies in the capital goods industry are turning towards new strategies where the focus is to add value for customers by providing integrated solutions (combining products and services), instead of selling components, spare parts and support services. These new strategies represent moves in the value chain and create a need for new business models as well as new competencies. In this paper, the fairly new concept of integrated solutions is explored in the context of a privatised industry. The findings are based on empirical case studies carried out at two companies supplying products and services to the UK wastewater industry. In the UK, both water companies and their suppliers are influenced by economic and environmental regulations, an increased focus on cost, and outsourcing. On one hand, the two manufacturers have increased their competence with respect to system integration and operational services – competencies for supplying integrated solutions. On the other hand, a fragmented and vertically structured market with a multitude of different actors increases the distance between the water companies and the manufacturers. In addition, the division of the industry into a capital and operational side complicates the coordination between new sales and services.


2018 ◽  
Vol 33 (6) ◽  
pp. 749-767 ◽  
Author(s):  
Seppo Leminen ◽  
Mervi Rajahonka ◽  
Mika Westerlund ◽  
Robert Wendelin

Purpose This study aims to understand their emergence and types of business models in the Internet of Things (IoT) ecosystems. Design/methodology/approach The paper builds upon a systematic literature review of IoT ecosystems and business models to construct a conceptual framework on IoT business models, and uses qualitative research methods to analyze seven industry cases. Findings The study identifies four types of IoT business models: value chain efficiency, industry collaboration, horizontal market and platform. Moreover, it discusses three evolutionary paths of new business model emergence: opening up the ecosystem for industry collaboration, replicating the solution in multiple services and return to closed ecosystem as technology matures. Research limitations/implications Identifying business models in rapidly evolving fields such as the IoT based on a small number of case studies may result in biased findings compared to large-scale surveys and globally distributed samples. However, it provides more thorough interpretations. Practical implications The study provides a framework for analyzing the types and emergence of IoT business models, and forwards the concept of “value design” as an ecosystem business model. Originality/value This paper identifies four archetypical IoT business models based on a novel framework that is independent of any specific industry, and argues that IoT business models follow an evolutionary path from closed to open, and reversely to closed ecosystems, and the value created in the networks of organizations and things will be shareable value rather than exchange value.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (22) ◽  
pp. 10517
Author(s):  
V. Sivasankarareddy ◽  
G. Sundari ◽  
Ch. Rami Reddy ◽  
Flah Aymen ◽  
Edson C. Bortoni

Presently, due to the establishment of a sensor network, residual buildings in urban areas are being converted into smart buildings. Many sensors are deployed in various buildings to perform different functions, such as water quality monitoring and temperature monitoring. However, the major concern faced in smart building Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) is energy depletion and security threats. Many researchers have attempted to solve these issues by various authors in different applications of WSNs. However, limited research has been conducted on smart buildings. Thus, the present research is focused on designing an energy-efficient and secure routing protocol for smart building WSNs. The process in the proposed framework is carried out in two stages. The first stage is the design of the optimal routing protocol based on the grid-clustering approach. In the grid-based model, a grid organizer was selected based on the sailfish optimization algorithm. Subsequently, a fuzzy expert system is used to select the relay node to reach the shortest path for data transmission. The second stage involves designing a trust model for secure data transmission using the two-fish algorithm. A simulation study of the proposed framework was conducted to evaluate its performance. Some metrics, such as the packet delivery ratio, end-end delay, and average residual energy, were calculated for the proposed model. The average residual energy for the proposed framework was 96%, which demonstrates the effectiveness of the proposed routing design.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-26
Author(s):  
Ang Yang ◽  
Mingzhe Han ◽  
Qingcheng Zeng ◽  
Yuhui Sun

The construction industry is undergoing a digital revolution due to the emergence of new technologies. A significant trend is that construction projects have been transformed and upgraded to the digital and smart mode in the whole life cycle. As a critical technology for the construction industry’s innovative development, building information modeling (BIM) is widely adopted in building design, construction, and operation. BIM has gained much interest in the research field of smart buildings in recent years. However, the dimensions of BIM and smart building applications have not been explored thoroughly so far. With an in-depth review of related journal articles published from 1996 to July 2020 on the BIM applications for smart buildings, this paper provides a comprehensive understanding and critical thinking about the nexus of BIM and smart buildings. This paper proposes a framework with three dimensions for the nexus of BIM application in smart buildings, including BIM attributes, project phases, and smart attributes. According to the three dimensions, this paper elaborates on (1) the advantages of BIM for achieving various smartness; (2) applications of BIM in multiple phases of smart buildings; and (3) smart building functions that be achieved with BIM. Based on the analysis of the literature in three dimensions, this paper presents the cross-analysis of the nexus of BIM and smart buildings. Lastly, this paper proposes the critical insights and implications about the research gaps and research trends: (1) enhancing the interoperability of BIM software; (2) further exploring the role of BIM in the operation and refurbishment phase of smart buildings; (3) paying attention to BIM technology in the field of transportation infrastructure; (4) clarifying the economic benefits of BIM projects; and (5) integrating BIM and other technologies.


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