How Non-Complex Software Solutions Can Achieve Optimal Sustainability in Hotels and Buildings
Complex hardware and software, although a necessity for some projects, has traditionally made maintenance, upgrades and strategic planning more difficult for executives and facility managers to navigate. While powerful, these infrastructure components need highly specialized teams in both IT, OT and even software development to address any acute issues or problems that may arise.
Non-complex solutions and infrastructure push past this barrier and make the process of maintenance, upgrades, and day-to-day system operations in buildings easier on all parties involved — especially in hotels. Digital solutions utilizing specialized technology like AI, digital twin modeling and more can pull data visualizations, automatically mark inefficient areas of the structure, and provide key insights into the infrastructure, which lowers costs and can be tackled by teams given training on the solution.
What exactly is a non-complex solution? Let’s explore the definition and highlight how it provides the productivity and efficiency necessary to optimally run a hotel today.
Non-Complex Solutions — Functionality, Use Case, and Compatibility
The best solutions for hotels and buildings go beyond easing the process of system operations. These solutions solve for the inherent, unavoidable issues that come with complex solutions. Complex solutions require intimate knowledge from multiple teams, like OT, IT, management and analytics teams, in order for productivity on a complex system to remain consistent; one moving piece in a complex system can change several others which requires careful involvement. Data retrieval, analysis, and decision-making all become drawn out processes because changes made to the solution are typically difficult to reverse and can impact other areas of the infrastructure, inherently reeling in multiple teams as a result.
These problems are non-existent in applicable, easy to use solutions — several teams, managers, and even the C-Suite can have constant visual and remote access into the inner-workings of the infrastructure through these solutions. Advanced technology allows backend processes to not only filter data so that the most important pieces are shown to operators, but it can also provide key recommendations to management and make decision making a streamlined process.
One important caveat businesses must consider in complex systems/solutions is the legacy hardware used by businesses; these systems struggle to remain supple during times when many important, time-sensitive decisions must be made at once. Flexibility is added to older systems and can provide both relief and efficiency to the infrastructure in need of digital agility when using a more compatible solution.
These solutions can achieve digital agility within systems because of their power to integrate multiple systems, establish communication channels between sections of the infrastructure, and natively support out-of-box, third party solutions with ease. These solutions can provide real-time control over a centralized platform, with algorithms handling automated functions like system alarming, data collection and space monitoring. This allows facility managers in buildings, like hotels, to simplify the administrative parts of their job to their most optimal point, which grants them additional time and attention to more important areas of concern. This can include things like HVAC upgrades for certain suites/rooms or time to focus on what the electrification process should look like for the hotel as the organization analyzes its energy profile and sustainability goals.
Sustainability and transformation initiatives in hotels are best driven by non-complex software
Non-complex software is both a part of and a driver of the digital transformation that enables organizations to align their buildings with sustainability and efficiency initiatives that may span several years or even decades. These aims will require regular check-ins with the performance of the building, its infrastructure, and potential add-ons that must be compatible with the current system in order to avoid wasteful spending and lost time.
Hotels specifically benefit from this approach — hotel managers need interfaces and solutions that are easy to use because it enables them to adhere to customer needs, building energy needs and more with speed and accuracy. A complex system requires hotel managers to call upon specialized OT teams or maintenance to address any particular problems with the building in a drawn-out process, even if the issue may be small. For example, if the hotel is dealing with a clogged filter in one area of the building, hotel managers can save time, energy and resources for everyone by quickly identifying the issue with easy-to-use software. This information can then be quickly shared in real-time with the team that can resolve it.
Additionally, in hotels, managers who are looking to digitally transform the hotel into a sustainable, smart space that can keep track of guest occupancy in common areas or boiler room energy usage, for example, will find difficulty installing the necessary solutions if their current systems run on complex, static networks. Non-complex solutions help hotel systems expand the current network with additional pieces of digital software that can provide more visibility into the necessary areas.
As buildings and hotel management pursue sustainability, productivity and efficiency goals for their infrastructure, keeping in mind the complexity of the system in need of attention or upgrades is a key priority. Whether the concern is emergency preparedness, system flexibility, system compatibility, or platform centralization, these compatible solutions make these processes easier to facilitate and complete. These enhancements make digital transformation more affordable, less time-consuming, and enable future transformations within the infrastructure — essential for any evolving initiatives within the organization.