Schindler has launched a new generation of building transit management called Schindler Port 4D. A smartphone app developed in-house is integrated into this latest version of its existing transit management solution.
According to a media release from the Ebikon company, Schindler Port 4D reduces the energy consumption of an elevator group by up to 40 percent. In addition, functions such as face recognition, robotics and digital entertainment can be integrated. For example, architects and planners can use hardware and software interfaces to regulate who has access to a building, when and where, or who is transported, and when digital entertainment is played.
“Buildings are built for people,” said Florian Troesch, who is responsible for transit management solutions. “With Schindler Port 4D, we are making buildings even more attractive, environmentally friendly and more easily accessible.”
In contrast to earlier, more linear revolutions, digital change is advancing exponentially. That means, you don’t notice anything for a long time, and suddenly the change is there. In contrast to the film, music or car industries, which were surprised by Netflix, Spotify or Tesla, this development should not be overslept. “And that is exactly why it is particularly worthwhile to invest in innovations and stay on the ball,” said Mario Facchinetti in his presentation at this year’s Swiss ImmoTable in the building arena in Volketswil, Switzerland. The name of his company PropTechMarket stands for technology-driven, new innovations (property technology), which are becoming increasingly important for the real estate industry.
Technologies should be used where they are superior to humans. Often enough, the change is creeping: “Ten years ago no taxi driver would have expected that a tech company from San Francisco called Uber could ever compete with him. Or to put it quite simply: Nothing remarkable happens for a long time, with many new companies putting themselves in a starting position, collecting data and experience, ”says Facchinetti. So far, no company has succeeded in turning the real estate industry upside down. However, many companies were working on this vision. Now it’s about building experiences faster than digital change advances.
New technologies are revolutionizing the market: “One can imagine that we will need different skills in the future than we do today,” says Facchinetti. “Many courses are hopelessly out of date. And soon the question arises as to whether it would be better to hire a graduate with a master’s degree or a lateral thinker with a lot of practical know-how. ” Investing in innovation gives you the time to react to new market conditions. There are currently around 7,000 new companies at work around the world who want to win part of the real estate pie. And in contrast to five years ago, these young savages are increasingly receiving risk capital from investors in order to gain a foothold in the industry with competitive prices.
So what are the areas of competence in which we should operate safely in the future? A lot can be subsumed under the term tech knowledge : The increasingly software-based solutions require, among other things, to deal with interface adaptation and web integration. Mastering programming languages could become an individual competitive advantage. No more targeted marketing campaigns without data analytics know-how. And it is certainly not wrong to deal with blockchain technology and terms like DeFi and NFT …
However, it is not just about technological knowledge itself, but also about the correct use of technology and the new digital possibilities. Cloud-based application programs and virtual team applications are springing up like mushrooms – without conscious effort and targeted handling, these helpers can quickly become time wasters and burnout accelerators. “Ordinary employees” will also have to deal more and more with the topic of cyber security.
Last but not least, a new understanding of leadership andcollaboration is also required. The often traditional hierarchical thinking in the group certainly does not have the potential of a modern leadership model. However, the pure startup peer-to-peer culture without procedural rules is not the golden way either. Above all, it requires mindfulness and participation, sensible autonomy and personal responsibility as well as a new culture of error. Plans and activities must be able to be adapted quickly and flexibly – from this point of view, agile methods are therefore a must in (project) management in the future.
With its construction project for the Rieter Campus, Rieter is committed to the Winterthur location and to Switzerland as a business location, according to a press release from the textile machine manufacturer. The foundation stone for the new customer and technology center as well as the administration building was laid on Wednesday. The company, which has been based in Winterthur for 225 years, is investing around 80 million francs in this
From 2024, the Rieter campus is to offer space for around 700 workplaces on a floor area of over 30,000 square meters. To this end, the company developed an open room concept with a specialist in office architecture. With heat generation via geothermal probes and a 1,300 square meter photovoltaic system, Rieter is relying on renewable energies. “The entrepreneurial focus on sustainable and energy-efficient solutions for yarn production is thus reflected in the overall concept of the campus,” CEO Norbert Klapper is quoted as saying.
In the course of its company history, Rieter has helped shape the city of Winterthur, said Chairman of the Board of Directors Bernhard Jucker. “Now, with the new campus, the foundation is being laid for the future as a leading technology company.”
In the first ten years of its existence until 2016, Betterhomes Switzerland brokered 10,000 properties. Now the brokerage company from Zurich, which is active in Switzerland, Germany and Austria, has cracked the 22,000 mark in Switzerland, informed Betterhomes in a message. This means that the number of referrals has more than doubled within five years.
The company attributes this success to its hybrid business model. “When it comes to real estate brokerage, we at Betterhomes have been a pioneer in combining state-of-the-art technology and local expertise,” CEO Cyrill Lanz is quoted in the press release. Specifically, the company uses self-developed software and an interest database as well as access to all relevant real estate portals. This is supplemented by a network of local brokerage firms.
In addition, Betterhomes does not charge a fixed price, but a success commission. Fixed-price models often contain hidden costs, explains Lanz. “Often, for example, visits are not included in these fixed prices and have to be paid for separately.” In addition, the company boss points out the function of technology as a supporting element. The focus of real estate brokerage by Betterhomes would continue to be “the human factor or sales competence”.
In the opinion of the Federal Council, Switzerland as a start-up location is generally well positioned. In some areas, however, there is still room for improvement. The Federal Departments of Economic Affairs, Education and Research and of Justice and Police are now to examine measures on behalf of the Federal Council with which the location could be further strengthened.
According to a communication , the Federal Council sees potential for improvement in the areas of technology transfer, internationalization, access to skilled workers and financing. He also emphasizes that “numerous states have launched extensive programs to support start-ups in recent years”. He therefore also wants to have the advantages and disadvantages of a Swiss innovation fund examined comprehensively. In particular, it should be made clear to what extent such a fund could expand the risk capital market in Switzerland and thus improve the growth opportunities of innovative companies.
There are several reasons why it is worthwhile for a company in the real estate business to embrace new technologies.
Attractiveness for employees: High potentials and well-trained employees want to work in companies that are agile and digital. In order to be able to keep up with the future “war for talents”, digital company DNA is almost a “hygiene factor”.
Creation of efficiency and transparency: With new solutions – for example in the field of artificial intelligence and data analytics – resources can be bundled correctly, investment decisions can be made well-founded, and rental and sales processes can be processed faster and more cost-effectively.
Minimizing risks: Through the targeted use of technologies, data can be generated, structured and analyzed in order to improve the basis for decision-making and thus minimize risks.
New options for monetization: Disruptive new technologies such as blockchain technology are “business enablers” and promote the development of new business models, ecosystems and collaborations.
Improvement of the user experience: New technologies such as virtual or augmented reality enable a completely new user experience. This type of convenience will become standard in the future and customers will probably no longer want to do without it.
You can find an overview of new technologies and PropTech solutions here: https://hubs.li/H0RQjYL0
The canton of Solothurn supports the SoTech Network project, the network and training platform for MINT professions. The project was developed by the location promotion agency, the Solothurn Chamber of Commerce and sovision espace Solothurn and will enter the test phase at the beginning of 2022. (see standortsolothurn.so.ch )
The corona pandemic has also posed challenges for the proptech industry, as a new report from Credit Suisse shows. Globally, for example, 25 percent less risk capital has flowed into such start-ups. However, the reluctance to invest has not left any major mark on the industry. Almost 80 percent of Proptechs were able to increase their number of employees in the past twelve months. Only 3 percent reported a decrease in the workforce. In addition, 87 percent expect a further increase in staff in the next twelve months.
Furthermore, only around 10 percent of proptechs suffered a setback in sales. In contrast, 80 percent were able to increase their sales during the Corona crisis. According to the report, the industry is aiming to double sales in 2021. In 2022 and 2023, too, higher sales growth is expected than in 2020.
Credit Suisse also looks at the Swiss proptech industry in the study. Accordingly, the number of proptechs active in Switzerland also increased last year. With over 320 companies, Switzerland has an extremely high density of proptechs in an international comparison, it is said.
However, the bank also points out that many proptechs with similar business models appear in the market. She assumes that not all companies will be able to position themselves successfully. Credit Suisse sees the quality of the management team and the scalability of the business model as the most important success factors of a Poptech.
According to the Gartner Hype Cycle, every new technology is initially subject to high or exaggerated expectations. After a “cycle of disappointment” follows a “phase of enlightenment”, from which solutions then arise at a realistically increasing level of productivity. Data science, robots and drones, virtual and augmented reality or artificial intelligence are just a few of these basic technologies. The blockchain is one of the last technological hype triggers. We will see promising developments and use cases in these areas over the next few years.
The challenge for a PropTech company is to develop a successful business model or product or service with the corresponding problem-solving potential and scalability from one of these basic technologies. In this context one often hears terms like SaaS or DSaaS. “Software as a Service” (SaaS) is a cloud service model in which applications and data are located in the cloud and thus on the PropTech provider's servers. With “Data Science as a Service” (DSaaS), the data supplied to the cloud is processed by the provider, analyzed using an algorithm and fed back to the customer as findings.
But this is only one side of the coin. The established companies in the real estate industry must also recognize the added value of these products and services and be prepared to pay for them. The driver for real estate entrepreneurs will certainly be the cost and efficiency side, but also or above all the needs of their customers. Anyone who aligns their business model to a megatrend – such as sustainability, big data or future work – is fundamentally not wrong here.
You can find out more about successful business models here: https://proptechmarket.net/loesungen
In the future, MLP Finanzberatung SE will work with the digital solutions for live analysis of the real estate market from PriceHubble . According to a media release, the Zurich technology company is providing MLP with its headquarters in Wiesloch near Heidelberg with the software and extensive real estate data integrated into the MLP website. PriceHubble builds digital products based on the analysis of large amounts of data and artificial intelligence, with which current market trends and the development of real estate can be observed.
"Our consultants can quickly and efficiently respond to the needs of their customers, assess the market value of a property for purchase or sale and, based on this, develop the best strategy for real estate investments," says Marc-Philipp Unger, Head of Financing at MLP and Executive Board member at the subsidiary Deutschland.Immobilien, quoted in the media release. Real estate investments are often the largest and most emotional asset in a private finance portfolio. Therefore, they should be carefully considered and based on reliable data.
According to the press release, existing customers who already own a property will soon receive regular evaluation dossiers for their investment. Following on from this, MLP employees can talk to their clients about investments or a sale. The program is also intended to be used in discussions with potential customers who are just thinking about buying or selling a property, financing or converting a residential property and who just want to find out more.
The term blockchain should be familiar by now. Most associate it with cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. That's right, where blockchain is just the technology and Bitcoin is a resulting application. Even if the technology may seem complicated, the Swiss blockchain expert Michael Trübestein is certain: “Blockchain technology is comparable to the beginning of the Internet. It won't go away anymore. At the moment it is just uncertain how it will develop. "
First you have to understand how a blockchain works: It consists of individual blocks – each of which stores data such as transactions. A blockchain works decentrally. In other words, anyone around the world can join a blockchain – virtually via a computer, of course. Every single computer stores all and exactly the same blocks that form a chain. Each block has its own «DNA». A new computer will only be admitted if it has been checked and verified by all other computers. Once programmed on a blockchain, it cannot be changed retrospectively by a single computer. For this, all computers would have to be involved – and that is exactly what makes the blockchain so secure. If a single computer tries to change the blockchain, the chain is immediately interrupted and the culprit is excluded.
"Hello World" in Baar is the first property in the world to be tokenized The possibilities of blockchain technology are enormous for the real estate industry, as Michael Trübestein says. He is professor for real estate management at the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences, with a focus on real estate investment and real estate asset management. Numerous companies are currently researching possible areas of application. “Currently there are only a few applications, such as in the land register or in the investment / financing area. The world's first tokenization of a property, the “Hello World” property in Baar, ”says Trübestein, is an outstanding example. 20 percent of “Hello World” (CHF 3 million) of the property value was tokenized by the Zug-based company “Blockimmo” and sold to four investors.
The company “Crowdlitoken” has also specialized in real estate: the start-up founded in 2018 sees itself as a digital real estate bond. «Investors can participate in selected Swiss real estate from 100 francs / euro. After the investment, our users can put together their own real estate portfolio by placing their purchased bonds (Crowdlitokens “CRTs”) individually on the various Crowdlitoken properties, ”says Domenic Kurt, CEO of Crowdlitoken, explaining the concept. By participating in the real estate, the investors generate returns of up to 7 percent per year. You can either have this paid out monthly to your bank account or receive it in CRTs.
Access to the financial market is being liberalized A bank does not have to be interposed for a digital bond, which is cheaper for the investor. Crowd litoken already has 630 investors with a volume of 18 million CRTs. The real estate portfolio is constantly being expanded. The Swiss professional footballer Diego Benaglio is one of the prominent users of Crowdlitoken. Kurt defines what distinguishes Crowdlitoken from other companies that also rely on blockchain technology: “There is no comparable competitor who enables investors to invest such a low amount as an entry point for a stake in several properties. Investors can access the portal from their smartphone, where they can manage their entire investment. "
It is clear to both Trübestein and Kurt that blockchain has disruptive potential. The CEO of Crowdlitoken says: “Banks are becoming obsolete for investment products like ours. New sales channels are emerging and access to the financial market is being liberalized. " On the one hand, the digitization of the capital market is inherently completely disruptive, as this leads to an opening of the market. «There are no entry barriers; Entry sums are reduced. " On the other hand, the digitization of securities is inherently disruptive: “This means that values are no longer transferred via third parties. With blockchain-based securities, it is possible to send values without duplicating them, ”explains Kurt.
Trübestein adds: “Some applications such as crypto currencies have already influenced the world and the way market participants think. Nobody knows how the applications will develop in the future, but the advantages are already clearly visible. " The prerequisites are also in place in Switzerland: "We have target-oriented framework conditions and innovative companies here," says Trübestein. Cooperation between companies is important when implementing innovations. This is what happened, for example, with the “Hello World” property – the transaction results from a collaboration between Block-immo, Elea Labs and Swiss Crypto Tokens.
Michael Trübestein Domenic Kurt
What is a token Domenic Kurt, Crowdlitoken: A digital asset (token) based on the blockchain. It is a digital representation of a security. It contains property rights to the bond as well as the right to returns and represents a repayment obligation.
What is blockchain? Michael Trübestein, Expert: A sequence (= chain) of information (= block). These are "time stamped" and are stored on several computers. This guarantees a high level of protection against forgery. There are also public and non-public systems. It can be used around the clock, seven days a week.
What can blockchain technology do better than a bank? Domenic Kurt, Crowdlitoken: With blockchain-based securities it is possible to send values without duplicating them. It replaces the book of creditors and ensures that processes are designed and implemented in a leaner, more cost-effective and efficient manner.
The city of Zug has introduced a new app called eZug, according to a media release . This is a digital platform for residents. They can use this to identify themselves to city authorities, request and receive official documents and keep them safe or forward them. This is currently possible, for example, for certificates of ability to act, identity cards, certificates of repute, certificates of residence or extracts from debt enforcement. Over time, new services should be added continuously. For example, a parent portal is to be integrated into the app by summer. There parents and teachers of the city schools should be able to communicate with each other.
“The launch of eZug shows that we are speeding up the implementation of our smart city strategy. With eZug we are laying an important foundation stone for other planned e-government applications, ”said Mayor Karl Kobelt in the message.
The core of the app is the eID + technology developed by Procivis AG in Zurich and successfully used by the Canton of Schaffhausen since 2018. Residents who already use the existing ZUGLOGIN infrastructure can have the information they have entered there transferred to the new app.
Blackstone Resources AG will receive equity capital of 30 million francs from Luxembourg- based GEM Global Yield LLC SCS . As the Zug-based battery manufacturer, owner of metal refineries and raw materials trader , announced that it has signed a three-year equity commitment with GEM.
This funding will accelerate Blackstone's development of a commercially printed battery for mass production, according to the media release. In addition, the holding company wants to acquire important systems and equipment and expand investments in battery metals.
"Blackstone represents the technology of the next generation of printed 3D batteries with solid-state electrolyte and their mass production," said CEO Ulrich Ernst. "This capital increase puts us on the way to realizing our vision of a leading battery producer in order to produce batteries with higher density." Their more environmentally friendly production should succeed at costs below the current market price.
As part of this agreement, Blackstone will issue 2.5 million bonds (warrants) with an exercise price of CHF 3.00. A capital increase will be carried out in due course.
Blackstone Resources invests in and claims to develop primarily mining projects with strong future potential that focus on battery metals. The company has taken strategic stakes in mining companies that ethically seek, develop and mine these battery metals in politically safe countries. In addition, it started trading in raw materials.
The young company emonitor , which is active in the field of real estate technology, has brought its melon rental software into a collaboration with Abacus , as stated in a message from emonitor. On behalf of the City of St.Gallen Pension Fund , melon has been connected to the AbaImmo property management software from Abacus. This now creates software for reporting in the area of apartment rentals.
On the one hand, software is available for a continuous letting process, from the first contact with a prospective tenant through to ancillary costs settlement. And on the other hand, thanks to the collaboration between emonitor from St.Gallen and Abacus Research from Wittenbach, reports can be created that provide real-time information on vacancies, for example.
The City of St.Gallen Pension Fund is currently in a digitization process and would like to be a pioneer in turning interested parties into tenants even more easily, as the message says. "We are pleased that together with emonitor and Abacus we can implement our ideas of future-oriented leasing and management," Gerardo Longo from the Pension Fund Stadt St.Gallen is quoted in the announcement. "In addition to creating an overall process, we also benefit from the simple acquisition of demand and analysis data, with the help of which we will, for example, be able to better plan our projects and avoid vacancies."
A team of researchers from the Eidgenössische Materialprüfungs- und Forschungsanstalt ( Empa ) has developed a new technology. This enables concrete to be produced and used more sustainably. For this purpose, the materials used in the manufacture of self-prestressed concrete elements are reduced.
With conventional prestressing, steel tendons are usually anchored on both sides of the concrete element, put under tension and then removed again. Because the steel is susceptible to rust, “the concrete layer around the prestressing steel must have a certain minimum thickness”, according to Empa in a press release . Researchers have therefore been working on replacing steel with carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) since the 1990s. However, this process is very expensive and also significantly more complicated than the prestressing process with steel.
Empa has now completely solved these problems. Thanks to her method, she can dispense with anchoring on the sides of the element. Instead, its recipe enables the concrete to expand as it cures. "As a result of this expansion, the concrete puts the CFRP rods inside under tension and thereby automatically pretensions them."
"Our technology opens up completely new possibilities in lightweight construction," said Mateusz Wyrzykowski, who heads the Empa team together with Giovanni Terrasi and Pietro Lura. "Not only can we build more stable, but we also need considerably less material."
The team recently received patents in Europe and the United States for its technology. It is now developing new applications together with industrial partner BASF.
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