IG Lebenszyklus Bau together with leading companies in the construction and real estate sector in Austria, has launched the start-up initiative “Digital Building Solutions” (DBS). Under the slogan “Digitise today’s building industry”, digital and disruptive technological solutions are being sought for the planning, construction, management and financing of buildings. Start-ups from across Europe have submitted their software and/or hardware solutions, as well as concepts relating to services. On 12 September 2017, 15 finalists will compete in a “Final Pitch” at the Gösserhalle in Vienna.
Further information and tickets for the event are available at http://www.ig-lebenszyklus.at/digital-building-solutions
The gala will be presented by Daniel Cronin, who is among other things a member of the board of AustrianStartups and is himself a passionate entrepreneur. The event will include exhibition stands, where in addition to the pitches numerous solutions and models for the digital construction sector will be presented. We are already excited about which innovations await us on 12 September and are looking forward to a constructive exchange of ideas and information.
From the 15 finalists competing in the “Final Pitch”, the winner of the first DBS award will be selected at the gala event on 12 September. At the Expo Real in Munich, the most important B2B real estate trade fair, the winner will have the opportunity to present their solution to an international audience. The dialogue will also be continued there on the platform of the REIN (Real Estate Innovation Network), which will be presenting a three-day forum and PropTech pitch at the Expo. The BUWOG Group will also be represented on the panel of judges by COO Herwig Teufelsdorfer.
Digitalisation of the real estate sector will continue to progress
The BUWOG Group is supporting the DBS initiative, as are the other major players in the industry. Above all this involves ongoing contact between the real estate sector and PropTech enterprises, but it also concerns innovations from entirely different areas which have an impact on construction and real estate business and/or can be adapted to the challenges of the sector.
Digital twin
A key focus area in the discussion about digitalisation of the real estate sector is the creation of a “digital twin” for a property from the outset of the planning stage. This means the generation of a digital reflection of all processes that exist in reality in the planning, construction, financing and management of buildings. BUWOG is already well under way in this respect in its new construction projects, with the assistance of BIM (Building Information Modelling) systems, and is currently further expanding digitalisation of the company, not only for new construction but also in the area of standing investment portfolio tenant support with the help of a Tenant App, the handover/takeover tool currently undergoing development and implementation of other mobile processes.
You can read about the fundamental approach of the BUWOG Group to Innovation & Digitalisation in an interview with COO Herwig Teufelsdorfer with the industry service provider ghezzo.at, in which he talks about avoiding media transfer issues, internal process optimisation and a corporate culture which also makes allowance for mistakes.
Herwig Teufelsdorfer is a member of the advisory council of the Austrian PropTech Initiative (apti), which has set itself the goal of securing the digital future of the Austrian real estate sector, both in the domestic market and the international competitive landscape.
Sustainable utilisation of the PropTech boom
PropTechs – companies involved in the digitalisation of real estate – have been hyped internationally for years. The phase is now beginning in which established real estate companies and PropTechs form links on a sustained basis and benefit from each other’s know-how.
At this year’s “immobilienmanagerAward”, the most important award in the real estate sector in Germany, where the BUWOG Group was nominated in the “Financing” area, there was a dedicated PropTech category for the first time. Ultimately, a solution for a digital key system, respectively an online entry management system, on an IoT basis was selected as “PropTech of 2017” in Germany. This high profile event has once again made a big contribution in Germany towards the networking of young tech companies with the well-established real estate sector.
The BUWOG Group hopes that the DBS award will provide similar impetus in Austria!
Foto Herwig Teufelsdorfer: © PHOTO SIMONIS
