As the Middle East’s digital transformation advances at an accelerated pace, smart buildings – which underpin the success of these initiatives by enabling seamless delivery of digital services – have become a focal point of investment. Globally, the market is projected to grow at a CAGR of 10.9 percent between 2021 to 2026, reaching USD121.6 billion. To support this momentum, AESG has worked to become one of the first firms in the Middle East with accredited professionals who can expertly guide developers, building owners, and facilities managers in achieving the prestigious WiredScore and SmartScore certifications.
These globally recognised certifications have been developed to create technologically advanced buildings with world-class, uninterrupted connectivity that helps advance functionalities such as collaborative working, health and well-being, safety, security, and sustainability, and supports the incorporation of future innovations. These benefits translate to the ability to attract and retain tenants and increase rental value, with studies showing that the WiredScore certification increases a property’s rental value by an average of 5 percent.
“Work and living spaces have fundamentally changed in recent decades and high-quality, uninterrupted connectivity is now as vital to occupants as running water. In fact, quality of digital connectivity places second only to location among the top criteria tenants look for when moving to a new office. Smart buildings are fundamentally shifting the real-estate market, forcing building owners and landlords to re-evaluate functionalities ranging from user productivity and well-being to environmental impact,” said Saeed Al Abbar, CEO at AESG. “These stakeholders must now recognise that advanced, sustainable digital infrastructure is the foundation of the ongoing revolution to make buildings smarter and thereby enable a more collaborative, innovative, and dynamic future.”
Two AESG professionals – Rohan Chandavarkar, Associate Digital Delivery and Mark Derbyshire, Commissioning Manager – have been comprehensively trained under the WiredScore and SmartScore accreditation programs. They will now work closely with AESG’s clients to understand, improve, and communicate the user functionalities and technological foundations of their buildings to deliver exceptional user experience, drive cost-efficiencies, meet high standards of sustainability and future-proof buildings.
AESG estimates the typical certification period for WiredScore and SmartScore to be between three to four weeks. Following certification, the firm, together with WiredScore, will help promote the building by defining a bespoke leasing and marketing strategy that includes information such as tenant engagement guides, building fact sheets, and building roadmaps that will help the client provide training to leasing teams, brokers, and project managers.
During this initial launch phase, AESG will primarily target commercial buildings – both existing and in development – in the UAE. Building on this success, the firm intends to subsequently expand the offering to the rest of the GCC, United Kingdom and Singapore in due course.
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