A key component of having economically sustainable digital infrastructure in apartment buildings is investing in wiring, according to Dan Myers, the president and founder of Dojo Network.
Myers shared his thoughts along with a panel of experts with property management and smart living technology backgrounds in October at the 2024 OPTECH Conference & Expo, in Maryland.
“There’s no such thing as a wireless network,” Myers said. “Everything is backed by wire, so you have to put in the right wiring throughout the entire facility.”
Cris Kimbrough, the chief strategy officer at SKBM Smart Technology, agreed.
Kimbrough, who moderated the discussion, said the wiring becomes part of your asset at a property, if it’s done correctly.
“It does have a value to it,” she said.
Kimbrough added that fiber is “probably the closest thing to future-proofing (that) we have.”
Jay Rawls, the senior director of operations and technology at Northwood Ravin, reminded property owners and management firms to consider their end goal when it comes to upgrades.
“Are we trying to automate more tasks? Are we trying to centralize?” he asked, adding that the structure of your digital ecosystem can change depending on the end goal at hand.
He said owner operators may take different approaches from merchant builders, stating that maybe merchant builders want an asset that is valuable enough to sell and little more.
“It’s not a one size fits all,” he said. “From an asset standpoint or a management standpoint, there’s a lot of things to consider.”
Myers added to that, saying the main question property managers should consider is: “can you put this infrastructure in once and use it for many things?”
Kimbrough said everything is connected in the digital ecosystem.
She said decisions should be tactical as well as strategic and reminded property managers to engage with stakeholders.
“Don’t create a solution looking for a problem,” she said.
