Welcome to OSRAM's Digital Lighting Blog!

Smart connected lighting is here today, and it is here to stay. At times, choosing a smart lighting solution and understanding terminology, protocols, architectures and more may seem overwhelming. But you don’t have to do it all today. Think of it as a journey and not one big decision with one huge looming deadline. That is why we have launched this blog – to help you navigate through these changes.

Everything is Becoming Smart

Did you know that there will be 22.5 billion connected devices to the internet by 2021, up from 6.6 billion in 2016? (Source) Within that market, smart lighting is one of the most rapidly growing segments.  

New technology is revolutionizing the way we think about our environment. Consider this, the DOE report Energy Savings Forecast of Solid-State Lighting in General Illumination Applications forecasts LED lighting has the potential to reduce US energy consumption by 40% by 2030. At today’s energy prices, that is $30 billion of savings in 2030 alone.  

Source: U.S. Department of Energy 

Smart lighting enables more than basic illumination. Lighting can now be manipulated in each workspace to deliver new quality indoor experiences that increase productivity and improve health and wellness. Organizations are using the data collected from lighting control systems for space planning, merchandising, as well as a number of other amazing applications. 

Commercial Leasing Market Heats Up

At the same time, according to Deloitte, there are five disruptive trends shaking up the commercial real estate (CRE) market.  

1. Collaborative economy. Startups based on the sharing or collaborative economy, like Airbnb or WeWork, are disrupting the way organizations lease and use CRE. Companies face challenges from new competitors that are providing dynamically configurable spaces and flexible leases. Owners need to rethink their approach toward space design, lease administration, and lease duration.
2. Disintermediation of brokerage and leasing. Technological advancements are making CRE data more ubiquitous and transparent. These changes are enabling online leasing in a cost-effective, real-time manner and threatening the traditional brokerage model.
3. Competition for talent. Millennials’ preference for an open and flexible work culture is changing the employment marketplace and will result in significant competition for talent. There is likely to be greater demand for mixed-use developments as employees prefer to “live, work, and play” in proximity; office space usage will be redefined and even rationalized.
4. Last mile. Online retailing, on-demand manufacturing, and innovations in speed and mode of delivery (such as same-day delivery and e-lockers) are disrupting the retail and industrial markets. Demand for large retail and industrial spaces will contract, and there will be a blurring of lines between these two property types.
5. Future of mobility: Emergence of “pay-per-use” is beginning to challenge the model of personally owned vehicles. Along with this, the advent of self-driving vehicles will potentially transform the entire mobility ecosystem. Companies need to be more strategic in analyzing the impact of mobility patterns and options on their long-term revenue and profitability, exploring design changes to existing spaces, and revisiting tenant strategies.

The combination of the latest technological advancements, new competitive forces and shifting demographics is likely to affect your business in ways that five years ago were unimaginable. 

Who should follow this blog?

Our goal is to make this blog a resource for anyone involved in the development, management, or maintenance of commercial real estate including building owners, facility managers, lighting designers, architects, agent specifiers, building contractors, IT professionals, electrical contractors, and retail merchandisers.  

Welcome… we look forward to hearing from you.