92% of commercial real estate (CRE) firms are now piloting artificial intelligence (AI). 5% say they have achieved what they set out to do (Source: JLL). Gaps like this have a history, and the Cisco smart buildings story is a good example of one. Between 2005 and 2012, the world’s largest networking company built a strategy, bought a company, shipped a product, and quietly withdrew, making very nearly every argument now being made for AI in buildings 17 years early, with vastly more money than any of today’s challengers. Understanding exactly what happened can tell you more about this market today than any vendor roadmap. The Cisco Smart Buildings Strategy Was Older Than the Deal The acquisition of Richards-Zeta Building Intelligence closed in January 2009. But the Cisco smart buildings push began 4 years before that. In 2005 the company published a white paper called Connected Real Estate, arguing that heating, ventilation and air conditioning […]