Panel Discussion 2: Partner Perspectives – Building Analytics Event London 25
The second panel at Bueno’s Building Analytics Event London 25 — Beyond Metering: Decarbonising Buildings at Scale with Analytics Partners Perspective — shifted the focus from ownership to implementation. This session explored how consultants, service providers, and technology partners are bridging the gap between ambition and delivery in smart building analytics.
Moderated by Holli Renton, Director at Ashdown Phillips & Partners, the discussion brought together a diverse panel of experts representing the engineering, advisory, and integration sides of the built environment:
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James Atkins, Managing Director, FPC Digital
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Oliver Light, Principal Director of Real Estate, Accenture
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Andries van der Walt, Head of Real Estate, Verco
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Michael Trousdell, Director, Sustainability & Technology, WSP
Together, they examined the reality of deploying smart analytics across complex portfolios — from data quality and system integration to upskilling teams and building the commercial case for scale.
From Vision to Deployment – Closing the Gap
Renton opened the Building Analytics Event London 25 session by acknowledging a shared industry frustration: while data and technology exist to optimise building performance, deployment still lags behind expectation.
“The technology works — but adoption is still uneven,” she noted. “We need to ask what’s blocking consistent rollout across portfolios.”
For James Atkins of FPC Digital, the issue isn’t demand but delivery. “There’s enthusiasm for analytics, but many clients underestimate the practical challenge of deployment,” he said. “Every building is different, every dataset is inconsistent, and integration can be messy.”
Atkins explained that scalable analytics depends on structured data and clear operational accountability. “If no one owns the data, no one owns the performance,” he said, highlighting the need for defined roles and aligned incentives between landlords, operators, and service partners.
The Human Factor – Changing the Culture of Maintenance
While technology is critical, the panel agreed that people and processes remain the biggest determinants of success.
Michael Trousdell from WSP emphasised that analytics adoption often fails when it’s viewed as an overlay rather than a cultural change. “You can’t bolt analytics onto a business and expect transformation,” he said. “You have to train engineers, shift workflows, and integrate insights into how people actually manage buildings.”
Trousdell shared how data-driven maintenance is changing the consultant–client relationship. “Analytics is moving us from reactive problem-solving to predictive strategy. It’s not about reporting faults — it’s about redesigning maintenance around insight.”
For Accenture’s Oliver Light, the conversation went beyond maintenance to change management. “The barrier isn’t technology, it’s trust,” he said. “Clients need confidence that data-driven decisions won’t compromise risk or comfort. That means transparency, consistency, and communication between every stakeholder.”
Data Quality and Interoperability – Building the Right Foundations
A recurring theme was data readiness — ensuring the inputs are accurate, accessible, and standardised before advanced analytics can add value.
Andries van der Walt from Verco stressed the importance of understanding data lineage. “We spend a lot of time just cleaning and validating information,” he said. “Without reliable data, even the smartest algorithms can’t deliver meaningful insight.”
Bueno’s platform was cited as an example of how interoperability can simplify the process. Partners noted the value of systems that can connect across multiple BMS types, meters, and IoT devices without vendor lock-in.
Light observed that clients are increasingly demanding open data ecosystems. “Interoperability used to be a nice-to-have; now it’s an expectation,” he said. “If data can’t flow between platforms, you limit scalability from day one.”
This cross-system capability, several speakers agreed, is what enables portfolio-wide optimisation rather than isolated building pilots.
The Partner Lens – Collaboration Over Competition
The Building Analytics Event London 25 Partners Perspective highlighted a new mindset emerging in the industry: genuine collaboration between technology providers, consultants, and service partners.
Atkins shared that Bueno’s partnership model with firms like FPC Digital allows specialists to combine technical analytics with on-the-ground maintenance knowledge. “It’s not about replacing service teams — it’s about equipping them,” he said. “Analytics gives technicians a head start. They can prioritise the right jobs before stepping foot on site.”
Trousdell added that analytics providers and consultants now act as translators between systems and people. “We sit between technology and human behaviour,” he said. “Our role is to make the data understandable and actionable — that’s where value is created.”
This theme — actionable analytics through partnership — was one of the strongest takeaways from the panel. The consensus was clear: collaboration, not competition, will define how quickly analytics scales across the UK’s commercial property sector.
Scaling Impact – From Single Buildings to Portfolios
The discussion moved naturally to scalability. How can proven analytics success stories translate from individual sites to entire portfolios?
Van der Walt explained that the key is demonstrating measurable ROI at the pilot stage. “When you can prove cost and carbon savings in one building, the investment case for ten more writes itself,” he said.
However, scaling requires standardised deployment processes and repeatable data models. “You can’t reinvent the wheel every time,” said Light. “That’s where shared data architectures and consistent naming conventions become critical.”
Atkins added that Bueno’s open integration framework enables consistent deployment across diverse building types. “From offices to mixed-use assets, we can map data at scale and apply analytics that reflect real-world conditions,” he said.
Renton summarised: “Scaling analytics is less about more software and more about alignment — aligning objectives, systems, and people.”
Beyond Decarbonisation – The Next Frontier
The panel agreed that decarbonisation remains the immediate driver, but the endgame is performance resilience — creating assets that are not just compliant, but competitive.
Trousdell predicted that analytics will soon integrate directly with corporate ESG reporting frameworks. “It’s becoming the evidential layer that connects daily operations with sustainability disclosure,” he said.
Light added that predictive analytics will play a key role in asset valuation and risk management. “Data on energy and maintenance performance will influence investment decisions,” he said. “It’s operational ESG in action.”
The panel also noted that as AI becomes more advanced, partners must ensure ethical and transparent use of data. “Automation doesn’t replace expertise,” said van der Walt. “It amplifies it — but only if we keep people in the loop.”
Key Takeaways – Turning Collaboration into Action
As the Building Analytics Event London 25 Partners Perspective drew to a close, the message was one of optimism and momentum.
Analytics is no longer an experimental technology — it’s a proven enabler of efficiency, compliance, and resilience. The challenge now is to turn that potential into consistent delivery.
The panelists agreed that the future of smart building analytics will be defined not by competition, but by collaboration and capability-sharing. When technology partners, consultants, and service providers align under a common purpose, the built environment can move faster towards decarbonisation — and achieve it at scale.
“Success isn’t just about data. It’s about the ecosystem around it — the people, partners, and culture that turn insights into outcomes.” Holli Renton
A huge thanks to our speakers:
Holli Renton
Director at Ashdown Phillips & Partners
Oliver Light
Principal Director of Real Estate, Accenture
Michael Trousdell
Director, Sustainability & Technology, WSP
James Atkins
Managing Director, FPC Digital
Andries van der Walt
Head of Real Estate, Verco
And thanks to our event partners:
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