International real estate group Lendlease and Google Cloud today announced a new global partnership aimed at transforming the construction and operation of buildings and cities around the world.
Working together, the two organisations say they will help promote safer, more sustainable, and efficient urbanisation projects globally.
To achieve this, the two companies are partnering in three key areas, the first of which will focus on advancing Lendlease’s existing IT strategy. Lendlease is currently well progressed into having eight on-premise data centres across four continents by 2022, with Google Cloud as its only cloud services provider.
With Google Cloud as the foundation for its digital transformation strategy, Lendlease will move to the cloud by migrating its mission-critical enterprise workloads, including its data-intense CAD platforms, in-house project excellence platform, Oli, and its Oracle-based eFinance system.
The intention is for Lendlease to increase its operational efficiency, and to improve decision making through enhanced reporting and analytics capabilities, and a stronger cybersecurity posture across the organisation.
The partnership between the two global companies will also help Lendlease integrate new artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), and smart data analytics capabilities from Google Cloud into its Podium building software platform. The Lendlease platform runs autonomous buildings and helps manage energy use, human needs, and resource management goals.
Podium relies exclusively on Google Cloud for its data storage, network, and computing needs, and firms use the platform to plan construction projects with accurate parts, pricing and supply. Under the new partnership, the two companies will collaborate on new Podium products and services to help improve quality and safety, as well as accelerate development pipelines.
Lastly, the strategic partnership will also see the two organisations co-innovating around new cloud-based offerings underpinned by Podium, and working together on new sales and channel opportunities to drive Podium and Google Cloud adoption among existing customers and prospects.
Lendlease Digital CEO Bill Ruh said the partnership meant more accurate build plans and fewer delays for projects.
“Remaking buildings is both the greatest need and the greatest opportunity in addressing our future. By using Podium to digitise supply chains, firms can plan construction projects with accurate parts, pricing and supply. This means fewer delays to projects, more precise build plans, and a reduction in cost estimate errors,” he said.
“This will also put important information about the lifecycle of building projects into the hands of employees at their work locations, including construction sites and within owned property assets.”
Google Cloud Vice President in Australia and New Zealand Alister Dias said Google Clouds offered the “cleanest cloud in the industry.”
“By running on the cleanest cloud in the industry, Lendlease will gain increased efficiency, lower its environmental footprint, and be able to offer its clients greater information about the lifecycle of building projects. Working together, we will also spearhead digital transformation across the global property and construction industry, and enable companies to drive towards a healthier, more sustainable future,” Mr Dias said.
Lendlease’s Podium is used globally to support key projects.
Using its Podium platform in Australia, Lendlease has collected over one billion data records across four property assets, which include the International Tower one in Barangaroo in Sydney as well as Melbourne Quarter.
Through the Australian pilot, the company has already achieved a 24 per cent reduction in electricity and 21 per cent reduction in gas, and have identified 171 new opportunities for operational improvement.
With the partnership between Lendlease and Google Cloud, the company will be able to accelerate and rapidly scale its secure building data across the entire portfolio of assets, improving decision making, sustainability outcomes and the wellness of people using our spaces.
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