As I move back into the buildings industry after many years focusing IT and IoT, I’ve been struck by what I can only describe as a weariness of those trying to disrupt.
When I ask those at the sharp end – those tasked every day with keeping buildings running and safe – why this is, the feedback is pretty universal. The common theme is ‘if only they could actually deliver’.
Whilst it’s not surprising that a new entrant would be cautious about building up expensive delivery resources across wide geographies, not doing so shows a fundamental misunderstanding of the buildings market – buildings are everywhere and most of them are not new. Being able to properly and reliably deliver change within buildings is hard and it requires a vast amount of experience, knowledge and technology access that has a legacy often spanning 30 or more years.
Why we are different
As the co-founder of learnd, this weariness genuinely plays on my mind. In order to be for us to be seen as different by our customers, it’s so important that we focus first and foremost on ensuring we can actually deliver. Our entire vision is built upon the concept of operational excellence – the belief that nobody is going to buy-in to new or innovative propositions if you don’t deliver the basics, which they rely on, brilliantly.
This leads me to consider whether we are really talking about disruption or about simply delivering exactly what customers need in a way (both from an operational standpoint and business model) that directly aligns to what they are doing as an organisation – be that providing office space, selling goods or making sick people better – and delivering it well?
It all sounds simple as a concept, but like most things, it’s harder in practice. As Iearnd sets out on its journey, we need to take bold steps to ensure we can actually deliver. We’ve already acquired two business that bring over 55 technical engineering resources and we will grow this – both organically and through acquisition.
As Iearnd sets out on its journey, we need to take bold steps to ensure we can actually deliver.
John Clifford, CEO & Co-founder
We must keep a laser focus on our customers’ organisational vision, bringing together all the components needed (either in-house or from our partners) to ensure their buildings support this. We are a technology-led integrator delivering Building Performance as a Service.
I could not be more excited to be starting this journey – not to disrupt, ‘Uberise’ or be the ‘AirBnB of the industry’ – but to simply enable our customers to get exactly what they want from their buildings, guaranteed.
Better Buildings. Guaranteed.
