The Big 5 Hub speaks to Urbanise CEO, Ben Churchill.
Could you give our readers an overview of Urbanise and some of its aims in the Middle East? Urbanise has a long history in the Middle East, a region with some of the world’s most iconic buildings. The Urbanise Platform provides a range of integrated products specifically for large asset owners, managers and service providers in the residential property industry. Our aims in the region are to introduce our technology to both property managers and owners – enabling them to engage with residents, deliver efficient services and have clear visibility of activity in their portfolios.
How can Urbanise improve businesses and their FM processes in the region? Our technology seamlessly integrates customer engagement through to service delivery providing tools to automate, facilitate and enhance the customer journey.
What is different about Urbanise compared with other providers? The Urbanise Platform is unique in that it integrates property management and FM services with the Internet of Things (IoT) to rapidly commission and deploy sensors to any building. Our proprietary IoT Platform enables utility consumption, and building condition and performance, to be remotely monitored using existing sensors or Urbanise custom designed sensing solutions.
Have you won any recent contracts that you’d like to speak about? Urbanise technology is currently being rolled out to manage and maintain assets at Dubai Parks and Resorts (DPR) – the Middle East’s first year round entertainment and leisure destination. With over 25 million square feet under management, this exciting project will see Dubai Parks and Resorts use Urbanise’s e-services portal to offer a range of additional services to the theme park’s multiple tenants.
Which locations is Urbanise strongest in currently, and where do you see real potential to grow? Our coverage is very strong in Dubai and Abu Dhabi and we are now expanding the client base across the other Emirates. We are also experiencing encouraging growth in Kuwait, Qatar, KSA and Lebanon. In KSA in particular, we have identified a number of large opportunities for out solution.
What are some of the long-term plans for the business? To build scale with large property mangers and owners, allowing them to better engage with residents and be more efficient. We are taking this integrated model to a global market that is currently under-nourished from a technology perspective. The open architecture of our technology allows it to be deployed beyond our core vertical. To this end, we plan to open up our IoT Platform to allow connectivity to other platforms and facilitate its use in many other industries.
Is there anything else you’d like to add? Urbanise will soon launch a Global Partner Program through which technology consultancies and other similar businesses are able to be certified in the sale, design and implementation of Urbanise solutions. Our Partners will be able to implement turnkey Urbanise solutions and are actively looking for companies or individuals to specialise in different industry sectors with our support.
Ben Churchill, CEO, Urbanise
Ben Churchill Interview