When should you recommend newer technologies? The answer depends on a number of factors.   

First, let’s dispel a myth: Newer technologies (digital twins, analytics, etc.) do work and can be implemented cost-effectively on the “right” projects. 

Determining the right project is quite easy. First, you need to understand the culture and conditions of the facility operations team. This can be quantitatively determined by asking yourself a few questions: Does the customer have an existing facility management process and a ticketing and work order management process? Has the maintenance been done on schedule? Does the customer use technology and integrations in its daily facility processes? Is a modern (2015 or newer) BAS and a facility management process in place?  

These questions examine the existence of holistic processes and structures within a business. If they do not exist, the likelihood of a business effectively implementing, using, and maintaining technology is quite low. 

TICKETING AND WORK ORDER MANAGEMENT PROCESSES 

If there is no methodology for addressing trouble calls and work order tickets right now, then how will the facilities team implement and utilize the feedback loop required by advanced data driven technologies? 

MAINTAINING PROPER MAINTENANCE 

Are customers taking action on the data points captured by their existing processes? Determine the effectiveness of a maintenance process by looking at the percentage of work orders/maintenance tickets that are greater than 30 days old. If more than 20% of the work orders exceed this time frame, it is quite likely the organization does not effectively utilize its work order processes and programs. If the company cannot effectively manage their processes now, how will it deal with the influx of data from new technologies. It is true that newer technologies can help you find the root cause of an issue faster, but it is also true that these new technologies will introduce more data. 

TECHNOLOGY AND INTEGRATIONS 

Now, and only now that you have determined a customer’s operational state, it’s time to look at the current infrastructure. If the customer is using older technology (equipment older than 2015), they will most likely require an extensive upgrade. This becomes impractical in most cases, especially with the current state of the economy. You are better off providing consulting services around how to deal with current maintenance issues.