Business Bureau, Gulf Today

The resurgence of the UAE’s real estate market continued in Q2 2021, with some segments seeing double-digit growth in sales prices ahead of Expo 2020 in Dubai.

Dubai is raring to welcome the world as the mega event will opens its doors to the public next month.

The Q2 2021 UAE Real Estate Report by property management experts Asteco revealed that villa rental and sales rates in Abu Dhabi and Dubai continued to surge, with sales prices in certain segments expanding by almost a quarter in the period under review.

The Middle Eastern real estate markets carry massive untapped potential to be better aligned with green and sustainability goals. Regional service providers, in the real estate sector, are adopting a “Brownfield” approach, to transform existing buildings, in addition to new developments. Simply replacing the entire hardware of existing buildings has huge financial implications. Yet the sector cannot continue with the status quo, in light of increasing regulatory push through initiatives like the UAE Energy Roadmap and the Green Riyadh program.

“Brownfield” advocates are now pushing the consensus on cost-effective, downtime-reducing, and hardware-agnostic solutions, which can bring digital parity between old buildings and new ones. An important new initiative, in this context, is the Netix Novus Partner program - brainchild of leading smart buildings and automation service provider, Netix Global. Its launch has been timed just before the Expo kicks off, to boost the competitiveness of the real estate sector, by leveraging the impact of the mega event.

“A useful analogy for the benefits of the Novus program, in the maintenance space, is the example of premium branded cars, which come with warranty and service contract for a limited period of time. After these arrangements expire, the owner goes to the service provider regularly for ongoing maintenance, often having to pay a premium cost. Due to high maintenance costs, the owner ends up selling the car, only to buy a new car with another binding service contract. The alternative to selling the first car would be to find a reputed, alternative service provider, who can continue offering routine maintenance services at minimum cost. Netix Novus provides this solution in the building automation space,” Sanjeevv Bhatia, Chairman of SB Group International and CEO of Netix Global BV.

The Netix Novus Partner Program was launched on September 1, during a conference hosted at the Burj Khalifa. The event saw both in-person and online attendance, from dignitaries across the real estate value chain, from more than 20 countries. The initiative aims to create an ecosystem of partners, to create a “Brownfield” revolution powered by open-protocol, plug-and-play solutions, for existing buildings.

This “Android building” approach has won the support of top industry leaders, who have come together as Platinum Partners of the Netix Novus program. These stalwarts include Sanjeevv Bhatia, Chairman of SB Group International and CEO of Netix Global BV; Priyesh Bhatia, General Manager of ODS Global, Ganesh Khanolkar, Managing Director of Exenture India & ODS India and DOS of Teknoware and Netix, Jehad Abu Shamiyeh, CEO of Electro Power Systems, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Vivek Wagh, Business Development Director, SB Group International, Oman, Africa & South East Asia, and Jagdish Rajan, CEO, Garnet Technologies, part of JBK Qatar.

The Novus Partner Program was inspired by the successful implementation of Netix’s solutions in projects handled by ODS Global, a Dubai-based company with strong connected buildings, smart cities, sustainability, and energy efficiency focus — and now the program’s first Platinum Partner. ODS has won the maintenance of the Building Management System (BMS) of 18 properties and 5 vertical communities by Emaar, across Downtown Dubai and Dubai Creek Harbour. Netix’s retrofit solutions enabled ODS Global to help Mazaya avoid replacing the entire system and save 75% of costs. Netix’s IoT and AI-based open protocol solutions also played a crucial role in ODS Global being awarded a three-year maintenance contract for the building automation systems of 24 DAMAC Properties towers, the upgrade and maintenance of 3 Mazaya Towers’ buildings, and system integration projects at the Jafza Convention Centre, the BVLGARI Resort in Jumeirah Bay, the Pullman Hotel, and the Emirates Airlines Staff Accommodation in Dubai.

 “We are excited to join forces and accelerate the revolution of the industry. Netix Global’s open-protocol, plug-and-play approach offers the perfect solution to the inflexible systems the building automation industry is struggling with currently. Netix’s ‘Android Building’ approach will empower continuous innovation and improvement, and transform the real estate landscape in the Kingdom,” said Jehad Abu Shamiyeh, CEO of Electro Power Systems, KSA.