Smart buildings are no longer just about connected devices, sensors, and automation. The bigger opportunity is using workplace data to make buildings more efficient, more responsive, and better aligned to the people and businesses that depend on them.

The need is clear. Buildings accounted for about 28% of global energy consumption and 37% of global carbon dioxide emissions in 2024, according to a 2026 report from the UN Environment Programme. For businesses, workplace environments offer a practical place to reduce energy use, manage operating costs, and improve the experience of employees and visitors.

Achieving that requires more than isolated building upgrades. It requires connecting systems that have often operated in silos, understanding how spaces are actually used, and turning building data into better decisions about energy, real estate, and employee experience.

Turning building data into better decisions

Many building systems already generate useful data. Badge, HVAC, lighting, collaboration, and facilities systems may all capture useful information, but that data often lives in separate places, creating a fragmented view. A future-proof workplace starts by connecting those signals. Cisco technologies such as Cisco Spaces, Webex devices, Meraki cameras, and Power over Ethernet lighting and shading can help bring data together across workplace and building management platforms, creating a more complete and more accurate picture of how people are using a space.

That visibility matters because building usage is rarely uniform. Some areas may be heavily used while others sit empty for much of the day. Conference rooms may be booked but not occupied. Certain floors may need heating, cooling, or lighting at different levels based on real-time activity.

In other words, smart building data can help facilities and real estate teams make decisions based on how workplaces are actually used, not how they were planned on paper.

Smart building data in action

Cisco works with customers to connect networking, collaboration, and building systems, helping real estate and facilities teams use workplace data to improve efficiency, sustainability, and employee experience.

For example, Cisco worked with the U.S. General Services Administration on a Workplace Innovation Lab in Washington, D.C., testing a more modern workplace approach within a federal building environment. By renovating a portion of the space and comparing it to an unrenovated area, the project showed how workplace design and connected technology can support measurable efficiency gains. The organization reported that over one year, the renovated space was 73% more energy efficient than the unrenovated space and avoided five metric tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions.

Better workplaces, better outcomes

Smart building data can help organizations connect efficiency goals with a better workplace experience.

Energy use is one of the clearest opportunities. HVAC and lighting are typically among the largest sources of energy consumption in an office environment. With better visibility into occupancy and usage patterns, organizations can make more targeted decisions about when and where to use energy — instead of heating, cooling, or lighting spaces based only on fixed schedules or assumptions.

Those same insights can also support a better experience for employees and visitors. Data about room availability, occupancy, air quality, temperature, and noise levels can help people find spaces that fit the work they need to do, whether they are looking for a quiet area, a collaboration space, or a room with the right environmental conditions.

Cisco’s London office offers one example of how workplace technology can support a more inclusive environment. The space was designed with neuro-inclusivity in mind, including spatial organization, quieter and louder zones, wayfinding, lighting, furniture, air quality, and thermal comfort. Technology helps make those features more visible and usable, giving employees more ability to choose the environment that works best for them.

From measurement to action

Smart building technology can also support third-party certifications, including green building and wellness-focused standards, by helping teams capture and visualize data related to indoor air quality, temperature, humidity, and other building conditions. This also gives teams a clearer view of how buildings are performing, so they can identify opportunities to improve over time.

As more building data becomes connected, AI can add another layer. It can help teams identify patterns, surface issues, and recommend actions faster than manual analysis alone. For facilities and real estate teams, that could mean diagnosing why a conference room is too warm, understanding why a space is underused, or finding new ways to optimize energy use.

Smart buildings are not about technology for technology’s sake. They are about using data to future-proof workplaces; ultimately making them more efficient, more sustainable, and more responsive to the people who use them.