KONE Corporation, press release, March 1, 2018
KONE, a global leader in the lift and escalator industry, is introducing a new digital platform and a renewed products and services portfolio. The digital platform uses state-of-the-art technologies and is open to third-party solutions. KONE can now create integrated and tailored solutions for its customers and personalised experiences for equipment users in a safe, secure and flexible manner.
KONE's digital platform connects people - customers, users and employees - to equipment and data, which transforms the people flow experience in buildings and cities.
"New technology is changing the way urban environments function and how people behave. Our surroundings are becoming more responsive. The speed of change, along with more interaction with technology, will only continue to accelerate. We have built our digital platform to anticipate these changes. From now on, our services will be even better tailored to customer needs. Our solutions will be connected to the environments in which they function, enabling a truly personalized people flow experience," says Tomio Pihkala, chief technology officer, KONE Corporation.
By using open application programming interfaces (APIs) KONE's approach makes it easy to manage different devices and integrate them with new and existing systems.
KONE has increased investments in new technologies and has broadened its digital capabilities. The company's latest product and service launches underline the importance of upgradeable and adaptable solutions which make buildings and urban environments more responsive to people and their surroundings.
Renewed products and services portfolio brings value to KONE's customers
KONE's core solutions - lifts, escalators, building doors, and maintenance and modernisation services - can now be connected and upgraded, which means they can be integrated with the digital platform.
"A great example of this is 24/7 Connected Services, which we launched a year ago. Using advanced IoT technologies we were able to bring intelligent services to elevators and escalators. The system enables vast amounts of data from elevator sensors to be monitored, analyzed and displayed in real-time, improving equipment performance, reliability and safety," explains Pihkala.
Advanced People Flow Solutions form the second layer of the portfolio. With new solutions and capabilities built on top of the digital platform, KONE is integrating equipment and devices to enable a seamless people flow experience from the front door to final destination.
"KONE Residential Flow, introduced in 2017, is an example of our Advanced People Flow Solutions. We have connected elevators, doors and information systems with our digital platform, where third parties can plug in their solutions. At the moment we are, for example, testing the cloud-based Amazon Alexa voice service, which allows residents to call an elevator from their apartment. With this, we want to offer our customers and their customers the best ways to make everyday life easier," says Pihkala.
The third layer of the new portfolio comprises People Flow Planning & Consulting services. Here, KONE is building on its established capabilities in gathering and analysing data on the traffic patterns within buildings. The detailed mapping and modeling of potential congested areas over the whole life cycle of a building minimises waiting times and makes buildings even more functional and adaptable to future traffic needs.
"Our strategy is winning with customers, and we will create our future innovations together with both them and our partners. Technology is a great enabler when it comes to fulfilling our customers' changing needs in digital urban environments," concludes Pihkala.
Read more:
Previous press releases are available at www.kone.com/press including:
September 25, 2017: KONE introduces new people flow solution, KONE Residential Flow, for intelligent and connected residential developments
February 8, 2017: KONE revolutionizes elevator maintenance with new customizable KONE Care(TM) service offering and 24/7 Connected Services
February 19, 2016: KONE joins forces with IBM for IoT cloud services and advanced analytics technologies
For further information, please contact:
Liisa Kivelä, Director, Communications, KONE Corporation, tel. +358 204 75 4330. media@kone.com
About KONE
At KONE, our mission is to improve the flow of urban life. As a global leader in the elevator and escalator industry, KONE provides elevators, escalators and automatic building doors, as well as solutions for maintenance and modernization to add value to buildings throughout their life cycle. Through more effective People Flow®, we make people's journeys safe, convenient and reliable, in taller, smarter buildings. In 2017, KONE had annual net sales of EUR 8.9 billion, and at the end of the year over 55,000 employees. KONE class B shares are listed on the Nasdaq Helsinki Ltd. in Finland.
www.kone.com