Fujitsu wanted an outside view on an inside problem: how buildings are run.
Fujitsu's RunMyProcess unit met BIA at Smart City Hub events and joined as an ideation partner. Together we set up a startup partnering program: corporate and startups working on the same problem, in an agile, experimental way.
First, we defined the challenge with the BIA Challenge Definition Canvas, putting building users at the center. Then we interviewed more than 20 startups and shortlisted two co-creators, Comydo and LeafTech. Finally, the partners built the solution and its technical infrastructure together, with BIA facilitating throughout.
From canvas to cloud product
The result was RunMyBuilding: a cloud portal of customizable building-management services. It launched as an MVP with two services, energy management and access management.
Problem first. Startups second. Code third.
A yearly room for the city's hardest problems
For three years, Fujitsu and BIA ran an annual ideation workshop that brought corporate, city and startup leaders together on smart city challenges, from post-pandemic mobility to energy-efficient buildings. A half-day design-thinking sprint took each group from idea to prototype.
Vattenfall, IKEA, BVG, BSR, Deutsche Bahn, degewo, Lime, Technologie Stiftung Berlin and the City of Berlin all took part. More than 60 C-level leaders joined across the three years, with 100+ conversations with industry experts. BIA ran it end to end: content, speakers, stakeholders, follow-ups and introductions.
“The collaboration with BIA made it possible for us to set up an MVP in a very short period of time.”
Wolfgang Ries
Head of Global Marketing, Fujitsu RunMyProcess
What lasted
Three ideation workshops, two pilots and 30+ stakeholders activated. And relationships that kept producing work after the events ended.
“We generally need to become much faster and more assertive to save our future.”
Katrin Schleife
Business Consultant Smart City, Fujitsu
