Meet the NEJAVI team - Matthew Smith
Updated: Apr 14, 2021
What is NEJAVI presence in APAC?
The NEJAVI presence has grown very quickly, already partnering with landlords, owners and systems integrators across universities, commercial buildings, shopping centres and retail portfolios.
Off the back of this, we are moving into larger scale industrial, logistics, defence and government owned and run asset portfolios.
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How does the APAC customer need differ?
The APAC customer needs have naturally been accelerated by COVID, with a strong focus on the wellness of assets, asset performance and technology that provides a tenant journey or user focus not just technology focussing on the physical assets.
The post pandemic investment boom is gaining momentum here in Australia, with some significant investment taking place as we speak. Therefore the APAC customer has to be fast moving, agile and prepared to embrace the change technology is propelling across the industry.
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What sold you on the NEJAVI acquisition proposition?
Having worked with the team on a number of projects as a partner prior, it was a very easy decision for me to join my networks in APAC with some of the worlds most knowledgable leaders within the IoT space.
NEJAVI had a ‘go to market’ approach that I really believed in. JD and the team were perfectly aligned on every level, making for a seamless transition from Giant Tech to NEJAVI.
We have since exploded into other areas with the technology partnerships NEJAVI has bought to my team and my partners here in APAC.
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What do you see as the biggest challenges in region?
Some of the biggest challenges I’ve found have revolved mostly around the education of the customer. With the fast pace prop tech hitting our shores, the biggest challenge is making sure the customer is getting the right guidance for their investment.
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What trends in IoT do you see?
The obvious and key trend I’ve seen personally is being able to access much better data and analytics. This is helping us work with clients within the region on making better informed decisions.
Another trend I am seeing in both the commercial sectors and residential sectors is the ability to utilise IoT and the predictive themes for maintenance. Predictive maintenance has existed prior, but with some smarter technologies and the ability to deep dive into buildings is allowing us to capture issues before they arise.
Other than that, we are all waiting to see how 5G aligns with the major carriers, the market and what sort of affect that has on the industry. We are all interested to see what ability it has to drive more data and what the future holds for that space.
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What is your biggest achievement outside of work?
My wife and my kids hands down, I pinch myself when I think about how lucky I am. A close second was being able to overcome the loss of my dad, my brother and then going on to being a full time carer for my mum, who also passed away. Somehow I went through all of this whilst working full time. Getting through that and being able to achieve success with my family and some amazing people around me will always be the next greatest achievement.
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Where would we find you outside of work?
Cafe, kitchen, beach with the kids or watching Old Brighton Football Club.
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What does your next 30, 60, 90 days have in store?
30 days - Celebrate my 40th birthday
60 days - Celebrate my wife’s 40th birthday
90 days - We will likely to expand our business with our existing partners into other areas of APAC, namely Japan and Singapore, so watch this space.
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5 words to describe NEJAVI
Knowledgeable, networked, resilient, inclusive, enjoyable