IBM partners with Sheltrex Developers to build smart affordable homes in Chennai

IBM announced a technology partnership with Sheltrex Developers to establish unified city operations to support a new smart housing development in the heart of Oragadam, the fastest growing suburb of Chennai. With most of the top automobile companies having set up operations in Oragadam, it is famously referred to as the Detroit of India.

Spread over 26.6 acres, Sheltrex’s Oragadam project, will build smart and cost effective homes targeted at people working in this industrial hub. The project is strategically located at the State Highway 57 (SH-57), which is just off Grand Southern Trunk (GST) Road in close vicinity to the Automotive Corridor of Southern India, Oragadam & Maraimalai Nagar.

Says Goutham Pulimi, CEO, Sheltrex Developers, “Technology should reach the end-user through an experience of convenience, good lifestyle and lower costs. The objective of the IBM partnership for Sheltrex is twofold, one to enrich the daily lives of the residents, and second, for better township management in the long term. The inculcation of innovative technology at our townships in Sheltrex-Karjat and Sheltrex-Oragadam is an extremely exciting development in the real estate industry. Every homeowner at Sheltrex should be able to control his home via technology and should feel safe and secure in the township,

As India moves into the next phase of urban makeover with the 100 smart cities proposed by the Government, it will be necessary to create well planned urban infrastructure. The new Indian cities would require smart living spaces wherein the private players could bring in significant contribution through technological innovations. Smarter homes being an integral part of smart cities will be key in projecting Indian cities on par with international standards. This need is especially true with respect to affordable homes, which contribute to over 95% of the total housing demand in India.

Sheltrex has been incubated by Brick Eagle, a financial services platform for the affordable housing industry. Brick Eagle controls over 1250 acres of land, under various stages of development, across greater Mumbai, Chennai, Mysore, Coimbatore and Pune. Brick Eagle also incubates companies that fill gaps in the affordable housing ecosystem. It has incubated 5 service providers and 4 other developers till date. Brick Eagle’s venture companies include Xeco, an affordable housing marketing company, KlickBrick, an affordable housing sales platform, Phalcomm, a customer and back-office management company, TPC, a project management company specializing in low cost construction and Renderlogy, an online home décor solutions company.

Rajesh Krishnan, Founder and CEO, Brick Eagle says, “In line with the Government’s vision of developing a 100 smart cities, Sheltrex is building smart affordable homes targeting the middle income segment. This partnership with IBM has the potential to change the way affordable housing development is looked upon in India”

IBM has provided the technology design to integrate multiple city agencies that will deliver a unified view into all city functions, helping all departments to better collaborate, share insights and information to improve the experience for its citizens. IBM will be advising across areas like township governance, public safety, utilities, transportation and community.

“We are glad to partner with Sheltrex Developers and take part in the journey of transforming India’s urban infrastructure to the 21st century. With deep industry expertise and an array of sophisticated technologies, we can collect and analyse real-time information on everything from transportation networks to the electricity grid. We are committed to bring the best of our smarter cities solutions to make Indian cities more efficient,” said Dr. Prashant Pradhan, Director, Smarter Planet Solutions, IBM India / South Asia.