Invite: The Buyer’s Guide to Controls Software [Marketplace #10]
Hey friends,
The software operating commercial buildings hasn't changed much since before I was born.
The first Building Automation Systems came about in the 1980s, with the ability to schedule equipment operation, create setpoints, and program sequences of operations. They could also store data (“trends”), display that data on a graphic, and alert operators to alarming readings (“alarms”).
It’s now almost 2024, and what are the main features of today’s BAS systems? Well… they haven’t changed much. It’s pretty much the same schedules, setpoints, sequences, trends, graphics, and alarms—they’re just delivered on a sexier device.
Software and internet technologies have accelerated while the BAS has basically stood still. A wide gap has grown between (1) what technology is capable of and (2) what the average building automation system (BAS) is capable of.
Simultaneously, building owners are demanding better performance out of building systems—a level of performance that’s extremely rare, perhaps impossible, with the old technology.
In the last few years, we've seen a proliferation of startups entering this category. We've seen "Building Operating Systems" and "digital twins" adding control as a capability of their software. We've seen acquisitions like JLLT buying Hank. We've seen RFPs for procuring “advanced supervisory control”, as we explored on our Live Broadcast with Monash University (members only).
So how are these new technologies improving on the old ways? How do these systems work? What do buyers need to know?
Join us as we discuss these questions on tomorrow’s monthly Buyer’s Guide webinar!
Here’s the agenda:
- Why supervisory control matters
- Technology overview
- All the different buzzwords
- Marketplace categories and their differences
- Top 3 buying considerations
- 3 slides each from 5 top vendors
- Q&A with top vendors
Until next week,
—James Dice, Founder and CEO, Nexus Labs
Hey friends,
The software operating commercial buildings hasn't changed much since before I was born.
The first Building Automation Systems came about in the 1980s, with the ability to schedule equipment operation, create setpoints, and program sequences of operations. They could also store data (“trends”), display that data on a graphic, and alert operators to alarming readings (“alarms”).
It’s now almost 2024, and what are the main features of today’s BAS systems? Well… they haven’t changed much. It’s pretty much the same schedules, setpoints, sequences, trends, graphics, and alarms—they’re just delivered on a sexier device.
Software and internet technologies have accelerated while the BAS has basically stood still. A wide gap has grown between (1) what technology is capable of and (2) what the average building automation system (BAS) is capable of.
Simultaneously, building owners are demanding better performance out of building systems—a level of performance that’s extremely rare, perhaps impossible, with the old technology.
In the last few years, we've seen a proliferation of startups entering this category. We've seen "Building Operating Systems" and "digital twins" adding control as a capability of their software. We've seen acquisitions like JLLT buying Hank. We've seen RFPs for procuring “advanced supervisory control”, as we explored on our Live Broadcast with Monash University (members only).
So how are these new technologies improving on the old ways? How do these systems work? What do buyers need to know?
Join us as we discuss these questions on tomorrow’s monthly Buyer’s Guide webinar!
Here’s the agenda:
- Why supervisory control matters
- Technology overview
- All the different buzzwords
- Marketplace categories and their differences
- Top 3 buying considerations
- 3 slides each from 5 top vendors
- Q&A with top vendors
Until next week,
—James Dice, Founder and CEO, Nexus Labs
This is a great piece!
I agree.