Article
11
min read
Ainsley Muller

How to Get the Most Out of NexusCon 2025

September 30, 2025

Building owners solving problems with their peers at round tables. Vendors showing real solution functionality to decision makers. Service providers sharing field-tested insights from multiple client implementations.This is NexusCon 2025.

600 building industry professionals gathering in Denver October 6-8 for education-focused sessions, peer-to-peer problem solving, and connections that drive better building performance.

If you're attending, you'll walk away with actionable strategies you can implement next week. If you're not, you'll wish you were—and you still can register. For those unable to make it, Nexus Pro members get the full video bundle from all sessions, with standalone purchase available after the conference.

"I'm so confident this conference delivers real value," explains Brad Bonavida, who leads conference planning at Nexus Labs. "It's going to be worth the investment for anyone considering a ticket. We're focused on real education, not promotional content, and connecting people to others who can genuinely help their business."

For Building Owners: Your Strategic Edge

Building owners get the most exclusive experience at NexusCon. Helping you accelerate your smart buildings programs is the priority, and the conference architecture reflects that.

Start with the PreCon. Only building owners can attend the closed-door PreCon session, where you'll engage with peers facing the same operational challenges without vendors in the room. This is where you can seek help from other building owners who've solved similar problems and learn from their real-world experience with budgets, ROI justifications, and implementation roadblocks.

Choose your track strategically. NexusCon 2025 will have 20 unique sessions featuring 76 incredible stories of technologies, strategies, and practices creating better commercial buildings. The three tracks—IT/OT, Energy Management, and Facility Management—are designed around your specific role and challenges. If you're unsure which individual sessions to attend, simply follow the track that best matches your job function.

The IT/OT track focuses on integrating, connecting, and securing building systems and devices. Whether you're tackling device connectivity, data integration, or cybersecurity challenges, sessions like "The Nerd's Toolbox: Hands-On, Open-Source Tools for Smarter OT Systems" provide practical strategies and technical insights from peers who've solved similar problems.

The Energy Management track addresses the biggest challenges building owners face: securing funding, communicating program progress, and driving the behavioral changes required to make energy projects work. One session, "Green Light: Navigating ROI, Risks, and Executive Approval in Smart Buildings," provides a practical roadmap for advancing energy and sustainability projects within large organizations.

The Facility Management track centers on making work better for the people who maintain and operate buildings. Sessions focus on providing tangible takeaways you can use immediately, including "Smarter Systems: Real-World Applications of AI in Building Operations," which examines how building owners and operators are putting artificial intelligence to work through conversational tools, predictive diagnostics, and user-centric building management systems.

Master the Marketplace. The vendor booths are thoughtfully integrated into the conference experience rather than relegated to a separate sales floor. This year's marketplace has been significantly enhanced with a much nicer room and substantially more space. More importantly, it's designed as the conference hub where food, beverages, and conversations naturally flow together.

Work the Marketplace strategically: identify 2-3 vendors in each category you're evaluating, schedule focused conversations during networking periods, and use the enhanced demo stage for live demonstrations. Completing our Tech Buyer’s Needs survey ensures we keep creating content that actually matters for your day-to-day challenges. Additionally, there's going to be people actually performing live demonstrations of their products during both Monday and Tuesday evening happy hours and between sessions.

Engage in the Smart Buyer Challenge. Building owners can participate in a gamified approach to vendor evaluation. "We've built a scorecard for building owners who want to make the most out of the conference," explains Bonavida. "One example is getting a vendor to admit that they're not good at something while you're talking to them about their offering." The scorecard winner gets a ski package to Colorado, but more importantly, you'll learn to ask better questions that reveal real solution capabilities and limitations.

For Returning Attendees: Build on Last Year's Foundation

You know the value of case studies and breakout discussions. This year, lean into the enhanced interactive elements that distinguish NexusCon from traditional panel-heavy conferences.

"We almost have no panels at NexusCon," Bonavida explains. "We do have a couple, but they're very constructive and strategic. Most sessions have no panels." Instead, you'll hear 3-5 focused presentations per session, followed by structured breakout discussions where you engage directly with peers at round tables.

Focus on the debates. New this year are formalized debates that surface the real trade-offs building owners face. In the IT/OT track for example, there's a session called "Data Layer Case Studies" where you'll hear from building owners who've implemented data layers in their buildings. Some constructed their own data layer, believing they could build the solution themselves using available tools. Others hired vendors who specialize in data layer implementation. The session will feature a structured debate: buying a data layer versus building one internally.

Use the enhanced conference app. This is a critical matchmaking device. You can use the wizard to figure out what you're interested in getting out of NexusCon, and the app is going to recommend people that you get in touch with. The app enables you to request meetings with specific attendees and coordinate networking during designated periods.

Participate in people's choice voting. NexusCon 2025 introduces people's choice voting for the best presentation. While you're there, you'll be able to cast one vote for which presentation delivers the most value. This creates accountability for presenters, and the best presentation wins a Nexie award while helping identify the most valuable content for future reference.

For Service Providers and Vendors: Earn Trust Through Transparency

The NexusCon environment creates conditions for honest dialogue that benefits everyone.

Share real field experiences. NexusCon sessions focus on what actually happened during implementations—both successes and challenges. Vendors participate by contributing lessons learned from real client projects, demonstrating how solutions perform in actual building environments, and discussing practical considerations that building owners need to understand.

Use the Demo Stage strategically. This year's demo stage features improved acoustics after feedback that last year's hallway location was hard to hear. Live demonstrations during evening happy hours give you the opportunity to show real solution functionality.

Participate authentically in breakout discussions. After hearing case study presentations, you'll engage with peers at round tables to discuss how to apply those insights to your own challenges. Building owners remember vendors who contribute genuinely to problem-solving discussions.

The Experience We're Creating: More Than Sessions

The conference design recognizes that the best conversations often happen between formal sessions, so NexusCon integrates networking and learning throughout the entire experience.

The hub concept works. The marketplace serves as the conference hub where food, beverages, and conversations flow together. Unlike conferences where networking happens in hallway corners, NexusCon centralizes community interaction in the space where vendors are also present.

Pods eliminate the lost feeling. Each new attendee gets assigned to a pod—a small group of 10-15 people led by someone from the Nexus community who knows the conference format. Pod leaders connect with their groups before the conference starts, giving first-time attendees immediate community connection and orientation.

Activities extend the conversation. The conference includes morning yoga at 7 AM, happy hours both Monday and Tuesday evenings, an after party Wednesday night at Happy Camper in downtown Denver, and a post-conference hike in the Flatirons mountains. These activities provide structured opportunities for relationship-building beyond the formal sessions.

For Everyone: Making the Most of Your Investment

If you're attending: Come prepared with your toughest building challenges. Review the agenda in the conference app, select your sessions, and RSVP in advance. Use the matchmaking features to identify key people you want to meet, and plan to stay through Wednesday's post-conference activities for maximum networking value.

If you're not attending: You can still benefit significantly. Nexus Pro members get access to recordings and detailed takeaways from sessions. The community will be active on social media throughout the event, sharing real-time insights and key quotes from presentations.

Next year's NexusCon will be even larger, so add it to your 2026 budget planning now. The format proves that building industry professionals prefer authentic, education-focused events over traditional sales-driven conferences.

Why It's Worth the Trip to Denver

NexusCon creates value through focused connections: building owners meet vendors with solutions that fit their specific needs, vendors connect with building owners ready to invest in improvements, and service providers share insights that benefit both sides.

The conference format prioritizes education and peer learning. Sessions feature building owners sharing real implementation stories, vendors demonstrating actual capabilities through live demos, and service providers offering field-tested strategies from their client work. The marketplace provides dedicated space for deeper vendor conversations outside the educational program.

You'll hear case studies from peers who've solved problems similar to yours, see technology demonstrations that show real functionality, and participate in discussions that help you apply insights to your specific building challenges.

Whether you attend in person or access the curated recordings as a Nexus Pro member, you'll gain peer-tested strategies you can implement immediately. The focus on practical takeaways and real-world applications means you leave with actionable next steps rather than just inspiration.

Ready to join 500 building industry professionals in Denver? Registration is open now. Follow the live coverage during the conference in next week’s “Live from NexusCon” article, and consider Nexus Pro membership for access to curated recordings and year-round community discussions.

‍

Sign Up for Access or Log In to Continue Viewing

Sign Up for Access or Log In to Continue Viewing

Building owners solving problems with their peers at round tables. Vendors showing real solution functionality to decision makers. Service providers sharing field-tested insights from multiple client implementations.This is NexusCon 2025.

600 building industry professionals gathering in Denver October 6-8 for education-focused sessions, peer-to-peer problem solving, and connections that drive better building performance.

If you're attending, you'll walk away with actionable strategies you can implement next week. If you're not, you'll wish you were—and you still can register. For those unable to make it, Nexus Pro members get the full video bundle from all sessions, with standalone purchase available after the conference.

"I'm so confident this conference delivers real value," explains Brad Bonavida, who leads conference planning at Nexus Labs. "It's going to be worth the investment for anyone considering a ticket. We're focused on real education, not promotional content, and connecting people to others who can genuinely help their business."

For Building Owners: Your Strategic Edge

Building owners get the most exclusive experience at NexusCon. Helping you accelerate your smart buildings programs is the priority, and the conference architecture reflects that.

Start with the PreCon. Only building owners can attend the closed-door PreCon session, where you'll engage with peers facing the same operational challenges without vendors in the room. This is where you can seek help from other building owners who've solved similar problems and learn from their real-world experience with budgets, ROI justifications, and implementation roadblocks.

Choose your track strategically. NexusCon 2025 will have 20 unique sessions featuring 76 incredible stories of technologies, strategies, and practices creating better commercial buildings. The three tracks—IT/OT, Energy Management, and Facility Management—are designed around your specific role and challenges. If you're unsure which individual sessions to attend, simply follow the track that best matches your job function.

The IT/OT track focuses on integrating, connecting, and securing building systems and devices. Whether you're tackling device connectivity, data integration, or cybersecurity challenges, sessions like "The Nerd's Toolbox: Hands-On, Open-Source Tools for Smarter OT Systems" provide practical strategies and technical insights from peers who've solved similar problems.

The Energy Management track addresses the biggest challenges building owners face: securing funding, communicating program progress, and driving the behavioral changes required to make energy projects work. One session, "Green Light: Navigating ROI, Risks, and Executive Approval in Smart Buildings," provides a practical roadmap for advancing energy and sustainability projects within large organizations.

The Facility Management track centers on making work better for the people who maintain and operate buildings. Sessions focus on providing tangible takeaways you can use immediately, including "Smarter Systems: Real-World Applications of AI in Building Operations," which examines how building owners and operators are putting artificial intelligence to work through conversational tools, predictive diagnostics, and user-centric building management systems.

Master the Marketplace. The vendor booths are thoughtfully integrated into the conference experience rather than relegated to a separate sales floor. This year's marketplace has been significantly enhanced with a much nicer room and substantially more space. More importantly, it's designed as the conference hub where food, beverages, and conversations naturally flow together.

Work the Marketplace strategically: identify 2-3 vendors in each category you're evaluating, schedule focused conversations during networking periods, and use the enhanced demo stage for live demonstrations. Completing our Tech Buyer’s Needs survey ensures we keep creating content that actually matters for your day-to-day challenges. Additionally, there's going to be people actually performing live demonstrations of their products during both Monday and Tuesday evening happy hours and between sessions.

Engage in the Smart Buyer Challenge. Building owners can participate in a gamified approach to vendor evaluation. "We've built a scorecard for building owners who want to make the most out of the conference," explains Bonavida. "One example is getting a vendor to admit that they're not good at something while you're talking to them about their offering." The scorecard winner gets a ski package to Colorado, but more importantly, you'll learn to ask better questions that reveal real solution capabilities and limitations.

For Returning Attendees: Build on Last Year's Foundation

You know the value of case studies and breakout discussions. This year, lean into the enhanced interactive elements that distinguish NexusCon from traditional panel-heavy conferences.

"We almost have no panels at NexusCon," Bonavida explains. "We do have a couple, but they're very constructive and strategic. Most sessions have no panels." Instead, you'll hear 3-5 focused presentations per session, followed by structured breakout discussions where you engage directly with peers at round tables.

Focus on the debates. New this year are formalized debates that surface the real trade-offs building owners face. In the IT/OT track for example, there's a session called "Data Layer Case Studies" where you'll hear from building owners who've implemented data layers in their buildings. Some constructed their own data layer, believing they could build the solution themselves using available tools. Others hired vendors who specialize in data layer implementation. The session will feature a structured debate: buying a data layer versus building one internally.

Use the enhanced conference app. This is a critical matchmaking device. You can use the wizard to figure out what you're interested in getting out of NexusCon, and the app is going to recommend people that you get in touch with. The app enables you to request meetings with specific attendees and coordinate networking during designated periods.

Participate in people's choice voting. NexusCon 2025 introduces people's choice voting for the best presentation. While you're there, you'll be able to cast one vote for which presentation delivers the most value. This creates accountability for presenters, and the best presentation wins a Nexie award while helping identify the most valuable content for future reference.

For Service Providers and Vendors: Earn Trust Through Transparency

The NexusCon environment creates conditions for honest dialogue that benefits everyone.

Share real field experiences. NexusCon sessions focus on what actually happened during implementations—both successes and challenges. Vendors participate by contributing lessons learned from real client projects, demonstrating how solutions perform in actual building environments, and discussing practical considerations that building owners need to understand.

Use the Demo Stage strategically. This year's demo stage features improved acoustics after feedback that last year's hallway location was hard to hear. Live demonstrations during evening happy hours give you the opportunity to show real solution functionality.

Participate authentically in breakout discussions. After hearing case study presentations, you'll engage with peers at round tables to discuss how to apply those insights to your own challenges. Building owners remember vendors who contribute genuinely to problem-solving discussions.

The Experience We're Creating: More Than Sessions

The conference design recognizes that the best conversations often happen between formal sessions, so NexusCon integrates networking and learning throughout the entire experience.

The hub concept works. The marketplace serves as the conference hub where food, beverages, and conversations flow together. Unlike conferences where networking happens in hallway corners, NexusCon centralizes community interaction in the space where vendors are also present.

Pods eliminate the lost feeling. Each new attendee gets assigned to a pod—a small group of 10-15 people led by someone from the Nexus community who knows the conference format. Pod leaders connect with their groups before the conference starts, giving first-time attendees immediate community connection and orientation.

Activities extend the conversation. The conference includes morning yoga at 7 AM, happy hours both Monday and Tuesday evenings, an after party Wednesday night at Happy Camper in downtown Denver, and a post-conference hike in the Flatirons mountains. These activities provide structured opportunities for relationship-building beyond the formal sessions.

For Everyone: Making the Most of Your Investment

If you're attending: Come prepared with your toughest building challenges. Review the agenda in the conference app, select your sessions, and RSVP in advance. Use the matchmaking features to identify key people you want to meet, and plan to stay through Wednesday's post-conference activities for maximum networking value.

If you're not attending: You can still benefit significantly. Nexus Pro members get access to recordings and detailed takeaways from sessions. The community will be active on social media throughout the event, sharing real-time insights and key quotes from presentations.

Next year's NexusCon will be even larger, so add it to your 2026 budget planning now. The format proves that building industry professionals prefer authentic, education-focused events over traditional sales-driven conferences.

Why It's Worth the Trip to Denver

NexusCon creates value through focused connections: building owners meet vendors with solutions that fit their specific needs, vendors connect with building owners ready to invest in improvements, and service providers share insights that benefit both sides.

The conference format prioritizes education and peer learning. Sessions feature building owners sharing real implementation stories, vendors demonstrating actual capabilities through live demos, and service providers offering field-tested strategies from their client work. The marketplace provides dedicated space for deeper vendor conversations outside the educational program.

You'll hear case studies from peers who've solved problems similar to yours, see technology demonstrations that show real functionality, and participate in discussions that help you apply insights to your specific building challenges.

Whether you attend in person or access the curated recordings as a Nexus Pro member, you'll gain peer-tested strategies you can implement immediately. The focus on practical takeaways and real-world applications means you leave with actionable next steps rather than just inspiration.

Ready to join 500 building industry professionals in Denver? Registration is open now. Follow the live coverage during the conference in next week’s “Live from NexusCon” article, and consider Nexus Pro membership for access to curated recordings and year-round community discussions.

‍

⭐️ Pro Article

Sign Up for Access or Log In to View

⭐️ Pro Article

Sign Up for Access or Log In to View

Are you interested in joining us at NexusCon 2025? Register now so you don’t miss out!

Join Today

Are you a Nexus Pro member yet? Join now to get access to our community of 600+ members.

Join Today

Have you taken our Smart Building Strategist Course yet? Sign up to get access to our courses platform.

Enroll Now
Conversation
Comments (-)
Thank you! Your submission has been received!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.
Guest
•
6 hours ago
Delete

This is a great piece!

REPLYCANCEL
or register to comment as a member
POST REPLY
Thank you! Your submission has been received!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.
Guest
•
6 hours ago
Delete

I agree.

REPLYCANCEL
or register to comment as a member
POST REPLY
Thank you! Your submission has been received!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.

Get the renowned Nexus Newsletter

Access the Nexus Community

Head over to Nexus Connect and see what’s new in the community. Don’t forget to check out the latest member-only events.

Go to Nexus Connect

Upgrade to Nexus Pro

Join Nexus Pro and get full access including invite-only member gatherings, access to the community chatroom Nexus Connect, networking opportunities, and deep dive essays.

Sign Up