23 March 2005 - Issue 42

Smart Buildings: A Pervasive Microcosm

The Buildings venue offers important insights into the challenges, opportunities, and progress of pervasive computing and M2M.

What Smart Buildings Know So Far
This week’s concurrence of BuilConn and the M2M Expo in Dallas, TX, gives us the opportunity to take a look at the progress of smart building technology in the context of the evolving M2M and Pervasive Internet space.

• How similar are the applications in the buildings venue to those in the broader Pervasive Internet and M2M space?
• Do the supply-side technologists and demand-side adopters share attributes similar to the broader M2M space?
• Does progress with adoption of pervasive technologies look the same?

Smart Building Devices: It’s All About Integration

Source: Harbor Research, Inc.

We believe that the answer to all three questions is a resounding “Yes.” In fact, the buildings space is a test-bed for M2M and pervasive systems—a vast “staging area” for what’s to come in the M2M space overall. What is transpiring in buildings can certainly be seen as a microcosm of M2M at large.

The Common Challenges of M2M
The challenges of moving into the smart buildings era are present in many other venues where M2M applications are emerging:

• The requirements for open standards to foster integration
• The promise of lower operating costs and higher customer-service levels
• The necessity of integrating disparate legacy systems

All these are the drivers that are attracting adopters to Internet-enabled applications. A current snapshot of the buildings sector reveals that progress towards these goals will likely be uneven and “bumpy” because of the crowded and complex cast of characters.

Fragmentation and Diversity
To begin with, the high degree of fragmentation and diversity among the sub-segments of the buildings venue will challenge the implementers of automated systems searching for common ground. Commercial buildings, industrial plants, retail outlets (including groceries, mini-marts, clothing, etc.), and mission-critical facilities such as datacenters, represent the wide range of applications that new technologies must be made to work in.

As in other venues, the legacy vendors in the buildings segment (Siemens, Johnson Controls, Honeywell, Schneider, Eaton, etc.) clearly want to protect their individual systems and customer base, while the newer players (Cimetrics, Tridium, GridLogix, etc.) are each aspiring to play the role of the Great Synergist. To be sure, the players with legacy systems all have a significant “sunk cost” in development and field resources, and often appear interested in moving forward only if it’s in their own parochial interest.

The vast number of value-adders who are involved in the deployment of building automation and services systems—the integrators, contractors and engineering firms that exist independent of the core technology suppliers—only add to the potential for complexity in adoption behavior. Additionally, the buildings space also includes leasing agencies, property management companies, and developers.

We would not describe the latter group, who usually control the purse strings, as “early” adopters. The economics of most facilities is fixed at the point that the building or facility is designed and financed. Hence, there is often little motivation to introduce new technologies and practices without a very clear value proposition.

The Point of Smart Buildings
But what about the people inside the building? Aren’t pervasive technologies supposed to focus on a building’s tenants and residents, to provide measurable improvements in their professional or living environments? Regardless of building size, the overall goal of building managers is to maintain an environment that is responsive to the needs of those who work, shop, and live there. Yet, paradoxically, these buildings’ managers are often the very ones who are dragging their heels.

Smart Buildings Value-Added Revenue

Source: Harbor Research, Inc.

The scale of larger commercial buildings, shopping malls, and campus environments can increase the ROI attractiveness and help justify the costs of linking heterogeneous systems. We all presume that as costs of networks and associated control systems continue to drop, the potential market in smaller buildings, including residential properties, will increase.

Forward-looking building managers are seeking cost-effective means for better coordination of traditional systems while integrating new systems that have historically been stand-alone (parking systems, for example). In parallel, the latest wireless technologies offer the potential to simplify installation and drastically reduce the costs of connecting a wide range of additional devices, including a whole new generation of remote sensors and systems.

Key Concerns of Building Managers
The key to attracting building managers to Internet-enabled applications remains a low cost-of-entry for new systems, easy installation, and simple systems management, at a minimum. But the overriding factor is still reliability and dependability.

The overall priority for building managers is the ability to support and connect to multiple networks in multiple ways to constantly monitor assets and equipment health. There is concern over communications security on wireless networks as well as information transmitted over the Internet. WEP and WAP solutions with greater encryption and authentication levels may mitigate this for wireless networks. But Internet data security is still in question, given the proliferation of viruses and the associated software updates. However, VPN users to a large degree are satisfied with their data security.

Developers and building operators expect open standards to further simplify system integration. Established standards (de facto or otherwise), such as BACnet and LonWorks, are being linked to interoperate with Internet-based systems. Standards such as Open Building Information Xchange (oBIX) are being developed to define XML and Web services guidelines. The goal is improved information exchange among intelligent buildings as well as better enterprise application integration.

An overarching trend is to integrate the systems to such a degree that “single-seat” and remote operations are possible. In this scenario, a single operator works in a control room capable of viewing status of all building systems, and controlling them. There is a growing realization that adding more devices can create “information overload,” so solutions at the device level—such as event-driven communications and robust data management middleware—are becoming clear requirements.

Building managers will look to use Internet-enabled devices and systems based on open standards, provided they are reasonably priced. Building and facilities managers continue to invest in device networking capabilities to enhance the environment for tenants as well as to assess their needs. While this remains a key concern, new demands from power suppliers have prompted interest in more advanced systems that do a better job of balancing environmental comfort while minimizing energy usage.

The Buildings Venue Is A First-Tier Adopter
Based on the high level of activity by suppliers and adopters in the building systems venue, Harbor continues to believe that this space will be a leading adopter of Pervasive Internet/M2M solutions. Progress toward a truly “smart building” is very complex and requires all the diverse sub-system players to cohabitate like distant relatives thrown together under one roof for a family reunion.

Recognizing the need to address the disparity of these systems is really the first step in the formation of an ecosystem that will breed the killer app for this venue—total facilities management—rather than merely a next generation of “sub-system” controls.

Copyright © 2005 Harbor Research, Inc.  All rights reserved.