As we slip and slide through the myriad of acronyms and adjectives now surrounding our industry, it becomes necessary for us to invest in the occasional head retread to make sense of what all these changes may mean. We hope that the "State-of-the-Art Capabilities in Building Automation" will serve as a catalyst for you to renew your thoughts on the rapid changes in the building automation industry.
Last month's column provided an outline plus some insight to the sessions and content. An online overview of the sessions is provided at www.ahrexpo.com.
As we gather input for our sessions by discussion, e-mail, and website inspection, it becomes obvious that the media is the message. The acceptance of the Internet as an industry communication standard is maturing rapidly. Every day new uses are being demonstrated by the industry. E-commerce has been widely accepted not only between contractor/vendor and client, but it has become more the business-to-business "B2B" model. Companies are finding that the convenience of 24-hours-a-day, 365-days-a-year access to quoting and ordering products is mandatory to span time zones.