While the industry buzz in the past couple of years has been the idea of convergence, now is a good time to review what is really going on in the industry delivering building systems. To do this, let us look at the drivers and trends and then analyze what is going on to move us forward in delivering value to building owners and operators.
Today, the change brought about by the significant use of IT and the Internet dramatically alters the relationship between buildings and the rest of the universe. Buildings are no longer standalone entities with occasional systematic contact. The technology available today means that an enterprise (commercial and institutional alike) can have real-time information and control of all of its facilities anywhere in the world. And this is not just about a few bits of data and overrides; this is the availability of rich information and control, including trends data for any number of points, streaming video, real-time control, and download of parameters.