by Brianna Crandall — April 22, 2016 — Yesterday Current, powered by GE, announced the strategic acquisition of Daintree Networks, an Industrial Internet provider of building controls solutions for commercial facilities. This acquisition will enable Current to expand its building automation platform and its energy-as-a-service offering to small- and medium-size facilities through the deployment of Daintree’s open, standards-based wireless control systems.
Today, 90 percent of the world’s small- to mid-sized buildings do not have building automation systems, points out Current. Integrating Daintree Networks’ open-standard networked wireless control solution, ControlScope, into Current’s building automation portfolio addresses that problem.
ControlScope is designed to offer lighting and building control, monitoring, and optimization; reduce energy and operating costs; improve the occupant experience; increase business productivity; and scale to manage a large portfolio of buildings. It also serves as a platform for applications such as asset and facilities management, space planning and more.
The joint solution links data from lighting and heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems directly to Predix, GE’s Industrial Internet software platform, allowing customers to analyze their energy consumption and identify data patterns to increase efficiency and reduce power levels.
Fortune 500 and mid-size enterprises across North America, including Universal Music Group, the Salk Institute, and National Bank of Arizona, use Daintree technology to manage over 1 million lights, thermostats, and sensors in office, retail and industrial locations, delivering monthly lighting and HVAC energy cost savings of up to 60%, says the company.
Maryrose Sylvester, president and CEO of Current, powered by GE, commented:
By combining Daintree’s open-standard control and sensing technology with GE’s Predix platform, Current’s building automation platform and its energy-as-a-service offerings, we’ll deliver the industry’s first next-generation, scalable cloud-based energy management and facilities optimization platform for every building type and size. Our combined strengths will help customers, big or small, achieve a reduced carbon footprint and increased energy savings, and provide a solution for ecosystem partners to grow.
This acquisition brings to Current an extensive ecosystem of value-added resellers, system integrators and device partners with long-standing experience in helping enterprises deploy and optimize ControlScope in commercial, retail and industrial environments. Built to established open protocol standards, Daintree’s ControlScope technology can be deployed wirelessly and securely in almost any enterprise and ensure interoperability between products offered by multiple device vendors, says the company.
The acquisition comes just six months after the formation of Current, described as a first-of-its-kind energy start-up within GE that integrates GE’s LED and on-site power businesses with GE’s industrial-strength Predix platform to deliver a cost-effective energy management platform useful both now and in the future. GE’s Predix platform is open, flexible, and securely connects multiple third-party devices and assets to the Industrial Internet, says the company.
Derek Proudian, CEO of Daintree Networks, added:
Daintree has been in the enterprise IoT space for a long time, so we are excited to join Current in bringing customers an enhanced lighting and energy management solution that can be applied to a wide range of buildings including grocery stores, neighborhood banks and office environments. Through this integration, we will help our customers achieve the promise of the Industrial Internet: greater control, lower maintenance costs, and increased operational efficiencies.
Upon completion of the acquisition, Current will integrate Daintree’s employees in California, Australia and Massachusetts into its structure.
