by Shane Henson — May 17, 2013—A new wave of investment, driven by the software-as-a-service (SaaS) model and a growing market emphasis on energy efficiency, is bringing new entrants into the commercial building environment management market, according to a new report from ABI Research, a provider of in-depth analysis and quantitative forecasting of trends in global connectivity and other emerging technologies.
Per the report, SaaS in the Building Automation Market, rather than competing directly with the giants of the established building automation system (BAS) market, these new entrants are bringing additional managed data services to help drive greater efficiency. From 2013 to 2018, these commercial building managed BAS services will deliver annual revenues of more than $4 billion worldwide, growing at a compound annual growth rate of 29 percent during the period.
“We are seeing a rush of investment, creativity, and revenues in developing what can be achieved with BAS data,” says Jonathan Collins, principal analyst. “These software as a service (SaaS) or cloud services have the ability to pull together management of multiple buildings and applications within them, simplifying the process of improving energy efficiency for building owners.”
Growing BAS network connectivity has opened up these systems to SaaS applications developed to analyze building environmental performance alongside a range of other data feeds such as local weather or energy pricing. However, notes the report, it is not a market just for start-ups such as BuildingIQ, Sky Foundry, or Viridity Energy. The established giants of building automation systems including Johnson Controls, Siemens, and a handful of others have responded and are taking a range of approaches towards competing or integrating in the managed smart building market. Naturally, the largest information technology and systems integrator companies have also seen potential in the market, with IBM, HP, and Cisco all bringing their own approaches.
According to the report, the scope of offerings and the ability of the players will be key to bringing their new services to the traditionally staid and entrenched BAS market.
