The smart building management market is set for big growth, with revenues to top $4 billion per year by 2018, says ABI Research.
A new report from the firm observes that a drive for cost savings and energy efficiency has brought a wave of new players and capabilities into the commercial 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, says a new report by the firm.
Related: Siemon launches infrastructure program for intelligent green buildings
“We are seeing a rush of investment, creativity, and revenues in developing what can be achieved with BAS data,” comments Jonathan Collins, principal analyst with ABI. “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, adds Collins. From 2013 to 2018, ABI Research predicts that commercial building managed BAS services will deliver annual revenues of more than $4 billion dollars worldwide, growing at a CAGR of 29% during the period.
Opinion: It's time to integrate telecom and building automation systems
The report adds that new market opportunities in smart building management are "not just for start-up firms 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. The largest IT and systems integrator companies have also seen potential in the market, adds the report, with IBM, HP, and Cisco "all bringing their own approaches."
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, contends ABI.
The new study from ABI Research is titled “SaaS in the Building Automation Market” as part of the firm's Home Automation Research Service, which looks at the rapidly developing market for smart building automation.