Anto Budjarjo, President and CEO of Clasma Events Inc
There is a lot of talk these days about the convergence of information technology (IT) and building automation systems.
When I visited the AHR Expo in Chicago, I was asked the same questions over and over again.
In this article, I will try to answer them.
It seems that the main questions are:
1. The Building Automation Systems (BAS) industry is already moving to IP, why involve additional use of IT?
2. There are already many problems on the way to business development, so why do we need new difficulties?
3. What are the benefits of using IT for BAS developers and creators?
I will not answer each question separately, but will try to explain the essence of some of the problems, and in the epilogue I will show how these problems are related to each of the above questions.
IP vs. IT
Let's be honest. Very often these two terms are used as synonyms, but this is a huge mistake, especially in the context of talking about the BAS industry.
IP is a technical abbreviation, in most cases used to denote a family of network protocols: TCP/IP, UDP, HTTP, FTP, etc.
These are the network protocols that the Internet is based on, and they are almost as ubiquitous as electricity.
In the future, IP will be inextricably linked to an entire class of devices, and asking whether these network devices are IP-compatible will be as silly as asking whether they use electricity!
The term IT has two meanings, which further confuses the overall picture.
Firstly, IT stands for information technology. This term was first used in the 1980s to describe a new area of technology that emerged from data processing technologies.
Looking back, it becomes clear that the term IT was someone’s very clever invention.
Its introduction was facilitated by the understanding that large amounts of information would soon become the main value, and operating them would require special technologies designed not only to process it, but also to collect, transmit, store, analyze and otherwise extract profit from it.
I must admit that when I first heard the term «information technology» in the 1980s, I didn't fully understand what it meant. I understood computers, software, and connectivity, but I didn't fully grasp the true depth and meaning of the term IT until the mid-1990s, when I first started using the Internet.
The Internet has contributed to the development of information technology like nothing else, and today we perceive it as a means of working with information to improve our business and everyday life.
The second meaning of the term IT is associated with people working, directly or indirectly, in the field of information technology.
In this case, we are talking about the IT industry (including companies such as Microsoft, Oracle, Cisco, etc.), as well as the IT departments of various companies and organizations, which have come to play a leading role in almost all existing structures.
IT Service
In most cases, IT departments have become very powerful «kingdoms within a kingdom» in both commercial and non-profit organizations. Why is this happening?
To answer this question, it is necessary to understand the principles of organization and functioning. Companies are fundamentally defined by the purpose of their existence, the products they produce, and the people who make up them.
All of this is united by information.
In a modern organization, everything must be measured, measured against established performance goals and other benchmarks to operate effectively.
We are familiar with the stories of Wal-Mart, where this idea was taken to its logical conclusion: knowing everything about the company's customers, the products on the shelves, and how the products got to those shelves.
Modern organizations need this same principle of operation to attract shareholders (or sponsors, in the case of non-profit organizations).
The reason why IT departments have grown to their current size is because of the importance of information, which was illustrated above.
Its importance is even greater for those organizations that are interconnected. Information should not sit idle.
It is important that information about the available workforce is integrated with information about production, sales, finance, etc.
So what is the purpose of these IT departments?
Simply put, their purpose is to provide technologies (in the broad sense of the word) that enable organizations to use their resources in the best possible way to achieve their goals.
People involved in the creation and operation of building automation systems need to understand this very important point.
IT departments should not manage the work (although their staff often believe just the opposite); they should serve the needs of the respective organizations.
IT departments are responsible for collecting and processing information, but these activities must always be carried out to meet the business needs of their parent organizations.
Also, I will note that one of the most important responsibilities of IT departments is to ensure the security of the assets of their parent organizations.
This task cannot be approached half-heartedly, and the reasons for this are quite obvious.
IT brings success
Since the late 1980s, when the term IT gradually began to replace the term «data processing», information technology has become more and more essential to the daily operations of organizations.
This has led to huge investments in IT projects.
This process has continued uninterruptedly, and the value of the IT industry has now exceeded $200 billion.
It may seem strange, but it is often very difficult to prove the return on investment in such large projects. However, the investment continues.
For example, in the 1970s and 1980s, supply chains began to function as a means of monitoring and accounting for existing inventory, and organizations needed to know what inventory of their products they had in their warehouses.
Today, most organizations know the quantity and location of all goods from the moment they arrive, and in many cases this data accompanies the goods directly from the moment they are manufactured or shipped.
Building supply networks requires significant investment from both the organization and its supplier partners.
The benefits of supply networks can be seen today at Wal-Mart and in virtually all manufacturing organizations.
But these benefits were unforeseen when the only obvious benefit of inventory control was purchasing information.
Another interesting example is the «Y2K problem.»
The investments made to solve it have yielded virtually no direct return.
Yes, I know fear played a big role; colossal amounts of money were invested in IT as a hedge against the fact that life as we know it would not stop on December 31, 1999.
In reality, all organizations benefited significantly from the investments made to solve the Y2K problem.
This benefit was the acquisition of new hardware and software that, in addition to preventing potential Y2K problems, better helped these organizations achieve their goals.
Thus, in the eyes of most organizations, investing in IT cannot be overkill. The benefits it brings, in terms of indirect return on investment and avoidance of potential problems, are, in most cases, enormous.
Conclusion: If there is a problem in an organization, it is most likely best addressed by the IT department.
Now compare this perception with the perception of various systems in buildings (security, HVAC, etc.).
Most people who work in a building know the HVAC people as the ones who have to complain about the heat or cold in the building, and the security people as the ones you have to call when your access cards don't work.
Most of the attributes, i.e. associations associated with employees of such services, are always negative.
The global drive for convergence
We often perceive the concept of «convergence» as the unification of various technologies and IT. In reality, and especially in large companies, everything is being unified with everything.
IT departments play a central role in this process, since they are the ones who make it possible to implement and simplify all the necessary interactions.
Previously, data processing departments had a relatively narrow range of responsibilities within their organizations.
In the future, almost everything will be IT-related, with IT involved in everything from telephony, shipping and transportation, R&D, finance, sales, service delivery, and all other aspects of business activity.
Buildings and utilities will also be part of this picture.
Does this mean that these aspects of business activity will disappear or become less important?
Does this mean that telephones will disappear, or goods will no longer be transported, that scientists and engineers will disappear, that financiers will no longer be needed, or that all traders will disappear?
No, this will not happen.
It is just that all these areas will use services provided by IT that will help employees not only perform their functions, but also integrate them with the functions of other people.
You can't see the forest for the trees
If you focus on just one issue, it is difficult to see the true effects of convergence.
Because the BAS industry often focuses on building issues, many ignore the larger issues facing building owners.
This can be a problem for most people, as their work is often structured in such a way that their attention is focused on narrow professional tasks rather than the big picture.
Also, many view convergence as a general factor, not related to short-term aspects of business activity.
The convergence of IT and BAS is becoming a pressing issue now, as technology barriers are gradually disappearing due to the widespread use of IP in this industry and throughout all departments of the organizations that own buildings.
Plus, customers (building owners) are demanding the same level of commitment that they have seen from their IT departments over the past couple of decades.
Knowledge is power — money
Anticipating the future is something you can embrace, use, watch from the sidelines, or… ignore completely.
The choice is yours!
History shows that convergence, the increasing use of IP, and the growing influence of IT are unstoppable.
Believing that this will not affect the BAS industry is just plain stupid.
The trend towards convergence in this area will likely create two types of players: the first will connect its future with the management of air temperature in buildings, and the second will focus on various security systems.
The second type of players will actively use convergence and will benefit most from the use of IT in this area.
Someone recently said to me: “But our company specializes in enterprise management systems.”
Today, this approach is acceptable for isolated companies, but in the future it will mean the same as the thesis “Our company specializes in inventory accounting.”
Answers to questions
1. The BAS industry is already moving to the use of IP, why should the use of IT be involved?
IP is a pure network technology. It is very important and will be widely used in buildings. The true understanding of information technology and the work of IT people is a completely different matter. It is neither a technology issue nor a construction industry issue. BAS are becoming part of the information industry.
2. There are already many problems in the way of business development, so why bother with new difficulties?
New problems will soon be much more serious than those that exist today. This is not only something to be accepted and understood, but it is also quite easy to predict. Open field systems have already found wide application in BAS, but only the best examples will survive. So unless you are aiming to become a leader in your field, the problems that arise in the way of business development in the short term are exactly what their definition implies, i.e. they are significant only for a short period of time.
3. What are the benefits of using IT for BAS developers and creators?
Convergence with IT provides BAS players with great opportunities to take a higher place in the market. Now is the time to make such decisions and make the necessary changes, because in the future the market situation will be unfavorable for new players. All the contractors and integrators I know who have started using IT are doing very well today.
Based on materials from Consulting-Specifying Engineer (Reed Business Information)
Anto Budjarjo
President and CEO
of Clasma Events Inc