EMAIL INTERVIEW – Jack Leonello and Ken Sinclair

Jack Leonello, Business Development Manager for Optergy.

Sinclair:  How was your first AHR Expo?

Leonello:  Wow, this was my first time to the AHR Expo, people told me it was a big show but nothing prepared me for the sheer size of it. The amount of people was staggering, it was overwhelming and exciting at the same time.

Sinclair:  What did you have on show at the Expo?

Leonello:  We are a software company based out of Melbourne, Australia. We have been developing software for the built environment for the last 10 years and our current software version Aurora is a powerful platform that combines many building services such as building automation and energy management and provides the tools to manage and report on those systems.

Sinclair:  So what did you hope to accomplish by attending the show?

Leonello:  Our focus was to find system integrators that could use our software to provide their customers with an easy to use tool to manage their buildings and facilities and provide the system integrators with an efficient tool they could use to engineer projects.

Sinclair:  How many people visited the Optergy Stand?

Leonello:  We had hundreds of people stop by our stand. As we are establishing our software in the North American market, people didn’t know who we were, or what we had to offer. Some were drawn in by the images of HVAC Building Automation, others were curious about energy and reporting.

Sinclair:  What types of people did you speak to?

Leonello:  We spoke to lots of different people, the large majority were those currently in building automation looking for a new solution for their customers. We spoke to a number of engineers and consultants who appreciated the ease of use of our software. We also had some building managers and facility managers that were hoping we had local partners they could contact.

Sinclair:  What did they find interesting?

Leonello:  Integrators were amazed at how we were able to combine the building automation and energy so seamlessly into a single package. However they were amazed at the reporting capabilities and how easy they were to set up.

Sinclair:  What were the main questions?

Leonello:  Mainly people were interested in how it would fit in with the current hardware they are using, as I explained to them we use open protocols to communicate with building systems, using BACnet and Modbus. We can capture Building systems and energy quite easily without relying on specific brands.

[an error occurred while processing this directive]Sinclair:  Was the AHR Expo successful and would you go again?

Leonello:  The response from the market was amazing and we are now busy speaking with prospective partners. So based on all the positive feedback thus far we will be in Orlando for the 2016 AHR Expo.

Sinclair:  So what if some of our readers want more information about Aurora and they want to get in contact with you?