AutomatedBuildings.com Editorial Comments January & February 2006

I have just returned from the largest ever AHR Expo which was a kaleidoscope of change. The energy and feeling of the transition into a new era was everywhere. AHR Expo always provides a field for the cross pollination of ideas but this years it exceeded our expectations. With over 60,000 folks at the event every section of our industry was well represented. Industry synergy abounded and the feeling of all the pieces fitting together was never greater.

I wish to share with you 10 observations that I formulated while at this event. Please read My 10 Takeaways from AHR Expo Chicago. Also note the same feeling of change in Anto's AHR and the Road to Palm Springs. It was a perfect start of 2006, a year that will be a critical year for convergence. Even A New Face for BACnet was at this show. Change was everywhere and our free education sessions were well attended with a total of over 300 attendees. The Automation Showcase floor was almost constant gridlock with a high interest in our industry by all. Wireless and connection to IT were the winning new themes. Integration of soft control for hard equipment was evident in every isle. Be sure to read all our Articles and Interviews to catch up on the rapid industry changes.

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Happy New Year. Wow! what a year 2005 has been! Our industry is now talking IT, walking IT and providing products and services based on Information Technology ways. Robbert Kuppens, EMEA Managing Director of Cisco Internet Business Solutions Group, in his Keynote presentation in Amsterdam, November 9, declared that in a similar way the PBX industry reached the decision zone around 2002, the BAS market is now at this point in what they call a “Decision Zone”. Cisco and other IT giants are now very interested in our Building Automation Industry. Add to this the signing of the GridWise Constitution which is built on the abilities of our BAS industry to use advanced communications and up-to-date information technology. Couple this with; our new understanding of the power of virtual value in all our products and services, the fact wireless is becoming battery less, and that we now have Power over Ethernet (PoE), and we have a catalyst for convergence that is propelling us into a new IT era for 2006. Is it any surprise that the innovation winner for AHRExpo is the Wireless BACnet® Router and that all the runner up products provide connection to the IT world using open standards.

In my Virtual Value Visions for Building Automation in 2006 and in my January ES column “The New Kids on the Block are Giants” I talk about Cisco and HP entering our arena. This is a very positive step for our industry but it is the harbinger of a new era, it is no longer about horsepower it is all about change and successful convergence. Do not fear change, embrace it. These giants will need all the partners they can get to help define our virtual value future. Want more insight to Cisco thinking? Read this month's review of the Cisco whitepaper Cisco Connected Real Estate (CCRE).

This is our 7th year of providing free education sessions for the industry. Dave and I started at the AHRExpo in
Dallas 2000 with State-of-the-Art Capabilities in Building Automation
Atlanta 2001 Integration, Protocols, Web Evolution, The Net Effect and an Open Forum
Atlantic City 2002 The Indispensable Internet, Building Automation Integrates, Converges, and Conforms to the Internet Model
Chicago 2003 Occupancy Integration, Nurturing the Necessary Network, Perspectives on Interoperability, Implementing Web Based
Anaheim 2004 Planning for Convergence, Creating Connections, Automation Online, Wireless Controls
Orlando 2005 New Concepts at AHR Expo, Real Time Connections to the Enterprise, Wireless Networks: Applications and Protocols
therefore we are not surprised to see that what we have been talking about has come to fruition in Chicago for 2006. 2005 has been a very exciting year for our Building Automation Industry as we morphed into IT ways and 2006 promises to be even more exciting. As our services and products become an extension of the Information Technology infrastructure we as an industry are becoming much more visible to the general public. GridWise and the Green Building Movement are further increasing our visibility as an industry moving into a completely new era of information integration.

Wednesday is a full day educational event at the annual AHR Expo at McCormick Place in Chicago. "The Intelligent Building Seminar" This is a special seminar, open to the public, that will feature industry experts providing information about Intelligent Buildings, case studies, details on new technologies as well as critical work being conducted by the CABA Intelligent and Integrated Building Council. Like all Building Intelligence Tour seminars attendees will receive the chance to learn and network. They also receive access to seminar information and a complete workbook.

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