November 2022 By Amelia Feehan With Justine Bornstein Buyer’s Guide: Smart Building IoT Platforms (2022) Smart Buildings verdantix.com This version of the report contains Verdantix’s summary of Planon’s offerings to help prospective customers evaluate whether the vendor is a good fit for their requirements. It does not contain other vendor profiles.
By Amelia Feehan With Justine Bornstein November 2022 Buyer’s Guide: Smart Building IoT Platforms (2022) Smart Buildings This report provides an up-to-date analysis of 40 prominent vendors offering Internet of Things (IoT) software packages for buildings. This study collected data from 18 suppliers via questionnaires and product demonstrations. Our analysis finds that IoT platforms are undergoing a transformative shift, as providers seek to expand their breadth of functionality and incorporate AI, machine learning and digital twins. Firms are coming under increasing pressure to improve ESG and sustainability performance, and a rapidly evolving ecosystem of IoT vendors has emerged to meet this demand. The past 12 months have seen suppliers launch further integrations for third-party software systems and devices to broaden the compatibility of their platforms with existing infrastructure. Prospective corporate real estate executives and technology buyers can use this guide to support their search for an IoT platform that fits their requirements. Table of contents Buyer’s Guide For Selecting A Smart Building IoT Platform 5 Defining IoT Platforms For Smart Buildings Firms Use IoT To Direct Business Objectives Criteria Buyers Should Consider When Selecting An IoT Solution Provider Review Of Key Offerings And Product Enhancements 11 Inclusion Criteria For The 2022 Buyer’s Guide For Smart Building IoT Platforms 12 Planon Strengthens Its Open Platform Through Digital Twins Essential Takeaways For Buyers 15 Table of figures Figure 1. IoT Technology Stack For A Smart Building 6 Figure 2. Application Areas For IoT Solutions 7 Figure 3. Functionality Coverage Of 40 IoT Solution Providers 10 Figure 4. Planon’s IoT Platform Solution Overview 12 Figure 5. Planon’s Updates To IoT Platform Functionality 14 Copyright © Verdantix Ltd 2007-2022. Licensed content, reproduction prohibited Buyer’s Guide: Smart Building IoT Platforms (2022) 2
Organizations mentioned 3Degrees, ABM, abrdn, Accenture, Accruent, Acuity Brands, aedifion, Airthings, Akenza, Akila, Allplan, Amazon Web Services (AWS), American West Restaurant Group, Animated Insights, Apple, Asda, ASML, ASSA ABLOY, Atos, Atrius, AXA, Axonize, Belimo, Bluewater Health, BNP Paribas, Bosch, Brightly Software, Bruntwood, Buildings IOT, Butlr, CA Immo, Calgary Cancer Centre, Capri by Fraser, Carrefour, Carrier, Castell, CBRE, Churchill, Clockworks Analytics, Commerz Real, D2 Interactive, DBS Bank, Deepki, DEKA, Dexma, Delivery Hero, Diehl, Disruptive Technologies, Drees & Sommer, ebm-papst Group, ECE, EcoDomus, EcoEnergy Insights, Ecopilot, EDGE, Eindhoven University of Technology, Energisme, Enlighted, EnOcean, Envizi, EPRA, EY, Fabriq, Facilio, FogHorn, Fortive, Fortune, Frasers Property, Fullerton Hotels, Future Living Berlin, Genetec, gerchgroup, Globalworth, Green Koncepts, GRESB, Guardian Glass, Haltian, Hamdan Bin Mohammed Smart University, Hark Systems, HDFC Bank, Honeywell, Hospital for Sick Children (Toronto), Huashan Hospital North, Hyatt Regency, Hypoport, IBM, Igor, Infogrid, IoT.nxt, ISS, JLL, Johnson Controls (JCI), Jubilant FoodWorks, Kessler Solutions, L&T Technology Services (LTTS), Lendlease, Lloyds Pharmacy, Mace, M&G, Marriott Hotels, MazeMap, Metrikus, Microsoft, Mitie, Moda Living, MOMENI Group, Mouwasat Medical Services, Nemetschek Group, Nemours Children’s Hospital, NHS, Nordomatic, Nozomi Networks, NY Carlsberg Glyptotek Museum, On, Pan Pacific Hotels, Paramount Group, PedidosYa, Planon, PointGuard, PostNord, ProcessMAP, Radboud University, RESET, Resorts World Sentosa, RFR, Royal Opera House, RSA, RWTH Aachen University, Sainsbury’s, SALTO, Sapphire Foods, Schneider Electric, Sensorberg, Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts, Siemens, Silux Control, Slack, Smart Spaces, Softdel, Spacewell, Spica Technologies, ST Electronics (Data Centre Solutions), Styrportalen, Swift Connect, Swindon Borough Council, Swire Properties, Switch Automation, Tan Tock Seng Hospital, Tel Aviv-Yafo Municipality, Telit, Temasek Polytechnic, Tempered Networks, The Co-Operative Group, The Home Depot, Thing Technologies, ThoughtWire, Tishman Speyer, Tractor Supply Company, Trail, Tridium, Tridonic, UNIDEL, Unify Energy, University of Central Florida (UCF), University Properties of Finland SYK, Utopi, VergeSense, Volvo, wattline, WELL, Xempla, Yanzi, Yokogawa Electric Corporation, Zalando, Zenitel, Zurich Insurance. Copyright © Verdantix Ltd 2007-2022. Licensed content, reproduction prohibited Buyer’s Guide: Smart Building IoT Platforms (2022) 3
Buyer’s Guide For Selecting A Smart Building IoT Platform This report provides decision-makers responsible for selecting, implementing and managing building technology with an up-to-date analysis of 40 prominent vendors offering Internet of Things (IoT) solutions for buildings. This study collected data from 18 suppliers via questionnaires and product demonstrations. It obtained insights into buyers’ requirements from multiple Verdantix research studies, including our annual global surveys of building occupiers and facilities management executives. The report also draws upon publicly available information on acquisitions, partnerships and product releases. The research updates and extends our analysis of the IoT platforms considered in the Verdantix Green Quadrant on IoT platforms (see Verdantix Green Quadrant: IoT Platforms For Smart Buildings 2022). Prospective buyers should use this guide to support their search for an IoT platform that fits their requirements. The research for this study answers specific buyers’ questions, including: • What is an IoT platform? • How can IoT products support my wider business strategy? • What actionable data insights are provided by these offerings? • What are the key considerations when choosing my platform? • What are the notable IoT trends in 2022? • Which vendors can meet the requirements of my organization? • Is an IoT investment right for my organization? Defining IoT Platforms For Smart Buildings The IoT describes a network of interconnected ‘things’, such as sensors, meters, HVAC and building management systems, which capture, collect, share and apply data. The technology facilitates information exchange between devices and systems in the built environment, enabling them to communicate real-time data without human intervention. These data are integrated from different sources into an IoT platform and use analytics to evaluate and then deliver actionable insights to the users via dashboards. IoT offerings can be used to monitor assets remotely, automate system controls and optimize equipment performance. Firms are implementing IoT software suites to increase the visibility of building operations and realize real estate strategies. When considering IoT platforms, Verdantix finds that: • Platforms should perform operations securely across the IoT technology stack. The IoT technology stack refers to the multiple layers of hardware, software and communication technologies that are components of an end-to-end system (see Figure 1). IoT architecture comprises five tiers: 1. Devices: device hardware, including sensors and meters, collects required data points, such as temperature and humidity from assets in the building. 2. Connectivity: communication technologies, including Wi-Fi and LoRaWAN, link devices to the internet to enable the transfer of data. 3. Data: data from connected equipment are captured, processed and stored in the cloud. 4. Analytics: pattern finding, facilitated by machine learning and AI, is used to develop insights from the stored data. 5. Applications: the end-user interacts with the IoT system through the customer interface, which comprises dashboards, command and control settings, and reporting suites. Copyright © Verdantix Ltd 2007-2022. Licensed content, reproduction prohibited Buyer’s Guide: Smart Building IoT Platforms (2022) 4
An IoT platform, often referred to as ‘middleware’, facilitates and orchestrates key interactions between these layers. Solutions may concentrate predominantly on specific tiers, such as communication-centric or analytics-focused platforms, whereas other offerings perform effectively across the stack. • IoT delivers connectivity and communication between disparate technologies. At the core of IoT is the collection and connection of distinct technologies. IoT-enabled devices rely on networks to communicate with gateways, servers, applications, routers and other connected equipment. A wide range of communication options exists, including cellular networks, Bluetooth, LoRaWAN, Wi-Fi and Zigbee. These vary in terms of their coverage, bandwidth and power consumption. IoT platforms that support multi-network and multi-protocol connectivity provide customers with flexibility, security and a future-proofed solution. • Actionable insights are vital to qualify as an IoT platform. The ultimate goal of data collection is to find meaningful connections between data and use these to generate actionable insights to improve building performance. End-users garner value from IoT platforms that ingest large data sets, perform analysis and extract relevant information. Opportunities can be identified, such as space management according to occupancy patterns, and climate control based on weather trends. Turning data into effective actions creates a clear path to return on investment (ROI) for customers and boosts interest in IoT platforms. AI and machine learning, in conjunction with analytics, can improve the generation of insights, and visualization tools and digital twins can communicate these to the user. Source: Verdantix analysis Figure 1 IoT Technology Stack For A Smart Building Customer interface, dashboards and end-user applications on desktop and mobile Data storage and aggregation, data configuration, filtering and processing Sensors, meters, controllers and Devices smart equipment Connectivity Data Analytics Applications Data analytics, reporting, pattern extraction, machine learning and AI Device connectivity, device management, gateways and edge processing 4 2 1 5 3 Copyright © Verdantix Ltd 2007-2022. Licensed content, reproduction prohibited Buyer’s Guide: Smart Building IoT Platforms (2022) 5
Firms Use IoT To Direct Business Objectives Corporates looking to reduce costs, digitize operations and boost employee satisfaction will cause IoT platform adoption to accelerate. Cutting-edge tech diverges from the traditional bricks-and-mortar view of building stock and is integral to the future success of firms’ strategies. The leading IoT use cases reflect the priorities of facilities and real estate executives (see Figure 2). According to our analysis, firms use IoT to: Source: Verdantix analysis Figure 2 Application Areas For IoT Solutions Use Cases: On-demand facilities management services, work order management, and monitoring and reporting on facilities services. Objectives: Streamline tasks, reduce operational costs, enhance employee experience, and improve building resiliency. Example Vendors: Facilio, PointGuard, Switch Automation Facilities Management Services Use Cases: Room and space booking, locker booking, visitor management, employee feedback, wayfinding, people location, and parking management. Objectives: Improve employee and visitor experience, attract and retain talent, and boost performance and productivity. Example Vendors: Spacewell, Thing Technologies, ThoughtWire Workplace Services Use Cases: Asset condition assessments, real-time asset tracking and monitoring, fault detection and diagnostics, continuous optimization, and mobile field services. Objectives: Reduce the cost of maintenance and asset replacement, minimize the need for site visits, and improve building resiliency. Example Vendors: Accruent, Johnson Controls (JCI), Planon Asset Management, Monitoring & Control Use Cases: Air quality monitoring, comfort management, environment monitoring, and occupant health, including COVID-19-related use cases. Objectives: Address healthy buildings, reduce health insurance costs, improve cognitive abilities of occupants, improve employee experience, and talent retention. Example Vendors: Honeywell, Infogrid, PointGuard Occupant Health & Wellbeing Use Cases: Security monitoring, threat detection, alarm management, access control, video surveillance, critical event management, and visitor management. Objectives: Address occupant safety, crime prevention, building resiliency, and asset protection. Example Vendors: Carrier, JCI, Tridium Building Security Use Cases: ESG data collection, ESG reporting, and tracking of carbon emissions (Scope 1 and Scope 2). Objectives: Achieve sustainability goals and net zero targets, decarbonize buildings, and meet disclosure requirements. Example Vendors: Carrier, Envizi, Fabriq Sustainability & ESG Cybersecurity IT infrastructure management Smart cleaning Fire detection & control Structural health assessment Waste management Other Functionality Use Cases: Space monitoring, space analysis, and footfall, occupancy and flow monitoring. Objectives: Optimize space usage, rationalize building portfolios, reduce real estate cost, and improve occupant experience. Example Vendors: EDGE, Haltian, Spica Technologies Space Monitoring & Analysis Use Cases: Energy monitoring and reporting, analysis, targeting, utility bill management, demand response, and energy management projects. Objectives: Reduce energy expenditure, identify energy wastage, and decarbonize buildings. Example Vendors: Energisme, Schneider Electric, Siemens Energy Management Copyright © Verdantix Ltd 2007-2022. Licensed content, reproduction prohibited Buyer’s Guide: Smart Building IoT Platforms (2022) 6
• Optimize asset utilization to reduce real estate costs. Business cost reductions and operational efficiency are focal points in facilities management. IoT products such as Carrier’s CORTIX platform deliver asset and workflow visibility, automate routine maintenance tasks and provide corrective actions to prevent equipment failures. Fault detection and alerts related to asset performance are useful tools to minimize business disruption and the cost of maintenance. The IoT ecosystem allows for the holistic examination of equipment efficiency, energy consumption and maintenance requirements. Facilities managers can use this synergy to decrease suboptimal utilization and capital costs. • Centralize control for improved building management. The complete visibility of operations provided by a single, scalable solution is critical to building management improvements. An IoT platform can centralize building operations through an unlimited number of sensors, meters and other devices. It transforms the way people, processes and systems are managed by improving the consolidation and analysis of data. Remote monitoring for centralized control allows a system manager to easily view the status of all devices and issue commands from a single off-site location. Honeywell’s Centralized Control offering enables users to update equipment setpoints and configurations remotely, which is particularly useful for multi-site firms with a global portfolio. • Decarbonize their portfolios and achieve energy savings. Firms are under pressure from regulations, stakeholder expectations and volatile electricity and gas prices to deliver actionable energy management strategies. Organizations relying on high-level data from utility bills and meters risk remaining unaware of energy wastage and equipment inefficiencies across their portfolios. An IoT software package connects siloed systems and provides access to granular data, delivering deeper insights to firms on their carbon emissions and power expenditure. IoT platforms such as Schneider Electric’s EcoStruxure Resource Advisor provide comprehensive real-time analysis of energy and resource data and forecast consumption. Utopi offers an IoT product for data collection, target-setting and real-time ESG reporting for BREEAM, GRESB and other accreditations. • Improve working conditions and enhance the occupant experience. In a post-pandemic workplace, occupant wellbeing and the indoor environment are key considerations for employers that want to keep their employees happy, healthy and productive. This requires firms to instill confidence in workers that their office is safe and comfortable, and to offer services such as space booking and wayfinding. The OpenBlue Companion app from Johnson Controls (JCI) enables tenants to locate their colleagues, reserve workstations and control comfort levels, including lighting and temperature adjustments. Infogrid’s Building Intelligence platform uses IoT to provide building managers with indoor air quality (IAQ) insights and relate them to occupancy metrics. Overlaying the data provides contextualized analysis of space usage and the health of the workplace, which can impact employee productivity. Copyright © Verdantix Ltd 2007-2022. Licensed content, reproduction prohibited Buyer’s Guide: Smart Building IoT Platforms (2022) 7
Criteria Buyers Should Consider When Selecting An IoT Solution Provider The saturated IoT market poses a challenge for buyers sifting through the hundreds of software suites and IoT-enabled products. To simplify the selection process, Verdantix has distilled over 20 buyer considerations into a concise list of vital assessment points, focusing on: • Fit-for-purpose applications and capabilities. Many suppliers now provide capabilities for energy data management and asset monitoring, reflecting interest from executives in optimizing equipment and reducing costs. A smaller number of vendors have comprehensive building security and sustainability-focused modules. Customers should have a clear understanding of what they want to achieve with an IoT platform and review the suppliers’ applications that address their challenges. • Real-world implementations in relevant verticals. Vendors can offer platforms that work in multiple verticals, but many have specializations in specific ones. ThoughtWire, for instance, has gained strong traction in the healthcare field; its software is used by the Calgary Cancer Centre and the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto. Hark Systems sells to firms in life sciences. Accruent has a lot of experience in the grocery and retail sectors, reflected in its customers Sainsbury’s and The Co-Operative Group. The majority of IoT platforms reviewed in this guide are deployed in commercial real estate, but buyers should scrutinize vendors’ track record in their industry and request relevant case studies. • Open and scalable platform. Buyers should examine the scalability of IoT software in tandem with their organizational needs and complexity levels. This includes selecting a provider that can integrate with existing and future systems, enabled by open data architectures and application programming interfaces (APIs). The ease of adding new devices and protocols is a crucial consideration for firms with expanding portfolios. Organizations scoping other geographies will want to see hardware and network options that are globally supported. • Strong partner ecosystem. Vendors with a strong list of partners often combine offerings to extend their product capabilities and bridge critical gaps. Planon’s partnership with Schneider Electric, for example, has helped the former accelerate innovations around its integrated workplace management system (IWMS)/connected portfolio intelligence platform (CPIP) solution, while Schneider was able to tap into Planon’s workplace management capabilities to enhance its own EcoStruxure platform. IoT providers that can access a network of technology vendors ensure broader integration of different solutions. • Service offerings for quick time-to-value. The time-to-value for an IoT product depends on the specific application. Deployment and onboarding timelines are platform-dependent and impact the ease of software execution. Use cases that can be deployed quickly and deliver rapid ROI are important purchase requirements. Buyers should consider offerings with low technical barriers to entry, to expedite implementation, and those with customer support services, to assist with issues. Animated Insights provides a 24/7 on-demand chat to facilitate customer service and maintenance queries with remote service engineers. The IoT providers included in this Buyer’s Guide offer varying breadths of software functionality (see Figure 3). Copyright © Verdantix Ltd 2007-2022. Licensed content, reproduction prohibited Buyer’s Guide: Smart Building IoT Platforms (2022) 8
Note: Solid colour cells were confirmed by vendors. Hatched cells were informed by information from vendor websites. Sources: Verdantix analysis; vendor responses Figure 3 Functionality Coverage Of 40 IoT Solution Providers Control Monitoring & Asset Management, Management Energy & Analysis Space Monitoring Workplace Services & Wellbeing Occupant Health Services Management Facilities Building Security Sustainability & ESG Accruent aedifion Akenza Akila Animated Insights Atrius (part of Acuity Brands) Buildings IOT Carrier Clockworks Analytics EDGE Energisme Envizi (part of IBM) Fabriq (part of Deepki) Facilio Green Koncepts Haltian Hark Systems Honeywell Igor Infogrid IoT.nxt Johnson Controls (JCI) LTTS Metrikus Planon PointGuard Schneider Electric Sensorberg Siemens Smart Spaces (part of D2 Interactive) Softdel (part of UNIDEL) Spacewell Spica Technologies (part of Nordomatic) Switch Automation Telit Thing Technologies ThoughtWire Tridium Utopi Xempla Copyright © Verdantix Ltd 2007-2022. Licensed content, reproduction prohibited Buyer’s Guide: Smart Building IoT Platforms (2022) 9
Review Of Key Offerings And Product Enhancements Product innovation continues to move at a rapid pace in the IoT market, as suppliers invest in new capabilities and software suite expansion. Partnerships, mergers and acquisitions further amplify the rate of platform updates. The constant growth in the IoT space requires buyers to stay abreast of the latest trends. Verdantix reviewed platform developments from the past 12 months to build a comprehensive view of the market direction. We found that over the year: Vendors expanded their solution scope: • Vendors transitioned from point solutions to broader functionality coverage. Shifting customer preferences for offerings that can solve multiple business problems have propelled vendors that might have started as point solutions to develop into comprehensive IoT platforms. These suppliers now deliver functionality across several use cases, such as asset and facilities management, space monitoring, energy analytics and building security. Green Koncepts, for example, expanded its scope from energy management software to an integrated solution suite. Many firms pursued aggressive acquisition and integration strategies to fill gaps in their capabilities. This year, Nordomatic, a building management system (BMS) provider and systems integrator, purchased Spica Technologies, a workplace software firm. JCI, a global building technology firm, acquired FogHorn, a developer of edge AI products for industrial and commercial buildings. Siemens’s smart infrastructure division bought Brightly Software, an asset and maintenance management systems provider. • Vendors launched ESG modules with varying success. Modules that facilitate decarbonization and automated reporting are at the forefront of most vendors’ plans, as they respond to customer demand for such software. Unfortunately, greenwashing has inched its way into the IoT space, with a vast number of firms claiming extensive ESG capabilities. Successful ESG functionality comprises energy and resource monitoring; carbon analytics;, IAQ data collection; reporting to accreditations, such as GRESB; and actionable insights to minimize environmental impacts. It is not simply an energy management software add-on. The rise in specialist ESG technology platforms, such as Utopi, and increased investment from large IoT suppliers to deliver sustainability-focused metrics, will improve the options available to buyers. Vendors utilized digital representations of buildings and assets: • Vendors enriched visualizations by leveraging BIM and virtual environments. Virtual representations of a building, and building information modelling (BIM) models, enable simplified, top-down navigation of the enormous volume of data generated by IoT systems. This streamlining provides users with context to understand sensor and device locations and the significance of incoming equipment data. Vendors have enhanced their IoT platforms over the past year by transitioning from tabular, 2D visualizations of the physical environment to 3D models. ThoughtWire, for example, provides 3D mapping to help employees navigate through a building. Siemens offers the 360° viewer app, a photo-realistic digital depiction of a building, created using laser scans and live data. This allows maintenance staff to conduct virtual tours and perform building health checks remotely. • Vendors created digital twins for improved monitoring and simulations. Many vendors are taking 3D models to the next level, using BIM as the foundation for creating digital twins that mirror in real time what is happening in the building. Spacewell can use models from any BIM authoring tool, including Allplan, ArchiCAD or Revit, as the basis of a virtual replica in its platform. Users can search and find assets, while bi-directional data flow between building systems and the digital twin platform enables system adjustments based on the insights received. This expedites changes to equipment settings, which can benefit building occupants and reduce costs. A broad spectrum of twins can be seen in other IoT platforms, including component, asset and system representations. Planon develops out-of-the-box, pre-packaged use cases, which is a different approach to a full-building digital twin. This can be more manageable and cost-efficient for customers, and provides the option of scaling in the future. Copyright © Verdantix Ltd 2007-2022. Licensed content, reproduction prohibited Buyer’s Guide: Smart Building IoT Platforms (2022) 10
Inclusion Criteria For The 2022 Buyer’s Guide For Smart Building IoT Platforms Globally, there are hundreds of vendors active in the building IoT market, providing products with differing levels of maturity and depth of functionality. Verdantix set some criteria for IoT platform suppliers to qualify for inclusion in this Buyer’s Guide. Suppliers must have: • Applications to manage at least three smart building processes through an integrated solution. Vendors must offer functionality coverage across at least three of the following application areas: 1) asset management, monitoring and control; 2) energy management; 3) space monitoring and analysis; 4) workplace services; 5) occupant health and wellbeing; 6) facilities management services; 7) building security; and 8) sustainability and ESG. • At least 25 customers currently using their IoT platform. This does not include customers that may be using other, non-IoT products offered by the firm. • Enterprise-scale product architecture. Software packages must be designed to scale up to multi-site deployments for a firm with more than $1 billion in annual revenue. Not all customers of the vendors covered in this research are that large; rather, the IoT platforms reviewed here can support customers of that size. We have produced detailed profiles on 18 firms, comprising: • those previously covered in the Verdantix Green Quadrant on IoT platforms: namely, Accruent, Carrier, Honeywell, Infogrid, Johnson Controls (JCI), Planon, Schneider Electric, Siemens, Spacewell, Spica Technologies, Thing Technologies and ThoughtWire (see Verdantix Green Quadrant: IoT Platforms for Smart Buildings 2022); • new additions: aedifion, Akenza, Animated Insights, Green Koncepts, Hark Systems and Utopi. Copyright © Verdantix Ltd 2007-2022. Licensed content, reproduction prohibited Buyer’s Guide: Smart Building IoT Platforms (2022) 11
Planon Strengthens Its Open Platform Through Digital Twins Planon provides real estate and facilities management software and has over 2,750 customers using its IoT-enabled solution, Planon Platform. This 880-employee integrated workplace management system (IWMS)/connected portfolio intelligence platform (CPIP) vendor is headquartered in the Netherlands, with 14 offices worldwide. Planon has bolstered its software, improved its integration capacities and expanded its collaborative ecosystem through a series of strategic acquisitions and partnerships. The acquisition of cloud-based IoT platform Axonize in June 2021, and its integration with the Planon Platform, has strengthened the firm’s IoT capabilities and introduced digital twins as an essential component of its solutions. Planon has also developed platform connectors with other third-party offerings, most notably with Schneider Electric in 2020. This enables it to leverage solutions, including EcoStruxure Building Advisor and EcoStruxure Resource Advisor, for asset management and sustainability purposes. Category Attribute Details Vendor Overview Vendor Name Planon HQ Nijmegen, The Netherlands Founded 1982 Firm Revenue Confidential IoT Solution Overview Solution Name(s) Planon Platform Solution Components Multiple modules and applications, including: • Asset & Maintenance Management. • Space & Workplace Services Management. • Workplace Insights. • Energy & Sustainability Management. Pricing Model Offered primarily as a SaaS, with a monthly fee that includes annual maintenance. The fee is based on the number of digital twin use cases required by the customer and the value provided. Data Capture Capabilities Building systems, sensors, smart equipment, energy meters Hardware Hardware is offered in collaboration with partners IoT Customer Footprint Number Of IoT Customers 2,750+ Customer Location 70% EMEA, 25% North America, 5% APAC Square Ft Covered By IoT Offering Confidential Target Customers There is prominent interest from building owner-occupiers, investors and service providers of facilities management and workplace-related services. Also focuses on service providers within the smart power domain, in conjunction with Schneider Electric. Named Customers Eindhoven University of Technology, Radboud University, Tel Aviv-Yafo Municipality, Tridonic Source: Verdantix analysis Figure 4 Planon’s IoT Platform Solution Overview Copyright © Verdantix Ltd 2007-2022. Licensed content, reproduction prohibited Buyer’s Guide: Smart Building IoT Platforms (2022) 12
Noteworthy Innovations Over the past year, Verdantix found that Planon has: • Positioned digital twins as the central component of its IoT strategy. Planon has drawn on the power of its digital twin solution to provide data insights into key functionality areas, such as asset management, space and workplace services management, energy management and sustainability. The firm is developing out-of-the-box digital twins based on specific use cases, rather than offering a full building digital twin. This facilitates a manageable and scalable approach that aligns with selected business objectives. Planon clients can deploy existing productized digital twin applications or develop new customized digital twin use cases themselves for assets, spaces, floors and other building elements, using a simple, no-code-based approach. The platform supports the connectivity of a range of sensors of various make and supplier by default. Other smart assets are supported, upon client request, through the development of ‘Connectors’, with associated controls in the digital twin to allow for the manipulation of asset behaviour. The digital twins use sensor tracking and anomaly detection to invoke automated system responses such as alarms, work order generation and phone calls. • Expanded its open platform approach. Planon’s Marketplace is a store where customers can find and buy apps developed on the Planon Platform, including all pre-packaged, productized digital twin use cases. A fully integrated AppBuilder allows customers to further extend existing Planon functionality or to create private or public apps that suit their particular needs. The firm reaps rewards from its open approach and rich customer base. For example, its breadth of offering benefits when customers, such as universities, decide to share knowledge and transition from a private app to selling publicly. Meanwhile, the updates to its space monitoring and analysis functionality further demonstrate its open platform approach. The firm is opening its business logic so that third-party AI apps can be used to solve the maths of space management solutions in alternative ways, capitalizing on the expertise of external parties to strengthen the offering Planon itself provides. Copyright © Verdantix Ltd 2007-2022. Licensed content, reproduction prohibited Buyer’s Guide: Smart Building IoT Platforms (2022) 13
Source: Verdantix analysis Figure 5 Planon’s Updates To IoT Platform Functionality New functionality is offered for occupancy-based cleaning, including the ability to adjust services to daily dynamics. The offering comprises IoT-based real-time insights into occupancy, notifications when the threshold is exceeded and automatic service plan adjustments. Facilities Management Services This functionality was enhanced to uplift its configurability, flexibility and reporting abilities. Meeting room booking, visitor registration, equipment reservations, digital signage and parking management are a few of the items offered in the Planon Workplace Engagement app and Planon Self-Service solution. Detailed wayfinding, neccessary in large campuses or hospitals, is offered through third-party system integration with solutions such as MazeMap. Workplace Services Planon digital twins allow for the tracking of input data from asset sensors and anomaly and event detection from the data stream to solicit automated system responses. An IoT rule engine passes identified events to a decision engine, where the business solution defines the response to be generated. Responses can take many forms, including placing a phone call, setting alarms and generating work orders. They are available on mobiles, back-office systems and end-user applications, such as the Planon Workplace Engagement app. Asset Management, Monitoring & Control Planon now has over 50 use cases related to facilities management processes that involve providing a safe and healthy work environment, and this number is growing. Items covered include air quality monitoring, touchless office and workplace health and safety. Occupant Health & Wellbeing Functionality to monitor the possible impact of building security issues includes floor overviews, and space and workplace occupancy monitoring at the time of an incident and during the following minutes. New IoT use cases for emergency doors that open were developed using Planon digital twin principles. Building Security Planon has enhanced user experience for self-certification of buildings. Further insights are provided for multi-year sustainability programmes at a portfolio level by tracking results versus objectives for improvement. Sustainability & ESG Planon introduced new capability for strategic workplace planning that allows facilities managers to set up a demand inventory based on current FTE and people linked to roles. A workplace profile can be created for each role and includes a percentage breakdown of used workspaces, such as a desk, cubicle or open space in the office, a home office or third-party location. This ensures that Planon offers strategic portfolio planning that reflects hybrid working trends; it provides insights into redundant and required spaces and suggests a move proposal per quarter. This is on top of Planon's Workplace Insights, which examine people count, people flow, temperature, humidity, CO2, VOCs, light, sound and radon measurements. Space Monitoring & Analysis Automated IoT energy readings are processed and stored in the Planon Energy & Sustainability Management solution, creating registrations of records of resource use and associated GHG emissions. These records form the basis for analytics and support future ESG compliance reporting on a building's emissions footprint. Energy Management Copyright © Verdantix Ltd 2007-2022. Licensed content, reproduction prohibited Buyer’s Guide: Smart Building IoT Platforms (2022) 14
Essential Takeaways For Buyers The highly competitive building IoT market is fuelled by the sheer volume of platforms available. Buyers must scrutinize vendors and their offerings to select a product that best fits their requirements. This guide supports purchase decisions by advising on the selection process, identifying potential suppliers and highlighting successful IoT platform characteristics. In this study, Verdantix considered 40 solution providers and presented 18 vendor profiles. Firms seeking an IoT smart building solution provider should: • Examine offerings that facilitate their organization’s strategies. Real estate executives must determine their business challenges and the potential for cost reductions in advance of a technology purchase. Priorities may include building portfolio rationalization, decarbonization, or occupant health and wellbeing. A solution-targeted search will help buyers consider which capabilities to focus on in an IoT platform. This must have proven implementation in the firm’s industry and geography, and demonstrable use addressing the customer’s pain points. • Look for platforms that provide flexibility, scalability and ease of deployment. Buyers should question vendors about their proven scalability to date and plans to keep pace with growing data demands from the digitization of buildings. The continuous evolution of data standards, updates to connectivity networks and technology advancements require a flexible platform that will not be rendered obsolete in a few years. Selecting IoT software with open application programming interfaces (APIs) that support multi-protocol and multi-network connectivity ensures a future-proofed investment. Low technical barriers to entry and comprehensive functionality offered out of the box are necessary to expedite software implementation. • Consider cutting-edge capabilities and software with frequent enhancements. IoT is no longer a nascent technology – hence the growing demand for more advanced platforms that incorporate building information modelling (BIM) models and digital twins, and for automation supported by AI. Software suite expansion and functionality upgrades were evident across the vendors included in this guide. Several have launched new modules and mobile apps, while a few have acquired other firms to fill gaps in their offerings. Buyers should be aware of new product developments and trends in the IoT market to ensure they choose the best offering to meet their particular needs. Copyright © Verdantix Ltd 2007-2022. Licensed content, reproduction prohibited Buyer’s Guide: Smart Building IoT Platforms (2022) 15
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