Leading Environmental Building Technology Companies to Participate in GSA Smart Building Contract Awarded to IBM
Environmental Systems, Inc, SkyFoundry, Tridium and Intelligent Buildings, LLC providing technology and services for major new building performance system project
Environmental Systems, Inc (ESI), SkyFoundry, LLC and Tridium, INc. today annoucned they are solution partners in a U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) contract that was recently awarded to IBM. The solution partners will work with Intelligent Buildings, LLC (IntelligentBuildings(R)), which acts as owner’s representative for the GSA. The contract is for the development and installation of advanced smart building technology in 50 of the federal government’s highest energy-consuming buildings.
As part of GSA’s larger smart building strategy, this initiative will connect building management systems to a central cloud-based platform, improving efficiency and saving up to $15 million in taxpayer dollars annually. IBM and its business partners will implement an innovative system to monitor building performance nationwide and stream data to a central facility, allowing faster analysis and more informed decision-making.
According to a recent report from Pike Research, the market for commercial building automation systems will double over the next decade, increasing from $72.5 billion in 2011 to $146.4 billion by 2021. IBM’s smarter buildings technologies can help organizations reduce water use by 30 percent, energy use by 40 percent and building maintenance costs by up to 30 percent.
IBM is the solution contractor and project manager for the program. ESI is providing building integration and analytics engineering services, including the SkySpark(TM) analytics platform from SkyFoundry and the Niagara Framework(R) platform from Tridium.
Intelligent Buildings, LLC, which currently serves as a consultant to the GSA in the overall strategy development and execution, will continue to represent the government for program management and execution of this solution.
“Comprehensive energy and operational savings across a broad portfolio of buildings requires a multi-faceted approach. We have selected best-in-class technology with Tridium’s Niagara Framework and SkyFoundry’s SkySpark analytics platform. These technologies, coupled with ESI’s experience in building systems integration, analytics and building operations across large real estate portfolios, is a perfect fit for the IBM solution and the GSA vision. This is a world- class team and a scalable model that can be replicated for other building owners with both large and small building portfolios,” said Paul Oswald, President of ESI.
Rob Murchison, Co-founder of IntelligentBuildings(R), said, “In helping GSA to develop the initial strategy and technology approach for data-driven buildings, we could have only hoped for this quality group of companies led by IBM. We are excited to be a part of the ongoing strategy and implementation of this important aspect of the GSA Smart Buildings program.”
“The selection of SkySpark for this leading-edge project further validates the value of SkyFoundry’s advanced analytics technology in helping building owners optimize building operations and reduce operational costs by automatically identifying opportunities for savings,” said John Petze, Partner at SkyFoundry.
Marc Petock, Tridium’s Vice President of Global Marketing and Communications, said, “We are pleased to be a part of this important project. The selection of the Niagara Framework is an acknowledgement of its industry-leading capabilities in enabling buildings to be more efficient.”
Commercial buildings account for nearly 40% of the primary energy use in the United States and GSA owns nearly 182 million square feet of office space nationwide. As additional federal government buildings are constructed and other facilities are upgraded, those buildings will also be managed on the new smart building technology platform.
About Environmental Systems, Inc. (ESI)
Environmental Systems, Inc., located in Milwaukee, Wis., provides technology and services for facilities that improve energy efficiency and sustainability, reduce operating cost and environmental risk and increase comfort, productivity and safety. The company offers a wide range of technology and services in the areas of automation, system integration, energy management, security, life safety, building operations centers, software applications, support services and education. For more information, visit the company’s website at: www.thinkesi.com.
About Intelligent Buildings, LLC
IntelligentBuildings(R) provides management consulting for key stakeholders, owners and managers in real estate, utilities and municipalities, including commercial, corporate, institutional, healthcare, government and smart community programs. The company’s services provide the strategies, standards and organizational alignment that are critical to reduce risks and meet organizational goals for energy, sustainability, operational cost reduction and enhanced experience. Intelligent Buildings is headquartered in Charlotte, N.C. For more information, visit the company’s website at: www.intelligentbuildings.com .
About SkyFoundry, LLC
SkyFoundry, LLC, based in Richmond, Va., is a leading developer of data analytics software. The company’s SkySpark(TM) platform is a leading-edge data analytics tool that gathers data from nearly any building automation, process, enterprise, metering system or other data source and performs expert analysis to uncover valuable information. SkySpark helps building owners and operators “find what matters” in the vast amount of data produced by today’s smart systems. For more information, visit the company’s website at: www.skyfoundry.com .
About Tridium, Inc.
Tridium, Inc. is the global leader in open platforms, application software frameworks, automation infrastructure technology, energy management and device-to-enterprise integration solutions. The company’s Niagara Framework(R) is a software platform that integrates diverse systems and devices regardless of manufacturer or communication protocol into a unified platform that can be easily managed and controlled in real time over the Internet using a standard web browser. By integrating today’s diverse building systems such as environmental controls, security, lighting, energy, video, fire and life safety, Niagara is creating better buildings — ones that are smarter, use less energy, are more efficient, have lower operating costs, are safer and contribute to a sustainable environment. Tridium is based in Richmond, Va. For more information, visit the company’s website at: www.tridium.com .
