Lynxspring Technology Blog

There was once a time when IT and building operations technology (OT) had no reason to talk. OT and IT were developed to accomplish two distinctly different missions, with contrasting agendas and dissimilar tools and priorities. IT used to be about printers, networks and workstations, etc., and OT handled building systems such as HVAC, lighting, sensors and so on. Many cultural and technological impediments make IT/OT convergence challenging. From the perspective of culture, IT and OT have traditionally been well-separated domains.

While the importance of technology to control and operate facilities is not new, the technology has advanced so this divide and separation of powers between OT and IT is radically changing. Smarter building equipment, digital transformation, IoT, accessing and sharing of data, analytics and the increased visibility of cybersecurity and privacy issues are bringing these two worlds together.

The commercial building market was once about acquiring and managing buildings. Today, we are beginning to hear about transparency and its importance in managing and operating buildings. Transparency has become a strategic lever enabling organizations to achieve broader business agendas, achieve improved business and operational outcomes, and create new levels of value.

While transparency has not been top of mind in the past, we are now beginning to experience the early days of it. It has been said that transparency, implies openness, communication and accountability. As this transformation continues, we need to look at it from the perspective of how it is beginning to take place within our building environments.

January is a time for many to reinvent themselves through the time-honored tradition of New Year's resolutions. I look at it as a time to refresh. And when it comes to our industry, it’s a time to see what’s ahead and refresh.

Regardless if you are a manufacturer, system integrator, building owner, facility manager, engineer, contractor, one thing is for sure, change is going to be constant and the promise of more change is instore. The way we interact with technology has changed dramatically in recent years – and is still changing.

“Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the face.”
 -- Mike Tyson

We all know that data is power; knowledge is king. As clichéd as it may seem, these sayings cut to the chase in today’s data driven world. Organizations want to do more with the vast amount equipment and device data they have at their disposal. And do it effectively, efficiently and within a reasonable timeframe. However, it’s not just simple analysis we seek, it’s the power to unlock all the right data with ease and efficiency and to actually do something with it.

“Change, you know, has a subtle quality. It comes upon you quietly. It creeps, and you continue to pleasantly operate based on old and comfortable assumptions and premises until suddenly, change explodes opportunity in front of you. And you are totally unequipped to deal with it because your ways of thinking, your concepts, your techniques, are all geared to an age that is no more!” - Author Unknown

At points in our lives, we encounter things or experiences that strongly impact – and even alter the way we act, the way we think our choices and preferences. Whether we see them coming or are taken by surprise, in hindsight we realize that these “change agents” led us to a way of thinking or doing something that might have otherwise passed us by. Without them, we’d be going about our lives as is.

When it comes to commercial buildings and industrial facilities, we are surrounded by change agents that are being driven by customer needs and requirements; business issues they are faced with and must solve and specific outcomes they are looking to deliver. In addition, the pace at which technology and innovation has impacted the industry over the past several years is fueling change agents.