Open Systems: Top Questions to Ask When Assessing Building Integrators

Having an open system has many benefits. An open system can provide building operators the flexibility to choose the technologies driving positive outcomes based on their buildings’ specific needs. These benefits can multiply when those technologies collaborate across systems.

Each facility operator will have differing objectives from optimizing operational performance to enhancing safety and security to helping manage operating costs or carbon emissions. So, selecting an integrated partner that can help you unify and automate system workflows to help you deliver your desired outcomes is critical.

Making the wrong decision may prove costly in the long term, impact your building system’s lifecycle, and create frustrations. When you’re looking to integrate your technologies under a unified system, here are some questions to consider when assessing building integrators:

• Does the integrator have domain expertise in the building systems that are most critical to operating your building?

• Which architecture will best meet the needs and complexities of your site? Will it be on site, in the cloud or a hybrid, capable of supporting both? How and why did the vendor or integrator arrive at that recommendation over other options?

• Does your service provider offer the tools, information and transparency necessary for you to monitor and validate the quality and reliability of their service? Do they provide service level and response time commitments in their service agreements?

• How will the return on investment (ROI) be assessed and how do you show value to stakeholders in improving productivity, safety or building experience?

• Will the integrator make binding performance commitments aligned to the outcomes and achieving your organization’s goals to maintain a competitive advantage in the marketplace?

• How does the integrator keep the shared data between systems remains synchronized and accurate? Do they automatically backfill data and reconcile status/alarms when a system is offline?

• Can the integrator demonstrate how the user experience will make your team more productive such as fewer clicks, less time to complete common tasks and/or better situational awareness?

• Will this run on your IT infrastructure? What changes are required such as VPNs and gateways?

• Can the integrator demonstrate success integrating multiple vendors into one system that delivered the promised results? Can they show how they coordinate and test integrations involving multiple manufacturers and domains?

It’s also important to think long term when you’re considering a building integrator to partner. Some long-term questions to consider include:

• How future-ready and adaptable is the proposed system? For example, is the integrator using web services that will allow moving to the cloud and a connection to AI when you are ready?

• How will this system be delivered, maintained and upgraded over time? Does this include concerns such as cybersecurity, hardware and operating system lifecycles? Are those APIs or SDKs published so that you can have other vendors expand the integrated system or replace a key sub-system?

• Can you be assured that your service provider will maintain the system and documentation to a level that will enable you to change technology providers or self support in the future? Are the tools and training available for your team to manage and maintain the platform?

• How fast is technology evolving in your industry and how will that affect your system’s lifecycle? Does the system use standard protocols and APIs that allows one system to be upgraded without impacting others?

• Who will be the most cost-effective and technically expert provider for service and support over the long term? Will the integrator provide service pricing for five years with KPIs tied to your outcomes and cybersecurity patching and Management for the connected systems?

Selecting a dependable service partner

Selecting the right service partner can help you create an approach tailored to meet your building’s complex needs - now and in the future. Further, the right building integrator creates dependability and ease of use with your building operations, is low risk, and is cost-effective.

Talk to one of our experts today to learn how Honeywell can help you achieve safer, smarter and more efficient operations by integrating your technologies. To learn more about how open systems can help optimize your building operations or to learn more about what open really means, check out our technical resource guide.