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As the inevitable shift of building systems onto an information infrastructure takes place, organization must establish a detailed integration strategy to optimize performance and maximize return on investment.

Integrating building systems and IT means merging roles and responsibilities and obliterating silos. This merger — the first step toward integration — is critical, requiring as much careful planning as any other strategic component. While there is a lot to gain from using IT infrastructure for connectivity, it comes with a new set of parameters, including network security and bandwidth.

The IT relationship should be established as early as possible during the planning period. Initial discussions should cover desired outcomes and the implementation process. Ultimately, each group must understand the others' business needs. These conversations are critical to setting the stage for smooth integration.

Gathering key IT and building-automation contacts for a comprehensive technical discussion on system requirements and considerations also is an essential step in the process.

An IT group will want to determine what integrated building systems will bring to a network, including bandwidth requirements and exposures, and how new systems will interact with older systems on the network. The applications IT staff members generally are used to working with, such as e-mail, are vastly different from critical systems, such as life safety. Therefore, it is important that everyone understands requirements and policies when working with building applications. Discussion topics can include securing network equipment and wireless devices and configuring firewalls, remote access, and network encryption.

Often, it is necessary to include equipment vendors in these conversations so they more specifically can address how their building-automation technology may impact the IT network. To make this process more efficient, some equipment vendors have developed documentation around IT requirements, laying out detailed information for IT staff members to determine how and where they will need to support various systems.

Convergence provides the greatest savings when organizations start asking the questions critical for optimal system use and performance, such as, “Where else can we use this?” and, “How can we maximize this?” Questions such as these can help guide converged-systems deployment and performance as groups collaborate to meet overall business goals. For example, making energy-usage data widely available using common IT resources not only fosters awareness, it drives behavior changes that can result in savings of more than 5 percent. It simply is easier to manage what people can see and measure.

SECURING A NETWORK

As with any network-based system, security exposures and converged-system vulnerabilities must be addressed. Careful planning and collaboration between facilities and IT groups can help mitigate risks when it comes to network security.

A key productivity improvement for facilities users comes from the “anywhere access” provided by a Web browser. When that access includes the use of wireless networks or remote connectivity, network security becomes an issue. When any building system is integrated into a network, several issues must be addressed.

First, personnel from all departments — including facilities, IT, security, and safety — need to identify where system exposures exist based on required functionality. For example, who will manage network access? When traditional departmental lines are redrawn, critical tasks must be identified and assigned, and each group must have a clear understanding of its roles and responsibilities.

Planning is particularly important when looking at logical exposures. For example, when plugging an access-control system into a network, card readers and related management software become vulnerable to network threats, such as viruses. Those kinds of threats impact a company's security and IT systems.