Category · 17 products
Building Management System Software
BMS platforms are not interchangeable, and treating them as one category is the fastest way to specify the wrong thing. This directory separates them into three kinds of product that get confused constantly in tender documents.
Supervisory software is the head end: it sits above field controllers, presents graphics and alarms, stores trends and gives operators somewhere to work. Integration frameworks are platforms that other companies build products on top of, which means several apparently different products on a shortlist can turn out to be the same engine with different branding and a different support chain. Building automation suites are a manufacturer’s integrated stack, tightly matched to its own controllers and equipment. A fourth group, general industrial SCADA, is occasionally applied to buildings and brings different strengths and different licensing altogether.
Where a product is an OEM distribution of a framework, the profile says so and names the underlying framework. That single fact changes a procurement conversation more than any feature list, because it determines who you depend on for the engine, who you depend on for support, and how portable your engineering work is if you change integrator.
Protocol support is treated as a capability here rather than a footnote, because it is the main basis of comparison. Each claim carries the source that states it. Pricing is almost never published in this category: these systems are sold and commissioned through system integrators, and the profiles say so rather than inventing a figure.
Vendors
ARC Informatique, Automated Logic (Carrier), Carrier, Delta Controls, Distech Controls (Acuity), Honeywell, Honeywell (Alerton), Honeywell (Trend Control Systems), Johnson Controls, KMC Controls, LOYTEC electronics, Mitsubishi Electric Iconics Digital Solutions, Schneider Electric, Siemens, Trane Technologies, Tridium
17 matching products · clear filters
Niagara Framework
Tridium
Tridium software framework that systems integrators and OEMs build building and device applications on, rather than a finished BMS. Niagara 4.15 is current. The same station runtime runs on JACE controllers, Niagara Edge 10 and the Niagara 4 Supervisor.
Third-party system integration Multi-building and enterprise scale Edge controller management Remote and browser access
- Cloud, On-premises, Hybrid
- Commercial
- Integration framework
- Medium, Enterprise
Metasys
Johnson Controls
Johnson Controls building automation system built from tiered server software (ADS, ADX, OAS) over NAE, SNE and SNC network engines. Release 14.0 is current and the technical documentation is fully public.
Third-party system integration Multi-building and enterprise scale Edge controller management Remote and browser access
- On-premises
- Commercial
- Building automation suite
- Medium, Enterprise
EcoStruxure Building Operation
Schneider Electric
Schneider Electric building management software for large buildings, formerly StruxureWare Building Operation, engineered as one system with the SpaceLogic automation server and controller family.
Third-party system integration Multi-building and enterprise scale Edge controller management Remote and browser access
- On-premises, Hybrid
- Commercial
- Building automation suite
- Enterprise
Desigo CC
Siemens
Siemens open multi-discipline building management platform for mid to large buildings, licensed by data point and discipline. Editions include Connect, Compact DMS, a UL fire variant and a Siemens-run service model.
Third-party system integration Multi-building and enterprise scale Remote and browser access Cybersecurity features
- Cloud, On-premises, Hybrid
- Commercial
- BMS supervisory software
- Medium, Enterprise
Honeywell Enterprise Buildings Integrator (EBI)
Honeywell
Honeywell multi-discipline building head-end that runs HVAC, fire and life safety, security, video and energy from one operator platform. Current release R610. Quote only, delivered through Honeywell and its partners.
Third-party system integration Multi-building and enterprise scale Remote and browser access Cybersecurity features
- Cloud, On-premises
- Commercial
- BMS supervisory software
- Enterprise
Published comparisons
How to choose
How to choose in this category
Work out what you are actually replacing. Replacing a head end is a different project from replacing controllers. A new supervisory layer over existing field devices can be a short project if the protocol support lines up, and an expensive rebuild if it does not. How head-end platforms compare goes through this in narrative detail.
Check protocol support against your actual estate, device by device. BACnet support is not one thing: an object a platform cannot read is an integration gap regardless of the logo on the datasheet. BACnet versus Modbus and BACnet integration acceptance tests set out how to test this properly rather than taking it on trust.
Ask whether the product is a Niagara distribution. If two shortlisted products share an engine, you are choosing an integrator and a support relationship, not an architecture. That is a perfectly good basis for a decision, but you should know you are making it.
Treat points naming and asset mapping as part of the purchase. The value of a BMS to an FM team comes from alarms that turn into work orders against the right asset, and that depends on a points dictionary nobody wants to own. See point naming for cross-system joins, point to asset mapping and keeping a point dictionary after handover.
Do not skip cybersecurity. These platforms are now routinely exposed to remote access, and historically were not designed for it. BMS cybersecurity for connected buildings covers what to require in a specification.
Know when you want SCADA instead. For critical facilities and process-like environments the answer is sometimes not a BMS at all. BMS versus SCADA and BMS for data centres and critical facilities cover the boundary.
Further reading on this site
For evaluation method rather than product data, see how to evaluate BMS software and platforms and the complete guide to building management systems. For a narrative four-way comparison of the largest vendors, see Siemens versus Schneider versus Honeywell versus Johnson Controls. On the wider landscape, building automation systems explained covers the controller layer below these platforms, commercial building management software looks at the commercial estate specifically, and cloud BMS and building management as a service covers the delivery model several of these vendors are moving towards.
Frequently asked questions
Heavily, if the system will be remotely accessible. Many of these platforms have long lifecycles and were designed before remote access was normal. Ask for documented hardening guidance, supported authentication methods, patch cadence and how long the version you are buying will be supported.
Many can, and the quality of that integration varies a great deal. A one-way alarm feed is straightforward. What is hard, and what delivers the value, is mapping an alarm to the correct asset, deduplicating repeat alarms, and closing the loop when a fault clears before a technician arrives. This directory records third-party and CMMS integration as a capability with its source.
No. They solve similar problems with different assumptions. A BMS is built around building services, comfort and energy, with native support for building protocols. SCADA comes from industrial process control and is stronger on high-rate data, redundancy and operator workflow for critical processes. For data centres and critical facilities the right answer is sometimes SCADA, or both.
Because they are almost never sold as a list-price licence. A BMS is specified, supplied and commissioned through a system integrator, and the software is a line in a project cost that is dominated by engineering, controllers and commissioning. Where a vendor does publish something, this directory records it with the source.
Not on its own. BACnet is a large standard and products implement different subsets of object types and services. Two BACnet products can still fail to exchange the data you need. The only reliable approach is to test against your actual devices and the specific objects you depend on, before handover.
A head end is a finished supervisory product you buy and operate. An integration framework is a platform that vendors and integrators build products on top of. Several products that look different on a shortlist are the same framework with different branding, which matters because it determines who supports the engine and how portable your engineering is if you change integrator. Where that is the case, the profile says so and names the framework.
Selecting Building Management Systems?
Independent help building the requirement, shortlisting honestly and designing the integration the chosen system will depend on. No reseller arrangements.
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