IoT Solution for a Smart Building Ecosystem

Business challenge of MCS Solutions

MCS Solutions, a Belgian company that provides an integrated workplace management system (IWMS) and smart building services for Fortune Global 100 companies, came to Intellias for smart building IoT solutions.

With 25 years of experience in the energy sector working on integrated real estate, facility, workplace management software, MCS was ready to step forward with new value-added services like smart building IoT solutions for their customers.

To begin, they organized an internal startup with the goal of developing new smart building IoT solutions with an extensive Internet of Things technology, smart connected sensors, indoor positioning, and big data analytics for enabling new user scenarios across different types of facilities, real estate, and workplaces. The company focused on smart building use cases and IoT connectivity that could provide end customers with smart building analytics, enhanced building performance, optimized resource usage, improved mobility, and a better workplace experience for employees.

This internal R&D project was well received by potential end customers, so MCS decided to proceed with a more active engineering effort for diverse smart building use cases. MCS had already been partnering with Intellias for four years on other projects related to smart building ecosystem development, energy management systems, facility management, and mobile development. So it was no surprise the client decided to extend our cooperation, focusing on Internet of Things for consumer products.

Smart building IoT solutions delivered

Our team took part in both backend and frontend development of the IoT facility management platform of a smart building ecosystem. Smart building IoT solutions we helped to build provide a ready-to-go suite that can improve building performance without the need for end users to set up costly infrastructure to store, process, and analyze data. MCS offers a complete system to enable IoT for smart buildings that includes an online platform, a cloud-based backend, a user interface, and connected sensors that can easily be configured.

Within the scope of our cooperation, Intellias engineers have been involved in the development of all infrastructure for the IoT platform for different smart building use cases, which offers extensive possibilities to collect volumes of data from on-site sensors and store it in data warehouses. Our team has also developed dashboards for data analysis and visualization so that end customers can get valuable data on facility operations and take full advantage of the IoT technology for smart buildings.

Intellias team distributes user-friendly UI and backend functionality for integration of different interfaces and universal access for users. Among the main touchpoints with users, MCS has established multiple touchpoints with users, including connected kiosks with floor plans of a facility and comprehensive data about the user scenarios that take place in every corner of the building.

Together with our client’s in-house engineering team, we’ve built a web application that duplicates kiosk functionality but can be accessed from anywhere and provides online reports and dashboards with near real-time analytics. This solution can easily be integrated with third-party services thanks to its flexible architecture with microservices and multi-tenant SaaS functionality.
Our team has been recognized by our client for their flexibility in developing IIoT solutions and adopting new technologies that are often required for the best functionality and multiple smart building IoT use cases.

Our smart building IoT use cases include:

• Monitoring air quality and humidity via connected sensors
• Applying smart rules so that employees can get assistance with fixing or repairing devices and tools at the push of a button
• Recognizing the need for cleaning services thanks to a door opening counter
• Counting people entering a building with ceiling sensors in corridors
• Controlling temperature and detecting hazardous substances in the air
• Monitoring parking to find free spots in advance
• Smartly searching for free rooms with a workplace assistant
• Collecting users’ feedback about a workplace in real time

Business outcome

One of the smart building IoT solutions – the IoT platform – is already on the market and MCS already has end customers implementing the solution. This platform works successfully in smart buildings Internet of Things field, and the Intellias team is still growing to provide continuous operations and to improve the product to gain a wider market share. This IoT platform makes customers’ buildings smart through advanced sensor connectivity, an online environment, and big data management and analytics.

The following functionality sets our client’s IoT platform apart:

• Possibility to integrate with HVAC, BMS, IWMS/CAFM, and other systems
• A capable data warehouse for self-service, data science, and business intelligence
• Reliable LoRa (low-power, long-range) wireless technology for use in large buildings
• A scalable big data platform for end-to-end solutions (sensors, IoT connectivity, data management, visualization, and advanced analytics)
• Smart connectivity that assists users in real time and optimizes the use of space, energy, and other resources