Energy management and automation company Schneider Electric announced a strategic minority investment in Planon, a cloud-based software provider in Integrated Workplace Management Systems (IWMS).
The deal will extend Schneider’s digital building lifecycle software offering, the firm said in a release.
Schneider Electric and Planon will jointly collaborate on innovation to deliver a suite of software and services to digitize the building lifecycle for both existing and new buildings. This will improve building sustainability, operational efficiency, and wellbeing for multiple customers in the government, education, real estate, healthcare, finance, data centers and insurance sectors.
Planon’s portfolio of workplace management, maintenance and operations solutions leverages real-time analytics to increase building operators’ productivity and transform building users’ personalized workplace experience.
The joint offering will help building owners and facilities managers mitigate the risk of occupant complaints by proactively addressing potential issues before they arise, Schneider Electric said. It added that the new solutions will also optimize space management at the enterprise portfolio level and enabling businesses to meet the emerging compliance standards, and will improve the safety and comfort of occupants by monitoring air quality and temperature.
The integration of Schneider Electric’s EcoStruxure energy management platform and Planon’s solutions will extend their reach across multi-vendor operating platforms to millions of connected assets, the firm said.
Philippe Delorme, EVP of Energy Management and a member of the Executive Committee at Schneider Electric, said: “We are delighted to join forces with Planon, enhancing our digital expertise and offers available to customers across all our buildings and data centers markets striving for lifecycle and operational efficiency. With an estimated 90% of our time spent indoors, buildings of the future need to be sustainable, hyper-efficient, resilient, and people focused. The Covid-19 pandemic has added a new dimension to this shift: buildings must support business resiliency. Schneider Electric is committed to playing a central role in the creation of the sustainable and resilient buildings of the future.”
Pierre Guelen, Planon’s Founder and CEO, said: “Schneider Electric brings building operating technology to our solution portfolio with a global reach and unparalleled customer and partner relationships. We share a common vision on the digital transformation of the entire building lifecycle and its contribution to creating healthy, sustainable, efficient data-driven buildings and provide building users with a personalized workplace experience. Schneider Electric’s support will accelerate the impact of our solutions on the global market.”
Planon’s software offers cloud-based business solutions for real estate and facilities management, including functionality for space, asset- and maintenance management.
Last month, Schneider Electric launched EcoStruxure Building Operation 3.2, an open integration platform that it says addresses the entire building ecosystem.
The company said that the next generation of Schneider Electric’s EcoStruxure Building solution is a “scalable and secure architecture that enables users to monitor, manage and control building operations on one central system.”
EcoStruxure Building Operation 3.2 provides an integrated view of all building systems—including HVAC, lighting, fire safety, security and workplace management—to support smart buildings in becoming more efficient.
