Issue 22 - Nov 2014 8200 Sites, 475M sq ft and Growing (Pg 1) New Subscription Model Pricing for SkySpark Even for On-premise Deployment (pg 2) New Reporting Tools Making it Easier to Create Customer Focused Solutions (pg 3) The All New Historian App Choose Chart Type, Color, and Much More (pg 4) New Tools and Educational Resources (pg 5) Industry Recognition SkyFoundry in the News (pg 6, 7) Haystack Connect 2015 Location and Dates Announced Register as an Early Bird to Save $$$ (pg 8) SkySpark Now Deployed to Over 8200 Buildings and Over 475M sq ft In This Issue SkySpark Adds Subscription Pricing SkyFoundry is excited to announce that SkySpark analytics has now been deployed to over 8200 buildings consisting of over 475 Million square feet. It is being used in a wide range of applications including energy management, systems optimization, monitoringbased commissioning and fault detection. SkySpark automatically analyzes data from equipment systems and smart devices to identify issues and opportunities for improved performance and reduced operating costs, in facilities of all types. These results validate the financial benefits of applying analytics to improve the performance of virtually all types of buildings and equipment systems. It's also validation of the effectiveness of SkyFoundry's worldwide partner channel. This network of independent systems integrators and specialty engineering firms give owners the greatest freedom of choice in the market, allowing them to choose the organizations they want to work with for deployment, service, and ongoing consulting and support services. You can read the full PR Newswire release here: http://www.ireachcontent.com/news-releases/skyspark-analytics-nowdeployed-to-over-8200-sites-and-475-million-square-feet-272690771.html Changing the Economics of Analytics New Reporting Tools Page 3, 4 Its On for 2015!!! Dates, Location and Registration Info on Pg 8
SkySpark Now Offers Subscription Pricing Eliminates the Need for Large Up Front Capital Investment The value of analytics has been proven. That said, owners and operators have financial challenges that hinder their ability to commit to new technologies. Limited capital budgets are a common concern. With SkyFoundry s new subscription pricing option owners can utilize SkySpark and pay a monthly fee based on their level of usage. They can discontinue use at any time and expand or reduce the capacity of their system (and their monthly cost) as they desire. Subscription Pricing Even for On-Premise Deployment SkyFoundry is making this pricing model is available even for on-premise deployment of SkySpark. That means customers can keep their data inside their secure network and still have the benefit of monthly subscription model pricing. It s a revolutionary financial solution that truly changes the economics of moving to analytics-driven facility management. How It Works SkyFoundry offers subscription model pricing for all but the smallest installations of SkySpark. Here s how it works... When you choose the subscription option you are basically renting (not buying) SkySpark. You pay on a monthly basis. You use the capacity that you want on a monthly basis, which is measured by the number of points and sites brought into SkySpark. The system automatically tracks usage. The monthly cost is calculated at 7.25% of normal SkySpark cost based on capacity used in previous month. You can scale system size up and down each month. That s it! A Benefit to Partners AND End Customers The SkySpark subscription pricing option provides the benefits of SaaS style monthly pricing, but SkyFoundry is not hosting the software. You chose from on-site deployment or hosted SaaS deployment (which is a service option offered by many of our reseller partners.) For partners, this new option allows them to pay for the software in the same way they get paid for their services. For end customers this allows them to take advantage of SkySpark s advanced analytics without making a large capital expense. And they can stop using it at any time, and all charges stop. Contact us for full details so you can see how the SkySpark subscription pricing can help you move forward with analytics now. Notes: SkySpark must have active Internet connection to skyfoundry.com for subscription licenses to operate. Subscription pricing does not include implementation services provided by SkyFoundry partners. 2
New Reporting Tools Making it easier to create solutions that fit the customers individual needs They say beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and that was never more true than for reports. Reporting needs vary dramatically depending on project type, team members involved, past experience and the tools people are used to. Its a real challenge to create reporting tools to fit customers needs. SkyFoundry s approach has been to create flexible reporting tools that enable users to take advantage of industry standard applications to create reports in the format that best fits customer needs. Whether it be Excel, Word, Google Docs, email formats, or PDF, SkyFoundry has worked to enhance SkySpark s reporting tools without ever restricting how those tools can be used. With the latest release SkyFoundry enhances these tools yet again with additions including: Report Overwrite: You can now easily save modifications to existing reports. New Export Options: You can now export SkySpark views and reports in new formats including: PDF, PNG, SVG, XML, and JSON, which add to the existing export options of HTML, Excel, and CSV. The new export options make it easy to build reports using your favorite desktop tools including MS Word, Google Docs and Apple Pages. Server-side Report Generation: SkySpark can now generate report documents on the server without having to first view them in a browser. This enables you to automatically email reports as attachments on a scheduled basis. And these reports can automatically update their data for today, this week, this month, this year without any manual interaction. (Release Dec 14) Compound Reports: This new feature allows you to combine Tables, Charts, Spark lines and text headers to create custom reports right in SkySpark. These can then be exported manually or automatically in PDF and HTML format. Enhanced Notes App: The Notes App now automatically creates a Link back to the specific view the Note was created on and provides easier sorting based on date, user and other attributes. Adding Cost Factors to Rules is Now EASY!!! One of the coolest enhancements is the new cost factor tool. You can now add cost factors with a few simple mouse clicks. Anyone can do it with the new feature making spark costing accessible to managers and other users. You can assign Cost on 3 factors: Duration of Spark Period (occurrence) Per day that a Spark is found And, as always you can still add more complex cost formulas to Rules as needed. 3
All New Historian App for Charting and Analyzing Data Choose chart types, colors, group points on charts and more... On the subject of reporting, data analysis and presentation, we are excited to introduce the all-new SkySpark Historian App. New features include: Choose color for each item on a chart Choose the points you want grouped on charts Select chart type Export in a wide range of formats including: PDF, PNG, SVG, HTML... And the new Historian allows you to automatically generate Historian reports on the server and automatically deliver them via email as attachments. Choose color Choose chart type The SkySpark Historian App allows users to chart and graph any system data across any time period day, week, month or year. It s a powerful data analysis tool. And any Historian view can be saved as a report in a wide range of formats and auto-generated and delivered via email on virtually any time frequency desired. Select Fold Options 4
New Educational Resources and Training Programs SkyFoundry s discussion forum for customers and partners is a constant source of information on the needs and challenges involved in applying analytics to equipment systems and smart devices. Over 85 partners from around the globe, and countless customers, contribute information, share experiences and make suggestions. These result in product enhancements, and new support services and materials. Here are a few recent highlights. New Educational Resources The all-new SkySpark Essentials Training Program provides students with the essential information to start to use and implement SkySpark. The training program consists of 4 Modules, each of which builds on the knowledge acquired in the previous Module. This course is offered in three formats: As an in-person, two-day session presented in a classroom setting. As a remote learning course, utilizing resources including: live workshops presented via webcast, documentation, video presentations, and self directed exercises to reinforce learning As fully self-directed learning all course materials are provided for customers/partners to use The course starts with a thorough review of all SkySpark apps and continues on through the basics of tagging, data connectors, data import, and rule writing with Axon. Day 1 materials are well suited to end users and sales team members, giving them the knowledge they need to effectively navigate SkySpark apps and understand the benefits and capabilities of SkySpark analytics. Haystack Connector Video It s pretty much unanimous anyone that starts to use the Haystack protocol (ProjectHaystack.org) would never turn back. By including semantic information in conjunction with the actual equipment data, Haystack streamlines the entire project implementation process. An allnew training video shows how to set up a Haystack Connector and bring that data into SkySpark. New Application Notes And our support team continues to create application notes to educate, streamline the learning process, and share techniques. New notes include: 5
Industry Recognition SkyFoundry is in the News A recent article in the Wall Street Journal focuses on the impact of data to cut energy use in buildings. The article includes mention of Kohl s Corp an industry-leading retailer that has deployed SkySpark across its portfolio. Here s an excerpt from Big Data Cuts Buildings Energy Use, Sensors and Analytic Software Help Make Buildings More Efficient Retailers Buy In --Large retailers are getting into the act. Kohl's Corp. pledged seven years ago to use roughly a third less energy than the national average for retailers of its size by 2015. Achieving the goal required much more data about energy use than the company had, says Tari Emerson, Kohl's director of sustainability. One hurdle: Every Kohl's store has different energy needs and use patterns. They're different sizes, in different regions, in different types of buildings of different ages, and the schedules for when they are restocked at night differ. They use different equipment and systems. So Kohl's invested in software from SkyFoundry LLC and Environmental Systems Inc. that helps Ms. Emerson analyze how all those factors affect energy use and design a plan for each store to reduce energy consumption. The software also takes readings of every store's energy use every 15 minutes, allowing her to quickly spot and deal with any anomalies. Source: http://online.wsj.com/articles/big-data-cuts-buildings-energy-use-1411937794?keywords=big+data By MICHAEL FITZGERALD AND ELIZABETH DWOSKIN, Sept. 28, 2014 4:56 p.m. ET Automated Diagnostics and Analytics for Buildings New Textbook- includes chapter by SkyFoundry s John Petze The new text by Barney L. Capehart Ph.D. C.E.M. and Michael R. Brambley Ph.D. provides a comprehensive look at the use of analytics technology for building systems. The purpose of this book is to share information with a broad audience on the state of automated fault detection and diagnostics for buildings applications, the benefits of those applications, emerging technology, examples of field deployments, the relationship to codes and standards, automated diagnostic tools presently available, guidance on how to use automated diagnostics, and related issues. John Petze was asked by the authors to contribute a chapter based on concepts he originally introduced in an article for Automated Buildings in June 2013. This became a SkyFoundry White Paper available here: http://www.skyfoundry.com/marketing The book contains a more comprehensive version of the material developed in response to discussions with Dr. Capehart and Dr. Brambley. It s a great contribution to the field. You can buy the book here as well as at other locations: http://www.amazon.com/automated-diagnostics- Analytics-Buildings- Capehart/dp/1498706118/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1410968321&sr=1-1&keywords=automated+diagnostics+and+analytics 6
SkySpark In The News Success stories from around the world Altura Associates and Analytics Driven Commissioning with SkySpark in a Recent Automated Buildings Article Altura uses real-time operational data to perform building diagnostics. Their approach involves on-site connection to the building management system (BMS) to extract realtime data from thousands of measured HVAC, water and lighting points and feeding this to the cloud-based SkySpark fault detection and analytics platform from SkyFoundry. From this diagnostic scan, a detailed set of building system-specific rules is extracted. This results in a fast and deep understanding of system performance and the discovery of improvement opportunities. Altura s Matt Schwartz is using this Connected Building Commissioning process for client Pacific Medical Buildings (PMB) of Southern California. Early program results have delivered energy cost savings of over 20% per building, representing annual cost savings of more than $65,000 across just two buildings. According to Schwartz, Analytics is not a box that sits on the wall. You cannot get the job done front-to-back with a hands-off remote approach. By plugging right into the BMS, we re not working on Big Data, as much as working on the Right Data. Our mix of onsite engagement plus cloud analytics includes meeting with staff and tenants so we understand the people component. With this combination, we ve been able to knock these assessments out buildingby-building, at an investment on the part of our client that is relatively low, while returns are high. http://www.automatedbuildings.com/news/oct14/articles/buildingcontext/140929023404buildingc ontext.html Ongoing Commissioning Ensures Energy Efficiency at the Dept of Veterans Affairs Consulting Specifying Engineer, Sept 2014, Bauers, Looper, Morgan. CFE Media, LLC http://bt.e-ditionsbyfry.com/publication/?i=225769 From the article, A Constant Commissioning and Reporting System allows energy management and operating teams at each site to review the entirety of their large campus by examining only those components that are operating outside of the boundaries of acceptable operating parameters... and provides guidance for the operator in understanding and initiating a deficiency resolution effort. Check the article to see how SkySpark was employed as part of this successful project. Check Page 38. 7
SkySpark Analytics for a World of Smart Devices The past decade has seen dramatic advances in automation systems and smart devices. From IP connected systems to support for web services and xml data schemas, it is now possible to get the data produced by the wide range of systems and devices found in today s buildings and equipment systems. Access to this data opens up new opportunities for the creation of value- added services to reduce energy consumption and cost, and to identify opportunities to enhance overall facility operations. Access to the data is just the first step in that journey, however. The new challenge is how to manage and derive value from the exploding amount of data available from these smart and connected devices. SkySpark directly addresses this challenge. The new frontier is to efficiently manage and analyze data to find what matters. Haystack Connect May 18 20, 2015, at the Cheyenne Mountain Resort, Colorado Haystack Connect 2015 is on! The 2013 inaugural Haystack Connect event was a great success and attendees voiced resounding support for making it an ongoing industry event. The 2015 event will be held May 18-20 at the amazing Cheyenne Mountain Resort in Colorado. Full details are available on the all-new HaystackConnect.org web site. And, early bird registration is open!!! Haystack Connect is the place where industry professionals come to learn the latest techniques for connecting systems and data to achieve intelligent, efficient buildings. Technologies and session topics include data acquisition, wireless communications, protocol translation, data visualization, analytics and methods to effectively bring all of that data together for improved systems and equipment performance. Data integration is where the synergy with Project-Haystack is found. There will also be a Project-Haystack working group meeting at the event. Project Haystack (www.project-haystack.org) was founded in 2011 specifically to address this challenge and make it easier for software applications to consume, analyze and present data from smart devices and equipment systems. Project Haystack is an open source initiative to develop tagging conventions and taxonomies for building equipment and operational data. Full details including: Event registration, Hotel registration, Call for Papers and Sponsorship/Trade Show materials are available on the brand new Haystack Connect website at: www.haystackconnect.org Overview Video Explains Project Haystack in 8 Minutes. Find it here: http://youtu.be/5c6gwlbyqtw Early Bird Registration is Open Save $100 by registering by Dec 31. SkyFoundry Insider is a Publication of SkyFoundry www.skyfoundry.com Find What Matters