J2 Innovations - Experts & Thought Leaders

EllisDon, a global construction and building services company, announces a new partnership between its Infrastructure Services & Technology (IST) Division and J2 Innovations, a platform provider for smart buildings, smart equipment, and the Internet of Things (IoT).  FIN Framework The collaboration will see EllisDon utilise J2 Innovations’ FIN Framework, a flexible open software framework, enabling original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to create automation and IoT applications quickly and efficiently. This partnership will enable EllisDon’s IST Division to further develop their digital twin application, EKO, which is focused on integrating all data points within a facility to optimise the built environment and enhance the end user’s experience. Integrated building management solutions EllisDon IST will use the FIN Framework, on which FIN Stack is developed, to create and customise its new OEM product suite This announcement comes after EllisDon implemented a range of projects using J2 Innovations’ FIN Stack software, a comprehensive suite of ready-to-use apps, enabling integrated building management solutions to be engineered quickly and easily. Motivated by its efficiency and adaptability, EllisDon IST will use the FIN Framework, on which FIN Stack is developed, to create and customise its new OEM product suite for EKO. Digital twin application "We are excited to collaborate and enhance industry standards by utilising J2 Innovations’ expertise in FIN Framework, as it will be an important component of our digital twin application, EKO," says Robert Barnes, Senior Vice President of Energy & Digital Services at EllisDon. He adds, "This partnership will leverage the strengths of both companies by exploring new opportunities, strengthening product offerings, and providing cutting-edge solutions to meet the evolving needs of the market." Support market segments and end users EllisDon and J2 Innovations will extend the use of FIN and utilise it as an enabling platform for EKO As a market pioneer in the integration of primary building systems (i.e. building automation, lighting control, electronic security, elevators, etc.), EllisDon is expanding into the integration of technology and enterprise management systems with EKO. Through this collaboration, EllisDon and J2 Innovations will extend the use of FIN and utilise it as an enabling platform for EKO, allowing it to support multiple market segments and end users. Net zero future In addition, EllisDon holds a distinctive position in the building industry and, through their extensive experience constructing and operating large, complex facilities, has developed close relationships with building and facility management stakeholders. With these relationships, along with their J2 Innovations partnership, EllisDon is poised to drive industry-wide change and lead the transition towards a net zero future. Hospital building automation Jeremy Wolfe, Vice President of Sales Americas at J2 Innovations, said, "Our partnership with EllisDon underpins the effectiveness of their products in a range of commercial environments, and will exploit the potential for a significant advancement in hospital building automation and beyond." He adds, "Together we can harness our next-generation software framework to EllisDon’s vision to push the limit of data and efficiency-driven construction management."

J2 Innovations, the developer of the easy-to-configure and use software platform for building automation and IoT applications, FIN Framework (FIN), has launched the FIN microBMS, a compact feature-rich building management software package that enables its OEM partners to deliver easy-to-install solutions for small to mid-sized buildings across multiple sites. The entry-level FIN-based system is a powerful simple-to-use plug-and-play solution for efficient building management that has removed much of the complexity and cost found in many of BMSs from building control specialists. Fully-featured versatile solution “The driving force behind the development our first FIN microBMS had been the obvious lack of options in the market for managing smaller scale building environments,” explains Jeremy Wolfe, VP Sales Americas at J2 Innovations. “This isn’t a pared-down version that has compromised on functionality, the power of FIN Framework delivers a fully-featured versatile solution that is simple enough for installers [non-specialists] to configure and use yet offers high levels of automation and integration – engineered properly, the best things do come in small packages.” Users can monitor, control and visualise all the operational and energy assets such as HVAC, lighting and security systems inside a building or buildings across numerous sites to optimise the comfort levels, safety and energy efficiency. A dashboard flags the status or health as well as maintenance requirements of all the connected devices while trend monitoring and utility metreing are reported by the system. Plug & play simplifies the installation of any pre-configured hardware solutions. Data-management, analytics and simplified workflows Natively built for tags and support for the Project Haystack 4 open standard FIN provides an intuitive user-experience with intelligent data-management, analytics and simplified workflows. J2’s latest Edge2Cloud capability provides operators with a secure remote connection to the Micro BMS for accessing building data, servicing and upgrading of the system. As Chris Irwin, VP Sales EMEA states: “The Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) has boosted the energy performance of buildings across the EU and recent amendments have now made BACS mandatory for certain-sized buildings i.e. in the small-medium and simple category. The FIN microBMS meets the requirement of providing more sophisticated automation to help save energy and money.” Irwin continues: “In the future, all commercial buildings will be connected with intelligent controls. This shift towards smarter controls makes the FIN microBMS ideal for multi-site operators or electrical and mechanical contractors working on small retail premises, restaurants, local authorities, small offices and leisure sites.”