Following Acquisition Spree Nordomatic Emerges As A Serious Competitor In The Smart Buildings Market

Following Acquisition Spree Nordomatic Emerges As A Serious Competitor In The Smart Buildings Market

Nordomatic, a BMS and energy efficiency solutions provider, has gone on an acquisition spree over the past 12 months, unabashedly positioning itself as a strong player in the wider smart building technology market. Since mid-2021, it has acquired software and services firms with capabilities in two key areas: building automation system integration (Demma Group in the UK, Nortech and SRO in Norway; Y-con in the Netherlands) as well as workplace analytics and management (Spica Technologies). As a building management system (BMS) integrator with multiple decades of experience, this reflects an ambitious strategy of market expansion in Europe, and an effort at upselling with entirely new capabilities given the purchase of Spica. These acquisitions will complement its earlier investments, such as the acquisition of BMS integrator Dominus A/S and its minority stake in sensor supplier Yanzi Networks. Nordomatic’s total staff count will now rise well above 550.

What is behind this ambitious strategy? Several market trends are driving Nordomatic’s decisions. The first is sustainability and the recent surge in energy prices. Corporates are under unprecedented pressure to control operational costs. The acquisition of four BMS integrators will enable Nordomatic to reduce energy usage for even more clients by optimizing building automation systems. A key use case involves ensuring that HVAC, lighting and security systems operate correctly during the set hours that a building is either open or closed for use. Another trend is digitizing workplace management following the spread of hybrid working. Solutions such as Spica and Yanzi can be used to measure space utilization in offices, and then sync such space use (in rooms or floors) to local HVAC, lighting and security operations.

Nordomatic’s acquisition activity is reminiscent of other players in the market. Witness CPIP provider Spacewell acquiring energy management firm Dexma, Dude Solutions acquiring Energy Profiles Limited and IBM (with its CPIP platform TRIRIGA) acquiring Envizi. This is part of an ongoing effort by larger players at consolidating their position in the smart buildings market. Leading players are making strategic purchases to present themselves as a unified solution with a simpler customer journey compared to leveraging multiple point solutions, that can easily support multiple use cases.
To enhance your understanding of why the smart buildings market is growing so fast, particular in the space and workplace management software segment, read our recent report: Market Size And Forecast: Space And Workplace Management Software 2021-2027.