IoT Security Major Challenge to Building Management Systems’ Market Growth

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The integrated building management system (IBMS) market is projected to reach $10 billion from 2020 to 2025 at a CAGR of 12.71%. The estimates come from a new industry report published by market research company, Technavio. The report analyzed the IBMS market by region, segments by end-user, and vendor landscape and component, among others.

Several factors are contributing to the global market growth. First is the growing demand for more efficient ways to manage the facilities of a building, office, or home. Utilities such as HVAC, lighting, fire systems, and building security fall into this category. Building managers are increasingly using integrated facility management software, for example, to monitor and control their operations.

Second, is the changing government regulations in many countries that are aimed at cutting down the carbon footprints of buildings. Regulations on energy use and management are evolving and building managers need IBMS platforms that incorporate compliance features. With automated management, it becomes easier to meet compliance and track improvements in energy efficiency among structures.

Third, when COVID-19 pushed many businesses into lockdown, many turned to remote operations monitoring. Even with COVID restrictions easing, businesses that have experienced the convenience of using IBMS platforms are expected to continue their use of the technology.

Though the market will experience accelerated growth during the forecast period, it’s also expected to encounter a few challenges. These include complexities in installing and running systems, integration issues, and cybersecurity. Any access to IBMS platforms from an external system poses security risks, especially if the system is connected to other business systems. The operator of the IBMS platform must, therefore, be trained and knowledgeable about the various vulnerabilities of their system.

Europe is expected to see the highest growth during the forecast period at 35%. Other important regions include the United States, China, the United Kingdom, Germany, and India. Commercial end-users will be the largest customer segment for vendors in this market.

Security Concerns in IoT SaaS for Building Management Systems

A building management or facility management system works as a master control for a building’s physical operations and maintenance. These cover the mechanical, electrical, IT, and security systems of offices, factories, schools, and construction sites, among others.

Built into IBMS systems are IoT SaaS apps that facilitate communication among digital devices, sensors, and other web-based systems integrated into the entire network. For example, occupancy sensors will be able to detect when workers leave a section of a factory and the underlying software connected to the sensors may begin to down-regulate or shut down utilities in that section. The result is lowered operating costs and a more responsive building environment.

As the report cited, market growth will come from more buildings and businesses implementing IBMS systems. With more IBMS systems, there will also be an increase in the number of IoT devices. A study estimates that there will be more than 29 billion IoT devices in 2030—almost triple the estimated 9.7 billion in 2020.

As we reported previously on IoT SaaS platforms, identity and access management (IAM) are the most urgent concerns of security teams when it comes to connected devices. We also see this in the report when it pointed to integrated IBMS systems having vulnerable endpoints that hackers could exploit.

Moreover, using multiple SaaS apps to connect IBMS systems to other business systems could open the entire network to SaaS misconfigurations. Therefore, businesses should look into IBMS solutions that implement the latest security protocols and leverage automation to monitor the security of their IoT SaaS apps.