Nancy and Steve represented The S4 Group at the 2019 AHR Expo in Atlanta. As always, we had a couple of very intense, and very productive, days at the show. We started out with an early breakfast meeting at the New Deal Cybersecurity Summit. The Summit brought together industry thought leaders who reviewed the status of cybersecurity in the BAS industry. The panel discussed the impending release of BACnet/SC and other initiatives and formulated an appropriate posture for the BAS industry in the security-conscious IT space. Anto Budiardjo updated attendees on how the industry is evolving to keep up with the demands for mobile access to BAS systems and what is being done to manage the associated security risks. We attended a couple of other educational sessions presented by BACnet International and Automatedbuildings.com that covered a variety of topics. The most relevant to S4 dealt with the future of building automation and the future design of intelligent buildings. AHR has traditionally had a diverse line up of educational offerings and this year was no exception.
We spent most of our time on the exhibit floor visiting S4 partner companies to stay up to date on their current offerings and directions. We also connected with several other potential partners who asked to meet with us during the show. We found a few partners with some interesting future projects and a few more with the potential to partner on future projects. As is typical, lots of details need to be worked out and that will take some time. During the show we periodically circled back to the BACnet International booth to help with new companies who wanted information about the BACnet technology as well as take the opportunity to chat with old BACnet friends .The use of BACnet continues to grow! At the end of each day of the conference there are always great social events. We chose to attend the BACnet International Membership Dinner on Monday evening. Tuesday evening offered the Reliable Controls and EnOcean® receptions.
Next year the AHR Expo will be held in Orlando, Florida, February 3-5 and is already promising to be bigger and better than ever! Mark your calendars.