15 January 2021
By Elaine Murphy
elaine@TheCork.ie
Johnson Controls International plc is an American Irish-domiciled multinational conglomerate headquartered in Albert Quay, Cork, Ireland that produces fire, HVAC, and security equipment for buildings. It employs around 105,000 people in around 2,000 locations globally.
Johnson Controls Logo.
The firm has just been awarded the title of “IoT Partner Ecosystem of the Year” in the 2021 IoT Breakthrough Awards. The company was honoured for its OpenBlue digital platform and extensive work implementing a network of OpenBlue Innovation Centers around the world. Both are part of Johnson Controls’ commitment to deliver healthy people, healthy places and a healthy planet.
“We feel extremely honored that our OpenBlue digital strategy is being recognized for reimagining how artificial intelligence and machine learning can enhance building ecosystems by delivering a new level of security, comfort and efficiency,” said Mike Ellis, executive vice president and chief customer & digital officer at Johnson Controls. “Our OpenBlue innovation centers as well as our OpenBlue platform mark the beginning of our collaboration with leading companies to develop breakthrough technologies that foster a more sustainable future for generations to come.”
This is the third consecutive year Johnson Controls won an IoT Breakthrough Award. The awards program is devoted to honouring excellence in Internet-of-Things (IoT) technologies, services, companies and products. The company was named “Overall IoT Company of the Year” and “IoT Innovator of the Year,” in 2020 and 2019 respectively.
“Our goal is to deliver the most comprehensive analysis of the IoT industry each year. With over 3,850 nominations from all over the world, the industry evaluation was broad and extremely competitive for the 2021 program,” said James Johnson, managing director, IoT Breakthrough Awards. “Once again, Johnson Controls rose to the top as a leader in advanced digital solutions that enhance performance, reliability, safety and energy use for buildings and its occupants.”
Johnson Controls has nine OpenBlue innovation centers around the world in Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Boca Raton, Florida; Cranston, Rhode Island; Birmingham, Alabama; Cork, Ireland; San Jose, Costa Rica; Wuxi, China; Singapore and Pune, India. These centers are designed to accelerate the reinvention of the building landscape, creating dynamic smart facilities that help businesses meet their sustainability commitments, while delivering healthy places, enriched experiences and cost savings.
This modern office building at One Albert Quay houses – inter alia – the HQ of Johnson Controls
Johnson Controls has already formed partnerships with major organizations and recently announced a global collaboration with Microsoft to digitally transform how buildings and spaces are conceived, built and managed through the integration of their Digital Twin technologies and OpenBlue platform.
In addition, the company recently opened its Singapore OpenBlue innovation center at the National University of Singapore. The facility serves as a “living laboratory” where occupants interact with a variety of connected solutions designed to improve productivity, deliver safe and respectful security, boost well-being and increase sustainability. These solutions are driven by advanced technologies including artificial intelligence and machine learning – meeting future demands for healthy people, healthy places and a healthy planet.