The Thread Group has announced its intention to expand the Thread networking protocol beyond the connected home and into the commercial building and professional sectors. It will continue to drive adoption for the connected home, and leverage the technology for commercial buildings.

A new white paper from Navigant Research analyzes survey results from 202 respondents on the proliferation of energy efficient and intelligent building technologies in the commercial segment, providing insight into the customer point of view.

The Qualcomm Smart Campus in San Diego is adding smart digital sensing technology from Current, powered by GE. GE and Qualcomm announced that Current’s sensors, microservices, and intelligent LED infrastructure will help drive more energy efficiency and operational savings.

CytexOne has announced its smart commercial building practice, targeted to commercial buildings, university campuses, and related facilities, to provide energy efficiency, security, and automation for reduced operational expense and heightened intelligence and reporting.

Though the smart buildings market continues to suffer from a fragmented ecosystem as proprietary building automation solutions dominate, ABI Research forecasts smart buildings global facility services revenue will grow from $625 million in 2015 to more than $8 billion in 2021.

The global smart building market is forecast to grow from $5.73 billion in 2016 to $24.73 billion by 2021, increasing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 34 percent from 2016 to 2021, according to a report published by MarketsandMarkets.

Convergint Technologies, a service-based systems integrator, has announced the acquisition of TACanada. Convergint said TACanada provides intelligent buildings through the use of open systems that seamlessly integrate mechanical, electrical, lighting, security, card access, and camera systems.

Changing customer demands, regulations and sustainability goals, and power regulation and resiliency concerns are leading building owners to realize that the guidelines they have traditionally used to assess their portfolios are changing, notes Navigant Research.

The global commercial air conditioning market is forecast to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.98 percent during the period of 2016 to 2020, according to a research report from ReportsnReports.