WHITE PAPER: DESIGO OPTIC

How to Make Smart

Buildings Even Smarter
Simplified building management with improved data access and visibility across
devices takes a giant step forward.

siemens.co.uk/desigo-optic
Desigo Optic: How to Make Smart Buildings Even Smarter

Smart cities. Smart buildings.

Smart cars. Smart phones.
The technology fabric of our modern world has become increasingly sophisticated and integrated. It’s now
possible to run an entire factory or manage all the systems in a Manhattan office tower from the palm of
your hand and from just about anywhere in the world. Robotic surgery can be done remotely. Drones can
fly over hundreds of miles of pipelines inspecting them for corrosion and leaks. The list of today’s tech
wonders is quite long and growing.

Of course, for all this we can thank advances in basic So, despite the widespread deployments of building
technologies, such as ever-denser microcircuits, artificial management system (BMS) and building automation system
intelligence (AI), sophisticated software, edge and cloud (BAS) solutions over the years, they can fall short of what a
computing, and ubiquitous Internet of Things (IoT) true “smart building” model requires – namely, the better
connectivity. Together in diverse and truly innovative optimization of a structure’s performance without making its
combinations, they have accelerated vast gains in capabilities operation overly complex and too complicated to manage.
for a wide range of products and industries. The latter include At the same time, building owners and facility engineers face
aerospace, automotive, engineering, financial services, challenges with the amount of data that must be stored in the
healthcare, manufacturing, science, and many others. BMS. They need easy-to-use tools and processes to help
manage all this data and, most importantly, to derive insights
Open standards are keys to interoperability
that can drive greater operational efficiencies.
But, for all those varied technologies, let’s not forget the
role that open standards and open software and system
architectures have played and will continue to play in the Desigo Optic: Redefining Openness.
communications and interoperability of it all. This is
Redefining Building Automation.
especially relevant for building owners, facility managers
and engineers, and systems integrators. 1. Built on openly distributed FIN Framework, Desigo Optic
While technology trends make it more and more provides one of the first completely open solutions
cost-effective to add instrumentation and collect data about offering a system that avoids vendor lock-in and
building operations and energy use, the resulting tsunami of improves serviceability.
data is of little value without being able to normalize, analyze, 2. Offers an array of open protocols to communicate
and visualize it across building systems. In short, we need with field and edge-level devices.
to make better sense of it. In fact, there appears to be a
consensus that buildings and facilities could still benefit 3. Delivers a fully open, yet solid and secure
from even greater measures of openness to ease integration enterprise-level system for seamless and scalable
challenges, some quite costly: solution to FIN-enabled devices.

• 82 percent of decision-makers confirm that building 4. Enhances real-time data visualization by integrating
automation is important or very important – and 64 percent systems and devices through BACnet and an open
plan investments in integration solutions in the next year.1 Haystack application programming interface (API).

• 30 percent of system integrators estimate they lose up to 5. Control your building on-the-go with Desigo Optic’s
$1 million a year due to integration-related issues, resulting web responsive mobile first design – information when
in them seeking solutions in open-source data-integration you want it, where you want it.
tools that will drive $12.24 billion in global growth of the
data integration market by 2022.2

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Desigo Optic: How to Make Smart Buildings Even Smarter

Desigo Optic provides better

data visibility and more informed
decision-making to enhance a
building’s performance and
lifecycle operation.

To fill this need, Siemens introduced Desigo Optic. Because of its openly distributed architecture and APIs,
It is an easy-to-use, truly open market software application Desigo Optic makes it easy to add capacity, capabilities,
designed and engineered for mid-market and larger and connected devices and equipment. It is also cloud-ready,
commercial buildings as well as K-12 schools and so users can integrate it with different cloud platforms.
higher-education campuses. This creates unique opportunities for consulting engineers,
control contractors, and building owners/operators to develop
Because of its open architecture and adherence to open
value-adding applications and flexible deployment options.
industry standards, Desigo Optic can be easily integrated as
a complementary solution to an existing BMS/BAS platform. Built-in semantic tagging harmonises data from different
sources to deliver data-driven insights, plus automated
The advantage: Desigo Optic preserves both existing legacy
workflows accelerate commissioning speeds by more than
BMS/BAS investments and the skills and experience of
33 percent while also reducing labor costs dramatically.
operators. Browser-based, it makes BMS/BAS building data
accessible from virtually anywhere on any web-enabled device. Haystack 4 via FIN 5 Framework
For example, with Haystack 4 semantic tagging natively written
Sustainable path forward
into its code using the FIN 5 Framework (see sidebar on last
Alternatively, should a key BMS/BAS component be nearing
page) Desigo Optic greatly simplifies building management by
its end-of-life support, the open architecture of Desigo Optic
standardizing tag-based workflows across different building
provides building operators with a future-proof, sustainable
systems. Built-in wizards and a wide range of templates that
path forward. So, when a new technology from Siemens
apply to all the key features can automatically generate
or a third-party developer debuts, they can incorporate its
graphics, trends, alarms, and user navigation for common
capabilities much more quickly and easily than what current
“single-pane-of-glass” dashboards across a building’s systems.
BMS/BAS platforms allow.
Native tagging facilitates shared data histories and common
What’s more, Desigo Optic will soon be able to scale its point types across systems, too.
distributed architecture as new buildings are added to a
management portfolio.

Desigo Optic is highly scalable, enabling fleet management

of systems across buildings, whether they’re located in a single
campus or office park or across wide distances. It offers high
availability and remote access to powerful analytics across an
entire property portfolio, including different building types.

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Desigo Optic: How to Make Smart Buildings Even Smarter

Overall, standardized tagging provides better visibility of

Standardized Point Tagging:
systems and deeper insights into zone-by-zone data from those
systems – HVAC, lighting, electric, and other utilities and More Benefits for Stakeholders

facilities. This way, data across all these systems is made more
Building Owners
accessible to building managers and facilities engineers, who
• More enhanced building performance via greater
can then make more informed decisions about how to operate
interoperability across systems.
their structures most efficiently and cost-effectively.
• More building and system visibility and utilization
Predictive maintenance for cost-savings
to maximize ROI and reduce risk.
For example, data analytics of a building system’s key
• More OPEX reductions to boost profitability.
performance indicators (KPIs) can provide for the
condition-monitoring and predictive maintenance of a Facility Managers and Engineers
building’s various systems and equipment. Anomalies, such • More consistency in the data fed from a wide variety
as air handling unit operations or chiller faults that exceed of point sources to BMS/BAS platforms, even from
preset parameters, can trigger alerts on a Desigo Optic multiple campuses.
operating dashboard, so technicians can look into
• More actionable intelligence from deeper insights
them – before disruptions occur. Root causes can be
drawn from that data.
investigated, too, by looking into the operating histories
• More visibility into systems performance to improve
from system data logs, to prevent system, equipment, or
their operational efficiency and streamline staff
device malfunctions from recurring.
workloads.
These approaches can actually reduce the costs of scheduled • More accessibility to data via secure anytime,
maintenance because maintenance is conducted as needed, anywhere, any device web-enabled dashboards.
saving labor. They also can prevent downtime, which can
• More predictive maintenance models to quickly identify
either disrupt, or inconvenience a building’s occupants, such as
equipment or devices needing replacement and
the case should an HVAC or elevator system go out. But should
minimizing occupant disruptions.
a building system or device outage occur, the actionable
intelligence Desigo Optic can provide the facility’s managers Systems Integrators
and engineers can help them identify and resolve the problem • More wizards and templates to apply key features to
much quicker, minimizing owner and occupant issues. differentiate BMS/BAS solutions in less time, improving
time to market.
• More simplified commissioning of increasingly complex
and smarter systems, saving time and costs.
• More streamlined access to building data to improve
work flows and processes across different building
systems.
• More visibility into system operations, improving
responsiveness to client needs and client retention.

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Desigo Optic: How to Make Smart Buildings Even Smarter

Desigo Optic’s growing market momentum:

Easy to use. Easy to get started.

The Siemens network and systems integrators Two deployment options

specializing in BMS/BAS development, engineering, Desigo Optic comes in two packages. One is front-end
and deployments are quickly supporting Desigo Optic software hosted on any networked standard PC, edge computer
as the most open, scalable, and easy-to-use building or on a physical or virtual server. Alternatively, for smaller

management and automation software on the buildings, system integrators or facility engineers can choose
to use the ultra-compact Siemens CFG3.F200 supervisory
market. When obsolescence occurs with other legacy
controller with Desigo Optic software embedded. Each delivers
technologies, Desigo Optic is a new, future-proof
normalized, graphic data trending, reporting, and alarming
choice, with its native semantic-tagging and
via single-pane-of-glass, integrated dashboards on any
mobile-first, HTML5 web-responsive advantages.
web-enabled device anytime and anywhere.

Both approaches provide native Haystack over RESTful,

BACnet IP, KNX, Modbus, TCP/IP, SNMP and many other protocols
via the FIN 5 Framework from J2 Innovations, a Siemens
company. However, a PC/server implementation scales
to 100,000 data points while the software controller
implementation can manage up to 2,000 data points. Both
types of implementations can be connected to a local server
using the Haystack API to extend the Desigo Optic system
in a modular way, so as to support even more data points.

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Desigo Optic: How to Make Smart Buildings Even Smarter

Native tagging built-in for streamlined workflows Within the Desigo Optic software, all components are built
Although other BMS/BAS platforms feature tagging capabilities, on HTML5, which makes it possible to implement, commission,
Desigo Optic provides a native tagging system, which tags and access the solution from anywhere on the network.
data at its point of integration. In addition, the software is a This also easily adapts its dashboards to the smaller screens
component to better automate the process of applying tags to of tablets and smart phones. Highly secure, anywhere,
data. The tagging is then tied to common implementation tasks anytime accessibility makes it easier for users to track changes,
such as alarm creations, historic data archiving and, most adjust setpoints, and have the clearest views possible on
importantly, applying graphics. This not only offers a more building activity without being tied to a desktop or laptop.
efficient approach to building automation, but also results in a This capability can be especially important with COVID-19
more standardized and consistent model of data management causing a greater need for many building management staff
across various systems, equipment, and devices. members to work from home.

30 percent of system integrators estimate they lose up to $1 million a year

due to integration-related issues, resulting in them seeking solutions in
open-source data-integration tools that will drive $12.24 billion in global
growth of the data integration market by 2022.2

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Desigo Optic: How to Make Smart Buildings Even Smarter

Today and tomorrow, Desigo Optic will set the pace of of what features and capabilities that conventional BMS/BAS
expectations by building owners, facilities managers, solutions have traditionally provided. Now integrators can
engineers, and systems integrators as to what truly open design comprehensive smart building solutions around their
smart building software should be. Being openly available, customers’ specific requirements, not around the limitations
easy to use and scalable will become benchmarks to measure of yesterday’s platforms and tools.
competitive offerings. Desigo Optic pushes the boundaries

82 percent of decision-makers confirm that building automation

is important or very important – and 64 percent plan investments
in integration solutions in the next year.1

Technical Snapshot
Simplifying Data Collection and Analysis Through FIN 5 Framework and Haystack
Project Haystack, an open-source organization that Siemens and its subsidiary, J2 Innovations, helped co-found in 2014,
with Intel and several other companies, provides a standardized data-tagging model for all the diverse data generated by
the many legions of devices that operate throughout modern buildings. These include various automation and controls
for HVAC, lighting, energy, fire, security, water and wastewater, elevators, and other environmental systems.
For more information on Project Haystack, visit www.project-haystack.org.

Haystack tags help normalize data by describing what the data is – metadata, in other words. They can describe a data
source’s site, location, equipment type, and point type. With Haystack tagging, systems integrators can streamline their
work involving point setup, graphic creation, and programming. It also can help them build consistent data and workflow
models that are more efficient and informative, the latter by providing context and meaning that would otherwise require
time-consuming, costly, and error-prone manual deciphering.

Using the FIN 5 Framework from J2 Innovations, Desigo Optic applies Haystack 4 tagging natively over RESTful, BACnet IP,
Modbus, TCP/IP, SNMP and many other protocols. To add to its flexibility and utility, custom DXR templates are available to
make integration easier and faster. There’s no need for special commissioning and engineering tools or software – or their
associated licensing and costs. For more information, visit www.j2inn.com.

nHaystack is an open-source module available from Project Haystack. It allows integration of Tridium’s legacy AX and newer
N4 systems; and provides a truly open system. In addition, nHaystack enables Niagara systems to act as either servers or
clients in the Project Haystack format via a RESTful protocol. Using nHaystack, external applications receive data that
includes essential metadata (tags) to describe the meaning of the data.

1
“2020 Market Report: Integration Challenges Drive Urgency for Change, Increased Automation,” 2020 State of Ecosystem and Application Integration
Report, sponsored by Cleo and conducted by Dimensional Research

2
“Data Integration Market by Component (Tools and Services), Business Application on (Marketing, Sales, Operations, Finance, and HR), Deployment Model,
Organization Size, Vertical, and Region - Global Forecast to 2022,” MarketsandMarkets Research Private Ltd.

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Information in this publication is based on
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models as design improvements are introduced.