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Siemens has announced plans for two new technology hubs — one in Chicago and one in Austin, Texas — to support the digitalization of the built environment.
The company plans to invest more than $20 million each year to establish a dedicated research and development hub in Chicago with a focus on developing cloud and IoT related applications to support its building management and automation platforms. The Siemens Building Technologies CPS Software House will operate as a global software development competence center for the company, and new applications for its control products and systems (CPS) technology will further expand efforts to transform the building technologies industry.
Due to the importance and complexity of developing new CPS applications, Siemens has decided to open an independent facility and leverage the talents accessible in the large tech and start-up community in Chicago, considered one of the top 10 tech hubs in the world. The facility will open in early October 2017, and is expected to house more than 100 employees, who will be devoted to building out new capabilities and products for Siemens’ Desigo CC and System One platforms.
“Establishing a R&D hub in Chicago is a huge opportunity for Siemens to leverage the extremely talented tech community here,” says Norman Trapp, head of the Siemens Building Technologies CPS Software House. “Our goal is to build new capabilities, bring them to customers sooner, and work with our customers to quickly obtain feedback. Modern software technology methods and skill sets will offer us speed and agility — and a shorter product development cycle will enable us to move to continuous integration of upgrades to our Desigo and System One customers, rather than via independent upgrade pushes.”
The CPS Software House is a strategic part of the overall Siemens Building Technologies delivery model, utilizing a holistic approach to allow additional creativity and foster new and better ways to create value for Siemens’ customers.
Siemens also announced it is investing $14 million a year to establish a Digital Service Center in Austin, Texas for its Building Technologies Division that expands its capabilities to help customers collect and convert data into real-time knowledge for faster, smarter decision making.
The Siemens Americas Digital Service Center is devoted to delivering solutions to help customers navigate the transformation of the building technologies industry and drive additional value of buildings via operational and energy efficiencies. The 34,000 sq. ft. facility will operate as a digital hub, leveraging the talent of more than 130 full-time employees with expertise across a variety of specialties who have been brought together to provide an end-to-end approach for customers. Working as one digital team, their collaboration focuses on the delivery of innovative applications and analytics to provide outcome-based, digital services for the building space. The team will leverage data from thousands of connected devices — including automation, video monitoring, security, fire, comfort, and safety systems — and use sophisticated software programs to evaluate rules and uncover the hidden value in the vast amount of data. This will enable Siemens to create exceptions for system use, identify new insights that translate into actionable information for users, and generate impactful outcomes for customers via remote service activities.
“Digitalization is not a project — it is a process,” says Dave Hopping, president of Siemens. “By establishing a dedicated facility, we’re able to bring together experts in software development, IT, cyber security, remote and digital services, and business intelligence to leverage an end-to-end approach for our customers — combining smart technology and smart people. This new facility will bring the services we provide our customers to an even higher level in this evolving industry.”
