This Frost & Sullivan research service aims at understanding the major market initiatives and growth strategies of market leaders and, most importantly, the emerging and niche participants in the North American building automation systems (BAS) market.

All the companies in this study have been rated based on specific criteria such as current and emerging revenue potential as well as product, technology, and service innovation and differentiation, potential for global expansion, R&D initiatives, and end-user perspectives, among others.

It has been found that providing innovative features, combined with competitive pricing, remains a key strategy to satisfy the needs of diverse end-user segments and maintain market leadership. Demand for open and interoperable systems is another emerging trend, with an increasing number of end users turning to relatively new entrants as opposed to the bigger participants in the industry.

"With open and interoperable solutions for building control products and services, building owners can not only enjoy multi-vendor interoperability, but these standards also provide a degree of stability from one generation of products to the next," explains the analyst.

A major portion of the demand for BAS is expected to stem from non-residential facilities where end users experience higher return on investment (ROI) owing to greater energy consumption.

Additionally, the BAS controls market is also making a significant impact across a few promising niche applications such as retail chains. In fact, in 2004, 24.0 percent of the total revenues generated in the BAS market were from this sector.

"This study is unique because it is not exclusive to large companies with higher market shares," says the analyst. "It recognizes the work of smaller niche participants that have innovative technologies and marketing strategies along with the initiative and drive to enter this highly competitive market."