Founded in Alberta, Canada in 2013, Envio Systems is now a Berlin-based Industrial IoT startup that is enabling the upgrade of new or legacy equipment using sensor, automation, and artificial intelligence capabilities. Exponentially increasing the efficiency of existing infrastructure for industries such as energy management, facility management, and agriculture. Its solution allows consolidated monitoring, management and optimization of multiple systems from a single web-based interface, revolutionizing the way we use and interact with infrastructure.
Envio has recently launched one of the world’s most advanced building automation systems which incorporates multi-sensor devices with advanced automation and dynamic intelligence for self-optimizing office, retail, hospitality, mall and school facilities. The organization’s innovation is in the capability to digitally connect existing physical components within commercial buildings, bringing them to life and allowing them to intelligently see, hear, operate, analyze, learn and interact. The truly transformative aspect of this technology is that it requires no preexisting infrastructure or replacement of equipment. Most importantly, it is self-financing as it reduces energy costs by up to 70% from day one, making advanced IoT sensing and automation functionalities available for mass market adoption for the first time.
The Passionate Leader
Reza Alaghehband, the CEO of Envio Systems, is a Canadian entrepreneur driven by the challenge of pioneering innovations in industrial automation.
He has been a featured speaker at international industry conferences, leading universities and events discussing entrepreneurship, innovation and sustainability.
Reza founded Pacific Technologies, a successful advanced materials company as his first startup. However, his passion for the environment was stirred after he joined Energex Inc., a leading Canadian clean technology company, as a senior executive.
Reza was the youngest mentor to be accepted into the Service Core of Retired Executives (SCORE). He holds a degree in marketing and a Bachelor of Commerce in Entrepreneurial Expertise from Royal Roads University.
Providing Innovative Solutions
Envio has overcome the greatest challenge preventing web-connected infrastructure: digitally connecting legacy components in a way that’s affordable and scalable. Envio enables facilities of any size, age or sophistication to quickly and painlessly incorporate advanced functionalities without the need to replace any existing equipment.
The system is comprised of three key components: The Cube, the Envio Tria Gateway and web platform.
The Cube, a plug and play IoT controller which universally connects to any legacy device in a building (light switches, thermostats, boilers, chillers, fans, pumps, valves, meters etc), enhances functionality with bidirectional communication, web connectivity and building-wide interoperability, while dramatically reducing costs and introducing IoT infrastructure where it didn’t previously exist, meeting the needs of the vast majority of the market.
The second component is the Envio Tria Gateway, a translator between communication protocols, legacy systems and a bridge between The Cubes to the cloud and back. For facilities with multiple systems and IoT solutions, Envio’s Tria Gateway consolidates and manages these solutions from any web-connected device, bridging the gap that prevents the sharing of valuable data between IoT devices and existing equipment. It also introduces a whole new series of insights, capabilities and functionalities while eliminating redundancy in hardware.
The third is the user-friendly web based platform which collects, intelligently analyzes and visually displays all components in addition to hosting the system algorithms. This key feature utilizes real-time and historic information to predict and determine the optimal settings for every single component in the building and then sends the settings back to the building for each cube to execute.
Envio has opened the door to innovative solutions and insights never before possible through its App Store, including applications for:
- Energy Management
- Data Analytics
- Asset Management
- Document Management
- Security
A Rapidly Changing Industry
Envio Systems believes the market will see strong consolidation and specialization in non-consumer verticals as sensors and wireless capabilities rapidly become commoditized.
Instead of startups reinventing the wheel and selling redundant hardware and standalone platforms, they will gradually focus more on the value of their algorithms and software which can be delivered to an existing client base. These products will be aimed at verticals like commercial buildings through systems such as those developed by Envio Systems.
Like most organizations, Envio Systems faced challenges when it first started. The organization lacked major financial backing, which pushed the team to be incredibly innovative in finding solutions to what seemed like unsurmountable technical challenges. One of these was simplifying the concept and technical complexity of its solutions before the word IoT existed.
The company also faced challenges in educating the public that 87% of all commercial buildings currently operate with less intelligence than the average cellphone.
A Unique Organization’s Future Roadmap
The commercial real estate market is an incredibly complex industry. Its value proposition differs based on whether the client is the building’s owner, a real estate investor, a tenant, an energy manager, a property manager, a utilities provider, a facility management company, an Energy Services company or an HVAC contractor.
Envio’s core value proposition is that it is able to deploy sophisticated, integrated and upgradable infrastructure at a cost so low that it is fully offset by energy savings built into the system. The organization asks for less and does more, incorporating advanced energy efficiency functionalities essential for sustainable facility operations as complimentary features.
Envio’s vision is to make every commercial building a highly sophisticated, energy efficient, digital smart building by removing the current barriers of cost, complexity and compatibility. Following 5 years of intense R&D during which time the company maintained a very low profile, Envio’s technology now makes this possible. Its system is unique in that it is universally compatible and can operate as a stand-alone or scale with each new device added to its mesh network.
Envio Systems’ future plans include an initiative to pioneer new markets made possible by new IoT, web and wireless innovations. The global market in this sector is valued at hundreds of billions of dollars and consists of opportunities in smart cities, agriculture, security, asset management, facility management, energy management, data analytics and industrial production optimization.
Source :-The 10 Most Innovative IoT Startups to Watch