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Smart building boost with France-US tie-up

US-based Igor and France-based Conectis, a subsidiary of Rexel are aiming to improve access to industry-leading smart building technology throughout Western Europe. Effective immediately, Conectis customers can buy Nexos, Igor’s smart building platform. Conectis will distribute Nexos as part of its Gigamedia IT solution set, a networking infrastructure technology.

Across nine European countries (France, Germany, Italy, the Nordics, Spain and the UK), the total number of smart systems sold will nearly triple between 2018 and 2022, to reach over 8 million, it says. The stock of smart buildings in France alone is expected to reach 10 million by 2022. Igor’s Nexos IoT platform aligns with the larger Conectis product portfolio, which consists of components critical to the infrastructure of intelligent buildings. Nexos is a universal, end-to-end Power-over-Ethernet (PoE) smart building solution that compliments Conectis’ expertise in cabling systems and network architecture.

The relationship between Igor and Conectis began in 2016 when leaders from both companies met at a European trade show. In anticipation of the European smart building market rapid growth, Conectis executives were searching for an IoT, PoE platform to offer its expanding customer base. Igor’s flagship product, Nexos, is a PoE-based IoT smart building platform that incorporates hardware, software and cloud analytics to enable smart and secure buildings. Combined with an open API and real-time data, Nexos is a forward-looking technology that seamlessly integrates advanced lighting controls with building systems, low-voltage devices, business applications and more.

“PoE will be the heart of smart building infrastructure,” said Luc Debert, Conectis business unit manager. “Over three years of testing, we’ve discovered Igor’s platform carries with it numerous advantages. Adding the Nexos platform to our offering will help us deliver the kind of advanced IoT technology our customers are demanding.”

While most PoE-based solutions on the market today focus solely on intelligent lighting, Nexos has a robust reach that touches the entire smart building ecosystem. Building managers can solve a variety of problems from one platform.

“The timing is right,” said Debert. “Our expertise, combined with Igor’s proven technology, is a winning combination to serve the diverse needs within the smart building markets. Our companies work well together on a technical level, and also on a personal level. That is important to us when it comes to upholding our reputation for excellence in client services.”

“We are excited about our partnership with Conectis,” said Steve L’Heureux, CEO of Igor. “Conectis is an innovative, agile company led by forward-thinking executives and with the strength of a 13-billion Euro corporation behind it. It has a well-earned reputation for excellence and a clear vision to lead in smart building implementations. Conectis has been a great company to work with throughout this whole process, and we know they will do an amazing job delivering bundled turnkey smart building solutions to their customers throughout Western Europe.”