Pennsylvania-based Black Box has introduced Connected Buildings, a suite of services that enable digital experiences in smart, IoT-enabled buildings.

Black Box designs, deploys, manages and maintains the foundational technology that connects the internal ecosystem of interoperable devices and sensors that work together to enable human-to-human, human-to-device and device-to-device interaction. Its Connected Buildings services modernise IT infrastructure, solve in-building connectivity problems and link devices at locations around the world.

“Demand for the IoT building is growing exponentially,” said Doug Oathout, senior vice president at Black Box. “Now, more than ever, our customers need spaces that are interactive, adaptive, automated and secure. At Black Box, we apply our broad portfolio of IT to take the complexity out of connected buildings and make it simple for our customers by giving them one trusted partner to handle their IT services. Whether updating hundreds of existing locations or outfitting one location from the ground up, our team of project managers, engineers and technicians works with our clients to create consistent customer experiences and reliable communications at every location.”

Connected Building is enabled by technologies such as: 5G, CBRS and wifi to augment existing wireless systems and create fully connected buildings; edge networking and data centres to collect data where they are created and combine them with AI to make smarter devices; and cyber security for governance and assessments, incident and event monitoring, endpoint detection and response, and VPN and firewall services.

The offering includes assessment, consulting and project management, coupled with on-site services for configuration, staging, installation and logistics. Black Box accomplishes this with four offerings:

• Multisite deployments: The Black Box team can handle large-scale national and global installations and provide uniform IT at hundreds or thousands of sites.
• IoT deployments: The explosion in IoT is enhancing the user experience for customers and colleagues. The team can supply and install cameras, digital signage, PoS, sensors and other in-building IoT technologies.
• Structured cabling and networking: This enables the seamless digital experience that is the foundation of Connected Building. The team can ensure that clients have the infrastructure necessary to support future bandwidth requirements.
• Digital transformation: This is for seamless user experiences. With thousands of certifications and technicians, Black Box can manage the implementations and deployments that drive global transformation.

“With Connected Buildings, our role is to simplify IT for our clients – especially in complex enterprises and when they have little or no remote IT support – all while helping them meet the device deployment challenges inherent in digital transformation,” Oathout said. “The results speak for themselves. IT operations managers who have chosen Black Box as their digital transformation partner have cut project costs by more than 33%, slashed the time for retrofitting existing locations from years to months, and experienced the same high-quality results whether they’re based in Mexico City, India or Memphis, Tennessee.”

With more than 40 years of experience connecting people and devices, Black Box helps its customers embrace the IoT by ensuring business continuity and accelerating digital transformation. It designs, deploys, manages and maintains a full range of technologies that support connected buildings, a digital workplace and customer experience. With expertise in 5G, edge networking, data centres and cyber security, the team aims to deliver secure, consistent and latency-free connectivity to enterprises of all sizes and scopes.

Black Box is a wholly owned subsidiary of AGC Networks.