The Switch Platform: 3 ways to ingest data

The Switch Platform: 3 ways to ingest data

The Switch Platform integrates with commercial building portfolios via the Switch IoT appliance, data mapping and APIs.

A truly effective smart building platform should integrate building data, systems and equipment to give actionable insights into site and portfolio performance and ultimately help the people behind these assets drive efficiency, sustainability and comfort.

Our goal at Switch is to make it as easy and painless as possible to collect as much data as you want into one single pane of glass, for the very first time. Whether you have a brand new Class A office building, full of the latest IoT sensors, or an older retail shop with a few basic systems, we use three simple ways to connect your data, buildings and team:

  1. The Switch appliance: Customers receive one appliance per building to connect and integrate existing HVAC, lighting and metering systems. This plug-and-play IoT appliance connects to the internet and your internal networks to communicate directly with your building subsystems, including your BMS and IoT sensors. Powering up your appliance begins your enterprise’s journey to monitor, analyze and optimize your building operations.
  2. Data Mapping: Automatically feed data into the Switch Platform from sources like utility bills, work order systems and waste contractors via File Transfer Protocol (FTP) or email, with a one-time configuration.
  3. APIs: We've built a range of application program interfaces to enable integration with work order systems, utilities and other standalone platforms.

How does the data ingestion process work?

First, Switch coordinates with your site team to arrange appliance and IP address set up, before deploying the appliances either on site or remotely. Switch then installs a few quick, easy plug-ins to connect the appliances to your building networks and powers them up. Finally, we discuss and plan any additional IoT sensor installation, and which data points to draw onto the Platform.

The benefits of integrating with Switch

Unlike other proprietary smart building solutions, Switch is ‘data agnostic,’ meaning the Platform doesn’t discriminate against any specific brand of IoT sensor or building system. From BMS systems to electrical meter data, utility usage work order systems or GRESB and LEED data, as long as the system we’re connecting to has an open-protocol or the data files are saved using standard file formats, we can connect to it. To extend the diverse range of smart building tech that the Platform integrates with, our software development team is at the ready to develop new API integrations for our Enterprise IoT customers.

Moreover, integrating the Switch Platform is a very scalable process – once we establish the specifics of integrating thousands of devices with diverse firmware, software and hardware types, extending the Platform across your portfolio later is easy, whether that means 100, 1,000 or 100,000 additional buildings.

PUBLISHED
October 26, 2019
Switch Team
Switch Team
Switch Automation
CATEGORY
RELATED TAGS
No items found.
SHARE THIS ARTICLE

Filter by

Thought Leadership

5 articles found

People Culture

Spotlighting our female engineers for International Women in Engineering Day 2021

For INWED, we’re putting the spotlight on our female engineers, asking what advice they have for aspiring female engineers.

Switch Team
Switch Automation
Read Article
People Culture

Switch CFO transforms old dairy farm into natural habitat for endangered koalas | #SwitchItUpForGood

Switch CFO Suellen Thompson is planting thousands of trees to provide a habitat for the endangered koala population of New South Wales.

Switch Team
Switch Automation
Read Article
Product

Switch Dx³: An on-demand building systems network assessment

In honor of EWeek, we’re putting the spotlight on some of our building engineers.

Switch Team
Switch Automation
Read Article
People Culture

Switch Product Lead helps regenerate local Australian habitat | #SwitchItUpForGood

Switch Product Lead does her part to regenerate the natural habitat in her local Australian community, helping plant 1,000 trees.

Switch Team
Switch Automation
Read Article
Product

A software Platform to enhance efficiency, transparency and coordination for your service contracts

Switch Dx³ offers ESCOs a new tool for transparency, monitoring and verification of project performance across the entire business portfolio.

Switch Team
Switch Automation
Read Article
Industry Insight

Surviving the crash: Offsetting asset devaluation after a global crisis

As property markets face an uncertain future, there really is no better time to start proactively offsetting the risk of asset devaluation.

Switch Team
Switch Automation
Read Article

Latest Articles

Industry Insight

AI Alone Won’t Solve the Data Problem in Buildings

The future of AI-powered buildings depends on something less exciting but far more important: clean, structured building data.

Industry Insight

Are Your Buildings AI-Ready?

Most buildings aren't AI-ready — not because they lack technology, but because their data is siloed. Here's the foundation they're missing.

Industry Insight

How Technology Is Transforming Facility Management in 2026

Learn how smart building automation helps Facility Managers reduce costs, gain portfolio visibility, and deliver measurable ROI in 2026.

Ready to Digitize Your Building Portfolio?

Book a demo and see how Switch connects, analyzes, and optimizes your buildings from day one.

By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. View our Privacy Policy for more information.