ASHB recently presented the final results of its landmark 2025 Smart Building Trends & Technology Adoption Research Project during a webinar held on November 13, 2025.
Access to the Research
- Executive Summary: Available for free public download, offering key insights into the evolving smart building landscape.
- Comprehensive Findings: Access to the full research (valued at $80,000 USD) is reserved for funding organizations. Final deliverables will be available for public purchase in the ASHB Shop after a four-month embargo, ending in March 2026.
- Inquiries: Contact [email protected] to inquire about purchasing the full research findings.
Project Overview
Objectives:
- Consumer Needs: Identify the operational, sustainability, and occupant-related needs that organizations aim to address through smart building technologies.
- Consumer Expectations: Understand the value, performance expectations, and outcomes stakeholders anticipate when adopting smart building systems.
- Innovation Drivers: Highlight market gaps and emerging opportunities where advanced technologies can improve building performance and user experience.
Methodology:
- Data Source: Online survey of 308 qualified respondents across the United States (82%) and Canada (18%), including property owners, building operators/managers, operations staff, and IT leaders (included for the first time).
- Survey Structure: 63 questions covering technology adoption, budgets, AI, digital twins, BMS/BAS, cloud adoption, sustainability, regulations, and spending patterns.
- Survey Duration: Approximately 20–25 minutes per respondent.
Key Areas Explored:
- Adoption Rates: The survey measures how widely smart technologies are deployed across major building systems, from HVAC and lighting to security, electrical distribution, and fire/life safety.
- Technology Priorities & Use Cases: It identifies which smart building capabilities matter most to organizations, including centralized control, system integration, automation, analytics, and AI-driven optimization.
- Challenges & Barriers: The research highlights the financial, technical, and organizational obstacles that limit adoption, such as high costs, cybersecurity concerns, outdated infrastructure, and gaps in internal expertise.
- Cloud Adoption, AI & Digital Twins: It examines the growing role of cloud-based BMS, artificial intelligence, and digital twin technologies in transforming building operations and enabling more advanced automation and insights.
- Spending Patterns & Budget Outlook: The survey provides a detailed view of current spending levels on smart building technologies and expectations for increased investment across nearly all major categories.
- Regulatory & Sustainability Trends: It explores how building codes, environmental regulations, and net-zero commitments influence technology adoption and shape organizational priorities.
- Outlook: The study offers forward-looking insights into how emerging technologies, market pressures, and operational needs will drive the next wave of smart building innovation.
Trend Analysis Topics:
- Cloud-based Building Management Systems (BMS)
- Smart Buildings Software Landscape
- Sustainability and Energy Management
- Digital Twins
- Artificial Intelligence – with a focus on real-world use cases that are delivering measurable value today
- Smart Buildings Monetization Models
Deliverables:
- Smart Building Survey: Raw data (Excel), 11-page Executive Summary, and summary infographic
- Survey & Trends Report: 115+-page Highlights Report
- Summary Infographics: Cloud-based Building Management Systems (BMS) & Smart Buildings Software Landscape
- Quarterly Reports: 2025 Q1-Q3 Market Model, Smart Systems Navigator and Market Activity Tracker
- Webinar Recording & Presentation: Two-hour final webinar recording and accompanying presentation slides
