A recent Deloitte report stated that the adoption of IoT and cloud technologies in India is still at a nascent stage, owing to many challenges the country faces in terms of the talent gap, connectivity, compatibility, interoperability, and cybersecurity, etc. In 2019 alone, India spent $20.6 billion on IoT hardware and software.

In the initial stage of the pandemic, the focus was more on optimising cost and directing it towards resources based on priority. Adoption of IoT and related technologies will be greater in the second half of 2021, the report added. 

Founded in 2016, Netix is a subsidiary of the Netherlands-headquartered SB Group offering end-to-end IoT-enabled building management and smart-city solutions. For this week’s startup column, Analytics India Magazine spoke to Ganesh L Khanolkar, Director Operations at Netix India, to understand how the startup is leveraging emerging technologies to offer smart city solutions.

Headquartered in Mumbai, Netix controls and maintains embedded assets such as air conditioning, security and emergency lighting systems, reducing the need for physical intervention. With over 50 leading clients across the country, the company is on track to hit its revenue target of $10 million in India by 2024.

Products

The company’s comprehensive industry expertise ranges from design, engineering, integration, connectivity, testing, commissioning support and maintenance support of smart building ecosystems, and their components. 

NETIX Controls software is an open framework that delivers a variety of improvements to help businesses take full advantage of the Internet of Things, including advanced visualisation and new search, security and navigation tools. NETIX Controls is customisable to suit the security policies of organisations.

Khanolkar said, “We have built-in features that make it easier for the end-user configuring our software to enforce best practices. Our latest release includes a host of new features and functionality to support our customers as they deploy more third-party drivers and analytics tools to glean more insight from operational data.” 

He added that the company has an all-new user interface that is modern and easy to use. The platform utilises HTML5 to provide an array of rich features. Also, the new range of products at NETIX Controls include sensors and metering devices around IP, ethernet, WiFi, MQTT, wireless and IT security standards and more.

What’s The Differentiator?

Khanolkar said, “What sets us apart from our competitors is that we are brand agnostic and offer an open framework, a software that supports all protocols that’s available in the market. So the biggest advantage our customers get is that they don’t require an additional gateway, and can also integrate legacy BMS systems, enabling them to retain existing controllers along with Netix platforms and additional drives.

“Also, our complete integrated BMS portfolio includes software, controllers, sensors, metering devices and thermostats all under the same roof. Our dashboard also provides key offerings such as IoT connectivity, cybersecurity, compliances required, real-time cloud-based dashboards, smart metering, predictive analysis, etc,” he added.

Use of IoT & Other Technologies

The company offers wireless IoT sensors to give building owners visibility into their property operations, such as health facility, equipment condition, waste management, security and fire safety, etc. 

According to Khanolkar, there are different levels of integration available depending on the various systems, services and applications. The NETIX Controls core is built around the IoT.

The above image is a representation of a typical IoT solution, with the many layers required to get data from disparate systems and IoT devices to either a desktop User Interface (UI) or mobile device through the IoT layer stack. The NETIX Controls software supports device and data connectivity across all layers of the offering. 

Hiring @ Netix

The company looks at the background, personality traits and skills while hiring employees. Khanolkar also mentioned important skill sets required in a recruit:

• Tech Savvy
• Vulnerability assessment skills (Hardware, Software security & Data Security skills)
• Networking expertise
• Analytics & Data Science expertise
• Understanding of OT & IT
• Mobile App friendly 
• A good learner 
• Team Man
• Leadership & business acumen

Future Roadmap

On a concluding note, Khanolkar said, “NETIX will definitely revolutionise this domain with our state-of-the-art solutions. We have a team of professionals/engineers exclusively focusing on smart/intelligent building vertically.” He added, “We as NETIX will demonstrate and justify the costs and efforts involved. We have smart solutions ready for offices, warehouses, hospitality and retail spaces which constitute the major market potential for smart buildings in the coming years.”