Commercial buildings and facilities management are undergoing a quiet revolution. From water conservation to HVAC optimization, elevator monitoring to portable sanitation management, a new generation of IoT solutions is transforming reactive maintenance into predictive operations and converting wasteful systems into sustainable assets.
A new wave of companies is proving that IoT for commercial buildings and facilities can be both sophisticated and simple by delivering enterprise-grade insights through plug-and-play devices that just work. These innovators share a common thread: they’ve eliminated connectivity complexity by partnering with Blues to focus their engineering resources on solving real problems rather than wrestling with cellular infrastructure.
In this blog, we will share four examples of how IoT is transforming commercial building operations today.
Impact Service Group: From Reactive to Predictive HVAC Management
Impact Service Group provides HVAC maintenance services through a network of over 500 vendor partners. Their Remote Equipment Monitor (REM) device represents their entry into IoT solutions, and it’s transforming how they deliver maintenance services.
The problem Impact Service Group set out to solve is familiar to anyone managing commercial buildings: incomplete information leading to inefficient service. “Often the only information we get from the manager of a site is ‘my store is hot,'” explains Clayton Callander, President of Impact Service Group. “We can’t create a useful work order for the technician because we don’t have the necessary information.”
This lack of diagnostic data created multiple inefficiencies. Technicians were unable to adequately prepare for service calls, leading to scheduling challenges and wasted time. Perhaps most frustrating were emergency overtime calls, with roughly two-sevenths of HVAC failures occurring during weekends and holidays when overtime rates apply, representing a significant cost burden for customers.
Impact Service Group’s solution bridges a critical gap in the building automation market: serving commercial building managers who want equipment-focused data without paying for full building automation systems. The REM device focuses specifically on the needs of the technicians servicing the equipment, providing a “check engine light” for HVAC systems that enables predictive rather than reactive maintenance.
By choosing cellular connectivity over WiFi, Impact Service Group eliminated what could have been a significant deployment barrier. “It’s so difficult to work with large companies to get IT approval to connect to their networks,” Callander explains. “Cellular is just a much easier way to go, it doesn’t require any involvement from the IT department of the company.”
The result is a true plug-and-play solution. “The goal for this device was for it to be installed by any HVAC technician with zero training or specialized knowledge. We mail these devices to our vendors, and the technician installs them in about 15 minutes; it’s very straightforward,” Callander emphasizes.
Lift AI: Bringing Predictive Intelligence to Elevator Maintenance
Lift AI has developed intelligent monitoring systems that give elevator operators visibility into their equipment performance. Their $500 device transforms reactive maintenance into predictive, data-driven operations; a dramatic departure from the traditional approach of waiting for failures to occur.
“We’re looking for spikes in vibration, acceleration, deceleration; things that indicate abrupt stops or shutdowns. We give customers a ‘check engine light’ for lifts,” explains Rob Wurth, CEO of Lift AI. “We focus on anomalies and trend analysis. If vibration is getting worse, that should guide maintenance priorities.”
What makes Lift AI’s solution remarkable goes beyond the analytics; it’s the accessibility. While competitors offer elevator monitoring systems that cost $10,000 per unit, Lift AI’s approach makes intelligent monitoring economically viable for a much broader market. By integrating cellular connectivity directly into their device, they’ve created a solution that’s 95% cheaper than alternatives while delivering the insights operators need to prevent failures and optimize maintenance schedules.
Lift AI operates an equipment-as-a-service model with flexible data subscriptions that start with basic trip tracking and scale as needs grow. This approach aligns costs with value delivered, making it easier for building operators to justify the investment. The result is a solution that works for both single-building operations and multi-site portfolios.
“What sets Lift AI apart is our focus on the business use case and application engineering. We use best-in-class partners and products to move quickly and cost-effectively,” Wurth notes. That strategic focus enabled Lift AI to recently execute a complete remote firmware upgrade of their entire deployed fleet without physically accessing a single device. This kind of platform evolution, executed seamlessly through cellular connectivity, demonstrates the maturity that modern IoT infrastructure can deliver.
Satellite: Bringing Intelligence to Portable Sanitation
Satellite is tackling the challenge of optimizing the management of temporary and portable bathroom facilities. Their Satellite Sense solution brings IoT-enabled monitoring to portable toilets, tracking usage, status, and location for optimized servicing and fleet efficiency.
For companies managing fleets of portable toilets across construction sites, special events, and temporary locations, the traditional approach has been reactive and inefficient. Service routes are typically based on schedules rather than actual need, meaning some units get serviced too frequently while others overflow between visits.
Satellite Sense transforms this model through real-time monitoring. The device tracks usage patterns, providing data that enables route optimization based on actual need rather than fixed schedules. GPS tracking prevents loss and ensures accountability across distributed fleets. Tip-over and status alerts enable rapid response to problems, improving customer service and preventing minor issues from becoming major complaints.
The efficiency gains are substantial. By optimizing service routes based on actual usage data, companies can reduce fuel consumption, minimize labor costs, and improve asset utilization. The remote monitoring capability means dispatchers can make intelligent decisions about which units need service rather than sending trucks to check on every unit manually.
What makes Satellite’s solution particularly interesting is the cellular connectivity strategy. For portable toilets deployed to remote construction sites or rural events, WiFi isn’t a reliable option. With Blues, Satellite can ensure continuous monitoring regardless of location, without having to connect to temporary site or event WiFi which isn’t always available. Ken Schomburg, Director of R&D, explains, “Our customers have their hands full just servicing the toilets, they can’t be expected to deal with any connectivity issues. The Satellite Sense product requires zero connectivity configuration, thanks to the Blues Notecard using the cell network. And satellite connectivity is in the works at Blues, aiming to provide trouble free 100% coverage for our products.”
SkyCentrics: Unlocking Grid Incentives for Commercial Equipment
SkyCentrics has developed a solution that connects two critical trends in commercial buildings: the push for energy efficiency and the growing importance of grid flexibility. Their SkyBox device provides open-standard grid signal certifications, making commercial building equipment grid-flexible and eligible for utility and demand response incentives.
“The challenge SkyCentrics addresses is translating between different communication protocols,” says Tristan de Frondeville, CEO at SkyCentrics, “Many commercial buildings utilize equipment that communicates via Modbus or BACNet, industrial protocols that aren’t designed to interact with utility grid signals. The SkyBox acts as a translator, converting building management system protocols into grid-connected devices that can participate in demand response programs and access utility incentives. It is important to have a solution to connect directly to the machines for the 85% percent of buildings with no BMS.”
For original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and building owners, this translation capability opens up new revenue opportunities through utility incentive programs while supporting broader energy efficiency and grid resilience goals. The plug-and-play cellular connectivity means deployment doesn’t require complex network integration or IT involvement. The SkyBox can be installed and immediately begin communicating with both building equipment and utility systems.
This approach reduces integration costs through open-standard compliance while enabling buildings to participate in energy efficiency programs, demand response initiatives, and grid resilience efforts. As utilities increasingly need buildings to act as flexible loads that can adjust consumption in response to grid conditions, solutions like the SkyBox become essential infrastructure for the modern commercial building.
“Cellular connectivity is critical here, it provides a reliable, secure communication channel that’s independent of the building’s network infrastructure, ensuring that grid signals can reach equipment even during network outages or reconfigurations.” de Frondeville adds, “This reliability is essential when buildings are participating in demand response events that may occur during peak load or emergency conditions.”
See These Solutions Live at CES 2026
These four companies represent diverse applications: HVAC optimization, elevator monitoring, grid integration, and portable sanitation management. Yet they share a common insight: successful IoT deployment requires eliminating connectivity complexity to focus engineering resources on solving real problems.
Want to see these commercial buildings and facilities management solutions in action? All four companies will be showcased at the Blues booth during CES 2026 in Las Vegas. It’s a unique opportunity to meet the team behind Blues, see live demonstrations, and discover how cellular connectivity is enabling the next generation of connected technology.
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