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Smarter, Greener, and More Resilient: The Future of Portfolio Management Starts with Open Information Systems

July 24, 2025 | Bela Farbas, CEO, Optergy
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As global energy prices surge and climate goals tighten, building owners and facility managers are being pushed to make smarter decisions faster. From commercial offices to hospitals, from schools to retail centers, there’s a growing need to run buildings more efficiently, more sustainably, and more flexibly.

The challenge? Most buildings were never designed for this level of adaptability.

Enter Optergy – a company redefining how we manage buildings in the digital age. By having the Building Management System (BMS) and Energy Management System (EMS) capabilities in a single intelligent platform, and extending those capabilities to the portfolio with NovaQ, Optergy is helping building owners not just keep up – but get ahead.


How Optergy Helped Workspace PLC

Workspace Group PLC is a FTSE 250 REIT specializing in flexible office and studio spaces across London and the South East of England. As of 2025, it owns and manages over 4.3 million square feet of sustainable business space across 73 locations, primarily targeting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The company's portfolio includes a diverse mix of characterful, low-rise buildings, each typically exceeding 50,000 sq ft, situated near major transport hubs.


"Optergy has made it much easier for our FM teams to stay engaged – whether they're on-site or remote – by giving them a clear view of building performance across the portfolio. The ability to quickly jump from site to site in one platform has been a game changer for operational oversight and decision-making, said Philip Nartey, Senior Facilities Manager, Workspace Group PLC, London, United Kingdom. “With Optergy, we’ve unlocked greater energy control and visibility, helping us drive meaningful cost savings and streamline how we manage our buildings."


Why Integrated Systems Matter More Than Ever

The traditional BMS does a good job of controlling core functions like HVAC, lighting, and access. But in isolation, it tells only part of the story. On the other hand, EMS platforms track energy usage and efficiency but often sit separately from building operations.


This siloed approach no longer meets the demands of a world that expects speed, transparency, and sustainability.


By combining BMS and EMS in a unified platform sharing the same database, Optergy provides a 360-degree view of a building's operational health. Building operators can monitor equipment performance, identify inefficiencies, track utility costs, and respond to anomalies in real time – all from a single interface. This combined core BMS and EMS transforms reactive maintenance into strategic optimization.


Case in Point: 20% Savings Obtained by Master System Integrator

A commercial building in implemented Optergy’s platform to manage HVAC and lighting systems more effectively. By utilizing real-time weather data and occupancy-based controls, the system automated cooling load adjustments throughout the day.


This optimization resulted in a 20% reduction in energy consumption, achieved without diminishing occupant comfort. In addition, the facility team used automated alerts to detect abnormal equipment behavior early, which led to quicker interventions and reduced system downtime.


The solution delivered measurable operational savings while giving a window into the direct energy consumption in real time.


NovaQ: Centralized Control for Multi-Site Operations

For organizations managing a portfolio of buildings, performance at the individual site level is only part of the equation. Decision-makers increasingly require insights across their entire footprint to make informed, scalable choices.


NovaQ, Optergy’s cloud-based portfolio management platform, meets this need by connecting multiple facilities through a unified web-based dashboard. With NovaQ, building owners can track performance indicators such as energy intensity, emissions, utility spending, and equipment efficiency – all in real time.


By centralizing this data, NovaQ allows for instant comparisons, benchmarking, and strategic planning across properties. It also simplifies ESG reporting by aggregating relevant metrics into a single, accessible platform. This reduces administrative overhead while improving data accuracy and timeliness.


Remote access functionality enables users to oversee buildings from anywhere, reducing the need for physical site visits and enhancing operational agility.


Smart Building Technology for Everyone

Optergy’s mission is to provide scalable smart building solutions. This means the platform needs to have functionality while being cost conscious – not just to flagship facilities or large enterprises, but also to mid-sized operations and retrofit projects. The platform utilises open protocols like BACnet and Modbus, enabling seamless communication with a broad range of existing equipment and REST API for IoT products.


Market Momentum: The Push Toward Intelligent Operations

The shift toward data-driven building management continues to accelerate. Industry reports forecast significant growth in the smart building market, fueled by regulatory change, rising utility costs, and increasing pressure to meet sustainability targets.


For many organizations, buildings represent one of the largest sources of operational expense and carbon emissions. Platforms like Optergy address both challenges head-on, offering financial savings through reduced energy waste and providing tools to support long-term environmental goals.


Scaling Smarter with Confidence

Optergy’s solutions are built for scalability. Whether optimizing a single commercial tower or managing a global network of properties, the platform provides visibility, intelligence, and control at every level.


Core features include real-time dashboards, intelligent scheduling, automated fault detection, and cross-site performance analytics. These tools allow stakeholders—from facility teams to sustainability executives – to align operational and strategic priorities in one ecosystem.


By delivering actionable data and platform-wide integration, Optergy supports customers in improving building performance while reducing environmental impact.


Conclusion: From Smart Buildings to Smart Portfolios

Buildings today must be more than functional – they must be intelligent, adaptive, and sustainable.


With unification of EMS and BMS at its core, and the power of NovaQ in the cloud, Optergy is helping redefine how buildings perform. From reducing utility bills and emissions to streamlining ESG compliance, the platform gives owners the tools to meet today’s challenges – and tomorrow’s opportunities embracing a future forward mentality.


In a time when operational excellence and sustainability are non-negotiable, Optergy is at the forefront of helping buildings evolve into smart, efficient, and resilient assets.

Bela Farbas, CEO, Optergy
With 15 years in implementation and management consulting in the space of information management and big data, and 8 years founding and scaling an industrial IOT business, Bela Farbas is passionate about data and the value it brings to an organization. Bela has a keen interest in energy efficiency and sustainability.

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Optergy is a global provider of smart building and portfolio solutions that unify building automation, energy management, and asset optimization into a single platform. Purpose-built for HVAC and building professionals, Optergy delivers powerful tools to reduce energy use, enhance occupant comfort, and increase asset performance.