Future Trends of Structured Cabling According to BSRIA
Author: Lone Hansen, Senior Manager – IT Cabling, BACS & Associated Technologies at BSRIA
BSRIA (Building Service Research & Information Association) is a 1000-member non-profit organization considered to be the worldwide source of building services information and knowledge. BSRIA’s Worldwide Market Intelligence (WMI) division conducts primary and secondary research to provide the most updated and thorough information to help our members, and the industry, understand the current and future markets.
One of BSRIA’s main focus areas is structured cabling, the foundation of IT (and increasingly OT) networking. The uptake of convergence (IoT) in buildings is increasing and is having a positive impact on sales of structured cabling for buildings. As the number of data outlets installed at the desk (and the number of desks) are decreasing, convergence of surveillance cameras, access control, digital signage, AV, lighting etc. onto structured cabling (on one or several networks) is ensuring continuing growth in the market.
The trend towards everything being connected is evident, with increasing uptake of IP enabled products, increasing use of open protocols such as BACnet and more intelligent controllers and gateways. However, concerns about cyber security, limited new build compared to existing (old) buildings, lack of education and skills in the industry and, in many cases, issues with integration of various protocols and standards is holding growth back. One driver, mainly in retrofit, is NBASE-T technology over installed base Cat5e/Cat6A cabling. This offers a way for customers to evolve their networking infrastructure with significantly less disruption to the business.
You can learn more in the Structured Cabling: The Foundation of NBASE-T webinar recently recorded with Peter Jones, Chairman of the NBASE-T Alliance. We discuss specifics on the cabling installation happening today, and the role of NBASE-T technology moving forward. While cabling may never receive the star attention it deserves in the networking infrastructure, it remains one of the most important decisions in the building process.
