What does it take to scale a smart building platform from 200,000 instances to 1.4 million?

In this episode of The Down Low with Joe, we sit down with Stephen Holake, Chief Product Officer at Tridium, to unpack the long game behind one of climate tech’s most important (but quietly dominant) platforms: the Niagara Framework.

Stephen shares how Tridium’s open architecture and channel-first approach allowed it to win over OEMs, system integrators, and contractors – all while giving building owners flexibility in a traditionally closed ecosystem. We dive into the Honeywell acquisition, the evolution of building controls, and why the product does “nothing out of the box” - by design.

From security-first development to the AI-enabled future of Niagara 5, this episode is packed with insights on product management, scale, and how to drive real-world climate outcomes in the built environment.

🎯 Topics include:

• The story behind Tridium’s growth to 1.4M building instances
• OEM partnerships and how to go from “one to all”
• Grid flexibility, AI control loops, and autonomous BAS
• Why empathy matters in climate tech product strategy
• What Niagara 5 will unlock for integrators and owners

🎬 Watch the full video on YouTube: The Climate Gap Podcast

↳ Follow us on LinkedIn: Lewis Martin | Joe Aamidor

↳ Join Tech Climate Spotlight: https://confirmsubscription.com/h/y/5D3982252AFCF0EE

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Buildings are under pressure – not just to decarbonize, but to collaborate with the grid in ways they never have before.

In this special solo-hosted episode, Joe Aamidor welcomes Jake Elder, research lead at Energy Impact Partners (EIP), for a deep dive into the “Electric Utility Gauntlet.” As grid operators face mounting stress from AI-driven data centers, manufacturing growth, and electrification, the need for demand-side innovation is now urgent.

Jake unpacks how smart buildings must evolve: not by ripping out legacy BAS systems, but by building smarter layers on top. He shares findings from EIP’s research into building automation startups and highlights overlooked asset classes where real value can be unlocked – including cold storage, multifamily, and data centers.

From AI in autonomous control to utilities sending pricing signals to buildings, this episode maps the next 5 years of disruption in climate tech and commercial real estate.

🎬 Watch the full video on YouTube: https://youtu.be/a0Mhv1-XczA

↳ Follow us on LinkedIn: Lewis Martin | Joe Aamidor

↳ Join Tech Climate Spotlight: https://confirmsubscription.com/h/y/5D3982252AFCF0EE

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Access control used to be simple: keep the wrong people out.

Now it’s at the center of digital transformation in smart buildings.

In this episode of The Down Low with Joe, we sit down with Lee Odess – CEO of the Access Control Collective and a leading voice in security innovation – to unpack how access control is evolving and why it’s critical to the future of real estate.

Hosted by Joe Aamidor and Lewis Martin, this conversation dives into:

• Why access control is shifting from pure security to occupant experience
• How major tech players like Apple, Google, and Amazon are reshaping the industry
• The real impact of mobile credentials, cloud, and biometrics
• Why “platform thinking” is the future of smart building tech
• How legacy systems and incentive structures are holding the industry back

If you care about smart buildings, digital experience, and the future of property technology, this is an episode you can’t miss.

🎬 Watch the full video on YouTube: https://youtu.be/u5p0O6-h_uU

↳ Follow us on LinkedIn: Lewis Martin | Joe Aamidor

↳ Join Tech Climate Spotlight: https://confirmsubscription.com/h/y/5D3982252AFCF0EE

#SmartBuildings #BuildingAutomation #MSI #ClimateTech #TheClimateGap

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