BOULDER, Colo. — Worldwide revenue from building energy management systems is forecast to increase at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of nearly 14 percent through the rest of this decade, reaching just under $6 billion a year by 2020, according to a new report from Pike Research.

Given the challenging business and economic environment of recent years, governments, building owners, building tenants, and companies in general are looking for ways to become more efficient, notes Pike Research. A key mechanism for achieving greater efficiency is building energy management systems (BEMS), defined as the software, hardware, and services associated with the intelligent (i.e., information and communication technology-based) monitoring, management, and control of energy, specifically for reducing overall energy consumption and cutting energy costs. Advances in technology and the availability of more detailed information on how buildings can use energy more efficiently have sparked growing interest in, and rising sales of, these systems.

“Over the last year, the convergence of building equipment and IT has advanced at a rapid pace, enabling a higher degree of control over building energy and operations than ever before,” said research analyst Eric Bloom. “The BEMS market is evolving rapidly and is enjoying a burst of innovation, leading to an explosion in the amount of data that is available on the energy performance of commercial buildings.”