Today's healthcare providers face a daunting challenge: sustaining or improving patient care levels despite shortages of clinicians and nurses, increasing competition, and financial pressure.

Building control systems have traditionally managed heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) separately from other systems. Siemens Industry, Inc., envisioned a greater sophistication: Why not build a control system that would co-ordinate all these variables, as well as monitor building humidity, fire alarms, door locks, security, lighting and other building features, all while collecting historical data and storing network configuration information?