Industrial IoT, SCADA, IBMS & DCIM Glossary

Definitions of the industrial IoT, SCADA, IBMS, DCIM, building automation, and energy-management terms that come up when discussing SEnergy IoT. If a term you were looking for is missing, email info@senergy.net — we add new entries regularly.

BACnet

An ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 135 building automation and control networking protocol. Comes in several flavours: BACnet IP, BACnet MSTP (over RS-485), and BACnet SC. Primarily used in HVAC and building controls. SEnergy IoT supports BACnet IP and BACnet MSTP natively, so DDC-based IBMS stacks (including Niagara, Siemens Desigo, Honeywell EBI, Johnson Controls Metasys, Schneider EcoStruxure) can be integrated or replaced in place.

BMS (Building Management System)

A software platform that monitors and controls a building's mechanical and electrical equipment — HVAC, lighting, fire, security, elevators. Common examples: Siemens Desigo, Honeywell EBI, Johnson Controls Metasys, Schneider EcoStruxure Building. SEnergy IoT replaces or integrates with BMS platforms via BACnet or Modbus.

CMMS (Computerized Maintenance Management System)

Software that manages work orders, preventive maintenance, and asset records. Examples: Maximo, ServiceNow, Freshservice. SEnergy IoT generates tickets into CMMS platforms via webhook when rule-based thresholds are breached.

DCIM (Data Centre Infrastructure Monitoring / Management)

A platform category that monitors and manages data-centre power, cooling, IT assets, and environmentals. Legacy DCIM products include Vertiv, Nlyte, Sunbird, and Schneider EcoStruxure IT. SEnergy IoT is currently the DCIM-of-record in 7 UAE data centres, covering the full stack: incoming transformer → DG set → LT panels → MDB → SDB → branch circuits → smart PDUs → fire alarm control panels → fire pumps → flood detection → lighting DB → chiller + AHU → VRF outdoor + indoor.

DDC (Direct Digital Control)

The microcontroller-based controller used in Direct Digital Control building automation — effectively a BMS equivalent of a PLC. DDC products are tightly coupled to one OEM's equipment catalogue. SEnergy IoT replaces the DDC with its IoT gateway, so the customer is no longer locked into one controller OEM.

Digital twin

A live software model of a physical asset — plant, substation, HVAC plant room, factory floor, data-centre rack row — with real-time sensor telemetry overlaid. SEnergy IoT provides 2D and 3D digital twins driven by the historian and live stream.

DNP3 (Distributed Network Protocol)

A communication protocol used widely in utility SCADA, especially electrical substations and water utilities. SEnergy IoT supports DNP3 serial and DNP3 TCP for utility and load-dispatch telemetry.

End-of-Life (EOL) cancer / EOL trap

The disease every legacy automation vendor suffers: a field device reaches end-of-life → the replacement device does not speak to the existing controller → the customer replaces the controller → nothing underneath it works anymore. To avoid the CAPEX, the customer makes that part of the plant manually monitored, then sometimes manually controlled. Entire production lines, malls, and IT offices go back to manual before anyone notices. SEnergy IoT cures the cancer via its functionality warranty.

ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning)

A software platform that integrates the main business processes of an enterprise — finance, HR, procurement, manufacturing, supply chain. Examples: SAP, Oracle, Microsoft Dynamics. SEnergy IoT integrates with ERP for cost allocation, specific-energy accounting, and work-order synchronisation.

Field device

The physical sensor or meter at the edge of an industrial system: energy meter, water meter, BTU meter, gas meter, temperature / pressure / level / rpm / counter / timer sensor, weighing scale, or serial-to-ethernet converter. SEnergy IoT does NOT manufacture field devices; they come from third-party OEMs selected per customer budget and brand preference. SEnergy IoT's OEM scope is the gateway and the software; the integration layer across heterogeneous field devices is the product.

Functionality AMC

Annual Maintenance Contract keyed to the automation CONTINUING TO FUNCTION, not to a specific equipment serial number list. Standard AMCs expire when the covered equipment reaches end-of-life. SEnergy IoT's functionality AMC does not — if a field device, controller, or software vendor retires its hardware, SEnergy substitutes it and the automation keeps running.

Functionality Warranty

A warranty on the automation continuing to work, not on a specific firmware revision. Standard product warranties expire when the vendor retires the hardware; the SEnergy IoT functionality warranty does not. This is the single most important differentiator vs legacy PLC+SCADA, DDC+IBMS, and DCIM stacks — all of which push end-of-life onto the customer's CAPEX budget.

Gateway (IoT gateway)

The edge device SEnergy IoT places on-site to collect data from field devices (meters, sensors, controllers), perform protocol conversion, buffer during network outages, and securely forward to the SEnergy cloud or on-prem server. The IoT gateway is SEnergy IoT's OEM product — it replaces the PLC in a SCADA stack and the DDC in an IBMS stack.

GOOSE (Generic Object Oriented Substation Event)

A fast peer-to-peer messaging service defined in IEC 61850 for substation protection and automation. SEnergy IoT ingests GOOSE for high-speed substation telemetry.

Historian

A time-series database optimised for high-volume industrial sensor data, with compression, retention policies, and fast time-range queries. SEnergy IoT ships an integrated historian so customers don't need to procure one separately. SEnergy's historised data has been used by customers to prove disputes against third-party AMC vendors (e.g. power-quality claims).

HMI (Human-Machine Interface)

The graphical screen operators use to monitor and control a plant or process. Legacy SCADA has engineered HMI screens; SEnergy IoT replaces the HMI with configurable browser dashboards.

IBMS (Integrated Building Management System)

A software platform that unifies HVAC, lighting, fire alarm, access control, elevators, and multi-utility metering across a building (or campus) under one dashboard. The "integrated" in IBMS refers to crossing subsystem boundaries that legacy BMS platforms treat separately. Niagara is the archetypal IBMS framework. SEnergy IoT replaces the DDC controllers with an IoT gateway and Niagara/other IBMS software with cloud or on-prem SEnergy.

IEC 61850

The international standard for communication networks and systems in electrical substations. Includes MMS for client-server and GOOSE for peer-to-peer. SEnergy IoT supports IEC 61850 MMS and GOOSE for substation automation and utility SCADA.

IoT (Internet of Things)

The network of physical devices embedded with sensors, software, and connectivity that collect and exchange data. Industrial IoT (IIoT) is the application of IoT to manufacturing, utilities, data centres, and heavy industry — SEnergy IoT's domain.

ISO 50001

The international standard for energy management systems. Requires an energy policy, baseline, performance indicators (SEnPIs), action plans, and periodic review. SEnergy IoT provides the measurement, baselining, and reporting infrastructure that satisfies ISO 50001 requirements out of the box.

LEED / IGBC / GRIHA / USGBC / EDGE

The main green-building certification schemes. LEED (US Green Building Council), IGBC (Indian Green Building Council), GRIHA (Indian), USGBC (umbrella of LEED), and EDGE (IFC) all require continuous evidence of energy, water, and air-quality performance. SEnergy IoT provides multi-utility monitoring, baseline comparisons, and audit-ready reports for all five schemes from one integrated system.

Measurement and Verification (M&V)

The process of planning, measuring, computing, and reporting savings from energy-efficiency projects at a specific site. The reference framework is the International Performance Measurement and Verification Protocol (IPMVP). SEnergy IoT automates M&V reporting.

MMS (Manufacturing Message Specification)

The client-server protocol defined in ISO 9506 and used in IEC 61850 for substation automation. SEnergy IoT supports MMS alongside GOOSE for complete IEC 61850 compliance.

Modbus

The de facto industrial protocol since 1979. Modbus RTU runs over serial (RS-232, RS-485); Modbus TCP runs over Ethernet. SEnergy IoT supports both and provides protocol conversion at the gateway for legacy serial loops.

MQTT

A lightweight publish-subscribe messaging protocol commonly used in IoT. SEnergy IoT supports MQTT for cloud-friendly data ingestion from constrained devices.

Niagara (Tridium Niagara)

A framework / platform for building automation and IBMS from Tridium (now Honeywell). Niagara is a framework rather than a finished product — delivery requires Niagara-certified systems integrators. SEnergy IoT replaces Niagara with a finished product: the IoT gateway replaces the DDC and SEnergy cloud/on-prem replaces the Niagara software stack.

OPC-UA (Open Platform Communications Unified Architecture)

A platform-independent service-oriented architecture for industrial automation. OPC-UA is the modern successor to OPC Classic and is widely used to bridge SCADA, PLCs, and MES. SEnergy IoT supports OPC-UA for integration with Wonderware, Siemens WinCC, Rockwell FactoryTalk, and other legacy SCADA — enabling phased migration from a legacy SCADA to SEnergy.

PLC (Programmable Logic Controller)

A ruggedised industrial computer that executes control logic for machines and processes. Common vendors: Siemens, Rockwell, Mitsubishi, Schneider, Omron, ABB, GE. In a SEnergy IoT SCADA replacement, the PLC is substituted by the SEnergy IoT gateway; the SCADA software is substituted by SEnergy cloud or on-prem.

Production integration

A SEnergy IoT capability: historising production quantity and rejection quantity alongside energy, water, and gas usage. Operators can rationalise utility use per unit of output, isolate efficient vs inefficient machines/workers/workflows, and find root causes BEFORE they show up on the quality or rejection report.

PUE (Power Usage Effectiveness)

The standard efficiency metric for data centres: total facility energy divided by IT equipment energy. A PUE of 1.0 is theoretical perfection; typical modern data centres run 1.2 to 1.5. SEnergy IoT ships a PUE dashboard out of the box for data-centre customers as part of DCIM.

SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition)

A category of software that gathers and analyses real-time data from industrial processes to monitor and control equipment. Legacy SCADA is on-premise, HMI-centric, per-tag licensed, and tightly coupled to specific PLC vendors. SEnergy IoT delivers cloud-native (or on-prem) SCADA with browser dashboards under a functionality warranty, replacing legacy stacks from ABB, GE, Siemens, Wonderware, iFIX, Rockwell FactoryTalk.

SEnPI (Specific Energy Performance Indicator)

A ratio-based indicator defined in ISO 50001: energy consumed per unit of output (kWh per tonne, kWh per m², kWh per occupant-day). SEnergy IoT computes SEnPIs automatically from meter and production data.

SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol)

A protocol for monitoring network devices, servers, UPSs, and PDUs. SEnergy IoT supports SNMP v1, v2c, and v3 for IT infrastructure monitoring alongside operational technology data — essential for DCIM use cases.

TLS (Transport Layer Security)

The cryptographic protocol used to secure network communication. SEnergy IoT uses TLS 1.2+ for all edge-to-cloud traffic, with per-gateway client certificates for mutual authentication.

Vendor accountability

A SEnergy IoT value proposition: the historised data on SEnergy becomes auditable evidence that customers use to hold their OTHER vendors accountable. Example: a Bengaluru hospital's equipment-AMC vendor was overcharging for spare replacements, blaming "poor power quality" on the hospital. SEnergy's power-quality historian proved the UPS was delivering pure power; the AMC vendor was forced to honour the AMC. SEnergy becomes the system-of-record even for parts of the stack it does not own.