How to buy building monitoring without buying a roadmap.
The gap between a polished demo and software that actually works is where public-sector budgets disappear. These nine questions tell you which one you’re being sold.
Ask every vendor the same nine.
Take this into the demo, or print it for the procurement meeting. A vendor selling working software will welcome every question and answer it on the spot. A vendor selling a roadmap will start managing the conversation — and that tells you what you need to know.
Download the one-pager (PDF) to take into the meeting.
Make them prove it works today.
Show me, live and unedited, a real sensor reading triggering a real alert in Teams or email — today, on this call.
Green flag — They share their screen and do it in minutes.
Red flag — “We’ll arrange a bespoke demo,” or “that’s on the roadmap.”
From the kit arriving to my first automated alert, how many days?
Green flag — Days — with a self-install starter kit.
Red flag — Weeks of onboarding and mandatory professional services.
Does the system act on the data — route alerts, raise tickets — or just show me a dashboard?
Green flag — They show a workflow firing end to end.
Red flag — It’s a screen you still have to watch yourself.
Check it does your job, not a generic one.
Does it understand the standards I’m accountable for — BB101 CO₂, Awaab’s Law dew point, MEES/EPC, HSG274 — out of the box?
Green flag — The thresholds are pre-built and named.
Red flag — “You configure all of that yourself.”
Can I see a live deployment and speak to a customer like me — not a case-study PDF?
Green flag — A real reference, and a real screen to look at.
Red flag — Logos, slides, and “commercially confidential.”
Can I run one building on a short paid trial and send it back if it doesn’t auto-alert?
Green flag — Yes — low commitment, proven on one site.
Red flag — Demos only; sign a multi-year contract first.
Find the costs and the exits before you sign.
What’s the exact price and timeline to connect this to my existing CAFM or helpdesk — included, or a separate line item?
Green flag — Named connectors; fixed or zero integration cost.
Red flag — Vague “consultancy” or “implementation” fees.
What do I actually pay over ten years — devices, platform, network, support — all in?
Green flag — Clear line items; ongoing costs on the page.
Red flag — A headline price now, recurring costs glossed over.
Who owns the data, can I export raw history, and what happens to my dashboards if I leave?
Green flag — You own it; clean export; no lock-in.
Red flag — Data held hostage and a costly, painful exit.
We answer all nine. Live.
Book a scoping call and we’ll show you a real alert firing into Teams — on your building, not a slide.