Sreekumar Narayanan
Chief Growth Officer,
BNB Security & Automation solutions
The inflection point that no one can ignore
For two decades, India’s Global Capability Centers (GCCs) and IT MNC campuses have been built on a familiar blueprint – design the ELV and MEP systems to code, tender them out as capital projects, commission, hand over fat as-built folders – and move on. Meanwhile, resilience was ‘someone else’s problem,’ usually a business continuity or facilities footnote.
That mental model is collapsing. Chronic flooding in tech corridors, rolling cyber-physical attacks and a regulatory landscape that now demands evidence (not promises) are forcing enterprises to rethink the way buildings, people and technology are protected. The era of the point-in-time compliance audit is giving way to a continuous, sensor-driven assurance fabric; and at the center of that transformation stand MEP/ ELV Specifiers – if they choose to step up.
This article lays out a practical, standards-aligned roadmap for Specifiers to evolve from traditional ‘BoQ writers’ into architects of resilience-as-a-service. It shows how to embed Sensor-as-a-Service (SaaS²) commercial models and how to design Key Risk Indicators (KRIs) that naturally roll up into business-facing Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) at the Operations Command Center – or the now-converged GSOC.
From hardware lists to metric Bills of Materials
Specifiers have historically been judged on the elegance and completeness of drawings, schematics and hardware schedules. Tomorrow’s value will be judged on how well you define what to measure, why to measure it and how fast that insight reaches decision-makers.
Enter the metric Bill of Materials (mBOM)
Instead of only listing ‘300 smoke detectors, addressable, UL listed,’ the specification now states the metric it supports (e.g., Life Safety Loop Integrity KRI), the sampling frequency, acceptable downtime percentage, calibration windows and the API payload through which that metric will surface at the GSOC. Think of it as a parallel BoM that makes the system talk in the language of resilience.
Key shift
Sensors are no longer just hardware – they are sources of regulated evidence. If the detector fails silently, you haven’t just lost a device; you have lost a compliance control.
The business model pivot: Sensor-as-aService (SaaS²)
GCCs want predictable OPEX, faster refresh cycles and guaranteed outcomes. Specifiers can enable this by insisting that bidders price two parallel tracks:
- Classic CapEx Turnkey (buy, depreciate, maintain).
- CapEx-Lite Sensor-as-a-Service (setup fee + monthly subscription that bundles hardware lease, firmware refresh, analytics, compliance reporting and SLAs).
SaaS² aligns incentives. Vendors are paid to keep the metric healthy, not just to install hardware. Specifiers should specify:
- Refresh cadence (e.g., 20% of sensors swapped or upgraded every two years).
- Firmware/ patch SLA windows.
- Data retention and export obligations under India’s DPDP 2023 and global client mandates.
- Buy-out clauses (client can convert to ownership at book value×agreed factor in year 3 or 5).
By codifying these in the specification and RFP, one opens the door for integrators to offer true lifecycle value while keeping clients off the CapEx treadmill.
KRIs, KPIs and the GSOC as the Single Scoreboard
Resilience as a concept fails when it lives in slide decks. It succeeds when it’s visible, trended and tied to incentives. That’s why the GSOC (or any Command Center) must display a balanced set of metrics:
- Leading KRIs (real-time): Sensor uptime %, false alarm rates, threshold breaches, alert-to-action latency.
- Lagging KPIs (monthly/ quarterly): Critical-service uptime %, successful drill completion % within target, compliance non-conformities = 0, energy per seat reduced by X%.
- The Specifier’s job: Make sure every system they specify can feed those KRIs automatically, and that there’s a clear KRI→KPI mapping recognized in contracts. When a sprinkler loop goes offline or CO₂ exceeds 1,000ppm for 15 minutes, that KRI should immediately reflect in the KPI tile for ‘Life-Safety Readiness’ or ‘Indoor Environmental Quality Compliance.’
Each phase outputs measurable KRIs that reinforce or recalibrate KPIs.
Anchor everything in standards (so audit teams nod, not frown)
A metric-first, service-based design must still feel familiar to auditors and regulators. Use standards as your scaffolding:
- ISO 22316 (Organisational Resilience): Culture, leadership and adaptive capacity – great to justify why resilience KPIs belong in every functional scorecard.
- ISO 22301 (BCMS): Requires measurable objectives, periodic testing and continual improvement – perfect for mapping drills and MTTR metrics.
- ISO 41001 (Facility Management), ISO 45001 (OH&S): Support live dashboards for IAQ, water quality, safe working conditions.
- NFPA 72 (Fire Alarm), NBC 2016 (India), DPDP 2023 (Data Protection), BRSR (ESG Disclosure): Stipulate specific limits/ records so you can tie sensor readings directly to clauses.
- NIST CSF 2.0, MITRE ATT&CK, IEC 62443: For cyber/ OT risk metrics aligned with global best practices.
Including a cross-reference matrix in the spec that links each metric to a clause turns dashboards into audit evidence factories.
Rewriting the RFP: Structure for outcomes, not just outputs
A reimagined RFP should lead with intent and outcomes, not boxes and ducts. Below is a high-level outline you can adapt:
Section 1: Intent & Outcomes
State resilience and continuous compliance as strategic outcomes. List the KPIs/ KRIs expected on the GSOC wall.
Section 2: Technical Scope (Metric BoM)
For each system/ space, capture sensor type, accuracy, sample rate, protocol, data tag list, threshold, owner.
Section 3: Commercial Models
Demand both CapEx and SaaS² quotes. Include templates for – setup fee, monthly fee, refresh % per year, SLAs, service credits.
Section 4: Data Governance & Security
DPDP roles (controller/ processor), retention policies, anonymization/ pseudonymization options, API authentication (OAuth2), encryption.
Section 5: Playbooks & Integrations
Ask for at least three SOAR playbooks mapped to your risk register (e.g., flood event, fire pre-alarm, OT network anomaly). Require integration approach with existing SOC, BMS, CAFM, ERP, HRMS.
Section 6: Evaluation Matrix
Build a scorecard with heavy weightage on KPI/ KRI coverage, openness of protocols, scalability of the SaaS² model and proven performance metrics (MTTD, MTTR, Uptime).
By scripting the RFP this way, you are signalling to bidders – “Don’t just drop a BoQ – show me how you will keep my resilience metrics green for five years.”
Contracting: From lump-sum EPC to master service agreements
“For two decades, India’s Global Capability Centers (GCCs) and IT MNC campuses have been built on a familiar blueprint – design the ELV and MEP systems to code, tender them out as capital projects, commission, hand over fat as-built folders – and move on. Meanwhile, resilience was ‘someone else’s problem,’ usually a business continuity or facilities footnote”
1. Master Service Agreement (MSA) 5–7 Years
Bundle technical schedules (Sensor lists, APIs), commercial schedules (fee tables, indexation), compliance mapping and service credit mechanisms.
2. Performance Clauses & Service Credits
- Sensor availability ≥ 99.5% (per month).
- Data latency ≤ 60 seconds end-to-end .
- False alarm rate ≤ 5%/quarter .
- Mean Time to Detect (MTTD) and Mean Time to Respond (MTTR) by incident category.
If breached, apply fee abatements or demand remedial action plans. This ensures that resilience is enforceable, not aspirational.
3. Tech Refresh & Exit Clauses
- Mandate minimal refresh percentages, firmware patch windows and obsolescence planning.
- Provide a buy-out option if the client wants to convert subscriptions to ownership later.
4. Data & Privacy Addendum
Clearly state data ownership, processing rights, breach notification timelines (e.g., 72 hours), and log/audit export rights. DPDP compliance must be explicit, not implied.
Delivery methodology: Design → Build → Operate → Optimise (DBOO)
Classic EPC handovers trap value in PDFs. A DBOO approach creates a living system:
- Context & Risk Appetite Workshops: Establish the resilience objective matrix and KPI/KRI register.
- Basis of Design (BoD): Draft the Metric BoM, API specs, standards mapping and digital twin schema.
- Detailed Design: Traditional drawings plus tag lists, gateway architectures and dashboard mock-ups.
- Build & Commission: QA/ QC checklists now verify data quality and API reliability along with cabling and terminations.
- Handover to Operations: Deliver live dashboards, SOAR playbooks and training. Signed acceptance should cover ‘metric accuracy’ and ‘dashboard completeness,’ not just hardware counts.
- Continuous Optimisation: Quarterly metric reviews, threshold tuning, refresher drills and tech refresh cycles. Add/change requests follow a managed process.
Data Governance: The new drawing register
If drawings and schedules were the holy-grail of old projects, JSON payload schemas and API docs are the new scripture. Specifiers should insist on:
- Data Dictionaries: Tag names, units, precision, frequency, thresholds, owner.
- API Playbooks: Endpoint URLs, auth flows, rate limits, error codes.
- Retention & Archival Rules: Map each data stream to a retention policy compliant with DPDP and any client-specific mandates.
- Audit Automation: Scripts or reports that export compliance evidence at the click of a button.
By setting these expectations, you ensure the integrator is contractually obliged to deliver not just functioning systems, but structured data you can trust and prove.
Toolkits specifiers should carry
“Specifiers have historically been judged on the elegance and completeness of drawings, schematics and hardware schedules. Tomorrow’s value will be judged on how well you define what to measure, why to measure it and how fast that insight reaches decision-makers”
Metric BoM Template (Excel/CSV) – columns for metric name, sensor ID, clause reference, frequency, SLA, owner.
- Standards Cross-Reference Matrix – matches every metric to ISO/ NFPA/ NBC/ DPDP clauses.
- API & Payload Spec (JSON/ YAML) – version-controlled, vendor-agnostic.
- Dashboard Tile Library – ready-made Power BI/ Grafana visuals for common KPIs/ KRIs.
- RFP Scorecard Sheet – quantitative scoring for KPI coverage, protocol openness, commercial flexibility, cyber-hardening.
- Sample SOAR Playbooks – common incident workflows with RACI, SLAs and post-incident review sections.
- Contract Annexures – SLA matrices, service credit formulas, tech-refresh schedules, data/privacy addendums.
Change management: Upskilling the consultant team
A metrics-driven, service-oriented mindset requires new skills:
- Standards Literacy: ISO 22301/ 22316, 41001, 45001, DPDP, BRSR, NIST CSF.
- Data & Integration Fluency: Understanding MQTT, BACnet/ IP, REST APIs, JSON schemas.
- Financial Awareness: Being able to read and challenge OPEX vs CapEx models, IRR/ NPV and service credit economics.
- Operational Empathy: Sitting inside a GSOC to see how alerts actually translate to actions and where the friction lies.
Consider partnering with firms like BNB that already operate a Sensor Orchestration & Resilience Management (SORM) layer. They can supply the orchestration stack while you lead the design and contracting strategy.
The payoff: Why specifiers should care
- Strategic Seat at the Table: You move from vendor manager to resilience advisor.
- Recurring Revenue: Advisory retainers for quarterly KPI reviews, refresh audits and continuous improvement consulting.
- Defensible Differentiation: Few firms can prove they design for continuous compliance. Make it your calling card.
- Client Stickiness: When you own the metrics narrative, you own the relationship.
Design for the Dashboard you want to see
The old project gymnastic – flawless drawings, perfect BoQs, handover binders – is necessary but no longer sufficient. GCCs need live assurance and that means designing for data, contracting for outcomes and delivering services across the lifecycle.
MEP/ ELV Specifiers are uniquely positioned to orchestrate this shift. By embedding Sensor-as-a-Service options, codifying KRIs that feed KPIs and aligning everything to global standards, you ensure that when the next monsoon, cyber incident or audit lands, the GSOC screen glows green and stays that way!
About the Author
Sreekumar Narayanan, Chief Growth Officer at BNB Security & Automation solutions specializes in security, continuity, business resiliency and automation technology. With over two decades of rich experience in Corporates & Business Development, he empowers enterprises to design, secure and optimize workspaces for enhanced productivity, security and sustainability. His leadership has transformed operational security, risk management and compliance practices across top global corporations, including Flipkart, IBM, Deutsche Bank and Reliance Industries. A veteran of the Indian Air Force, Sreekumar brings unique strategic insight and disciplined execution to innovative security and technology-driven solutions, ensuring enterprises operate confidently and securely in today’s dynamic business landscape.
