This Research Note examines what’s behind the bolt-on acquisition of Nuvolo, the workplace management software company announced this week by Trane Technologies, the US HVAC equipment firm.

Trane is considered to be a competitive second-tier supplier in the world building controls market, behind Siemens, Honeywell, Johnson Controls and Schneider Electric. In a move which emulates that of the company's building controls peers, the firm has acquired Nuvolo, a US provider of integrated workplace management systems (IWMS).

With software becoming a significant differentiator in the building and workplace management sector, Trane has followed the path of its major competitors who have been actively augmenting their hardware business with software acquisitions and investments. For example, Johnson Controls acquired FM:Systems in July this year, Siemens Smart Infrastructure acquired Brightly Software in June 2022 and Schneider Electric completed a strategic minority investment in Planon in December 2020.

By combining Nuvolo’s integrated workplace management and enterprise asset workflow software with complementary digital building management systems from Trane Technologies, the company aims to capitalize on the trend to offer one unified solution for the IT/OT building operations of its clients.

Nuvolo Integrated Workplace Management

Nuvolo is based in Wellesley, MA with over 250 employees. Their integrated workplace management platform is built on the ServiceNow platform and allows customers to manage their operations through one unified cloud-native platform. Nuvolo Connected Workplace extends beyond the traditional IWMS scope by offering modern field service management (FSM), warehouse management and cyber security protection for network-connected non-IT devices.

Total disclosed funding for Nuvolo amounts to $56.5 million across six funding rounds, since the company was founded in 2013. In March 2021, Nuvolo raised $32 million in a Series C funding round led by private equity firm, Insight Partners with participation of Kaiser Permanente Ventures, Revelation Partners and others.

Crunchbase reported that Nuvolo expected to significantly scale the company after closing its Series C round, looking to hit $100 million in annual recurring revenue by late 2022. Claiming to be the world’s fastest-growing SaaS-based Integrated Workplace Management System (IWMS), Nuvolo Connected Workplace serves more than 1,550 clients globally.

“Our partnership with ServiceNow is the cornerstone of our success”, said Tom Stanford, Nuvolo’s CEO in 2019. “As one of the fastest growing software companies in the North America, we recognize and appreciate the correlation between ServiceNow as our platform partner and our success as a business.

Industries served by Nuvolo include healthcare, life sciences, retail, public sector, higher education, technology, financial services, and enterprise. Nuvolo has built out specific workplace management capabilities aimed at the healthcare and life sciences sectors, the company’s largest vertical market, claiming a footprint in 65% of U.S. hospitals. Mayo Clinic was also an investor in Nuvolo’s Series C round in 2021.

We also note that Trane Technologies has accelerated its efforts to transform itself into a software company with a strategic partnership with Brainbox AI announced in September 2023. Trane Autonomous Control powered by Brainbox AI enhances existing connected Tracer SC+ building control systems – incorporating variables like predictive weather data and occupancy trends for improved building performance and sustainability.

Trane Technologies is still very much an equipment company, with installation and service accounting for the vast majority of revenue. Like many of their competitors, they are trying to accelerate the development of a high-growth Software-as-a-Service business. This acquisition will add significantly to its software revenues.

This article was written by Daphne Tomlinson, Senior Research Associate at Memoori.