In this week's blog, hear from Scott Munch, our VP of Knowledge Excellence, on his thoughts from his recent travels across North America: ''Over the past few months, I’ve had the privilege of attending some of the most engaging and thought-provoking conferences our industry has to offer. Each one—NexusCon, Skyposium, and Yorkland AI—brought its own flavor to the mix. And while the topics ranged from AI to tagging to ecosystem collaboration, a single theme stood out across them all: connection.''
I’ve been to more conferences than I can count, but NexusCon was different. It wasn’t just another lineup of PowerPoint presentations; it was architected for real interaction.
Every session combined knowledge-sharing, roundtable discussion, and hands-on demos, creating an energetic back-and-forth between end users, service providers, and vendors. You couldn’t just sit back and listen, you were part of the learning.
The event’s playful “Dune” theme, Bring on the Spice, fit perfectly. Attendees were encouraged to challenge the status quo, to bring bold ideas (and maybe a little friendly debate) into the room.
Between sessions, the organizers sprinkled in creativity and wellness: morning bootcamps, yoga sessions, a post-conference hike, and even a fitness guide leading stretches during the plenary session.
Pods of ten people helped foster deeper connection throughout the conference, complete with an app for staying in touch and games like Buzzword Bingo to keep everything fun.
The highlight was a vendor/buyer symposium that split us into groups to discuss our unique challenges, then brought us back together for some truly “spicy” conversations. It was collaboration in its purest form—constructive tension that pushed everyone to think differently.
Next stop: my hometown of Richmond, Virginia, where SkyFoundry celebrated 15 years of innovation at Skyposium. The milestone was marked by a keynote from John Petze, Co-founder of SkyFoundry, who reflected on the amazing people and products that have helped shape the SkySpark ecosystem.
As a sponsor and long-time partner, J2 Innovations was proud to be there—not just as a technology provider but as a founding member of Project Haystack. The sense of community among fellow Haystack supporters was palpable.
What really stood out was seeing how Haystack 4 (Xeto) is becoming the foundation for the next generation of SkySpark. It’s exciting to see structured, semantic data modeling evolve into the standard driving our industry forward.
Finally, at the Yorkland AI Conference, I had the honor of presenting on the evolution of building automation and how tagging and data modeling have been pivotal. From the early days of Haystack to today’s FIN Intelligence, we’ve seen firsthand how the right data structure unlocks smarter systems and better decisions.
Roger, my fellow Project Haystack board member, continued the theme with an update on Haystack 4 (Xeto) and how structured data underpins the rise of AI in buildings. The conversations that followed at the J2 booth were electric. Engineers, system integrators, and end users alike were curious about how FIN Intelligence can help them transform their building operations.
A big shout-out to Building Controls and Solutions, who hosted the event flawlessly and created an environment where genuine collaboration thrived.
Across all these events, one thing became clear: our industry is at its best when we’re learning from each other. Whether it’s a “spicy” debate at NexusCon, a nostalgic reflection at Skyposium, or a forward-looking conversation about AI at Yorkland, the value comes from people willing to connect, question, and co-create.
At J2 Innovations, that’s what we’re all about. Building tools like FIN Framework and FIN Intelligence is about empowering people and organizations to work smarter together.
Here’s to the conferences that keep pushing boundaries, the partners who share our passion for open data and collaboration, and the innovators who aren’t afraid to bring a little spice.
Topics from this blog: J2 News & Events OEM FIN Framework Company Life Industry BAS FIN Intelligence
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