Most commercial buildings still run on disconnected systems—forcing IT, facilities, and space teams into manual workarounds and limiting the value of existing infrastructure.

PlaceOS solves this with a massive integration library and a modular architecture that decouples the user experience from the building stack and workflow logic. When you switch access control, update occupancy monitoring, or expand to new buildings—nothing breaks. The experience stays consistent and reliable so you can:

• Switch systems without breaking workflows.
• Scale across buildings effortlessly.
• Skip hardware spending and achieve a better ROI on your existing tech.

This is a practical guide to PlaceOS—what it is, how it works, and why it matters. We structured it to cut through product noise and give you a clear picture of the architecture, capabilities, and workflows before you ever book a demo. Whether you’re managing a single room or hundreds of buildings, this should be the fastest path to deciding if PlaceOS fits your world.

Hundreds of offices and campuses use PlaceOS for occupancy management, workplace experience, room management, utilization reporting, hot desks, visitor management, building automation, campus experience, and energy savings.

If your goal is to connect systems, create smarter workflows, and deliver real outcomes—without rolling out new hardware—PlaceOS is the platform to do it.

IT, space planning, experience leads, facilities, AV, and IoT teams—anyone managing complexity across spaces, systems, and software. We connect the dots and make it all work together.

Most building systems are siloed. HVAC, AV, calendars, access control, and sensors all speak different languages. PlaceOS creates an abstraction layer across them, turning scattered systems into usable building blocks. Once connected, they can serve as inputs and outputs in any workflow—like presence detection triggering HVAC changes, or badge swipes triggering security footage events.

That’s a platform: not just a tool, but an integration layer that drives outcomes.

You’d be surprised what you can extract from existing systems. Many jump to new sensors for occupancy, but your Wi-Fi network may already hold most of what you need. Audit what you’ve got first. More often than not, you don’t need new sensors—you need siloed systems to talk to each other.

It’s a philosophy: open, agnostic, and extensible. Like WordPress or Salesforce, you can build solutions on top, plug in components, or use something off the shelf. Unlike single-use tools, PlaceOS gives you a foundation to connect systems, build logic, and automate workflows. You shape the experience without rebuilding it every time the interface—or your hardware—changes.

PlaceOS provides an abstraction layer that abstracts away the quirks of every building system. Drivers handle connections; modules group them into reusable instances; logic stays untouched when you swap tech. That’s how you scale safely and stay future-ready.

Integration drivers:

• Communicate with external systems and let them talk to PlaceOS.
• Represent hardware or software platforms (devices or services).
• Control functionality and handle incoming data.

Logic drivers:

• Coordinate interactions between modules.
• Don’t map to specific physical objects.
• Represent abstract or conceptual functions.
• Can coordinate across many devices or platforms.

Our drivers are open source—build your own or use what’s in the library. See our integration list.

Modules are reusable building blocks—live instances of drivers. They can represent a device, a digital service, or a set of logic. Modules control state (e.g., power or presence) and behavior (e.g., power a display or create a booking). Start/stop each individually and reuse them across systems—shared infrastructure (like a lighting gateway or AV switch) doesn’t need to be rebuilt for every room.

Logic modules are special: they don’t talk to external systems; they coordinate internal actions and inherit settings from zones and systems for consistent behavior.

Systems tie together devices, services, and logic—often representing a room or a logical function (like digital signage). Zones are collections of systems (floor, building, or function) that share settings. Apply broad logic at the zone level (e.g., building-wide HVAC) and tailor specifics within each system. Scale from one room to hundreds—consistently and without rewrites.

Triggers add event-driven behavior across modules without complex code. Define actions based on state, time, or external input (like a webhook). Examples:

• Turn on AV when a room is booked.
• Post a chat message when someone badges in.
• Adjust HVAC from real-time occupancy.

Create and manage triggers in Backoffice, or pair them with more advanced logic modules.

The interface doesn’t drive the experience—the logic does. Use an AV panel, a workplace app, an AI agent, or no interface at all. PlaceOS runs workflows in the background and keeps behavior consistent across locations. Swap UI without redoing the logic.

• Automate HVAC from bookings and real-time occupancy — save ~AU$1K per room per year.
• Swipe your badge to trigger camera footage — find moments instantly.
• Auto-configure a room based on the booker — lighting, presets, and signage.
• Use WorkMate for out-of-the-box workplace management.
• Use Stagehand for simplified AV control (panel, web, voice, or fully automated).
• Use VirtualCare for remote check-ins and hybrid support in healthcare or campuses.

Everything can be a trigger. Every system can be part of a workflow.

• Custom middleware: slow, brittle, expensive to maintain.
• Vendor-locked apps: can’t extend or integrate.
• Dashboards only: good for viewing, not doing.
• Doing nothing: keeps everything disconnected.
• SaaS-only tools: hard-coded logic, no flexibility.

• Composable architecture: swap parts without breaking workflows.
• Open-source drivers: no vendor lock-in, faster integrations.
• Separated logic & interface: survives tech churn.
• UI-agnostic: works with LLMs, CV, APIs—or no UI.
• Flexible business model: SaaS, usage-based, or license-ready.
• Agent-ready: AI agents can control any system via drivers.

Build, scale, and adapt—without getting boxed in.

Start small. Prove value. Scale fast. You don’t need a huge rollout—begin with one workflow (e.g., HVAC automation or linking AV to your calendar) and grow from there. Proof in week one, not year two. Small changes can have massive impact (energy savings ~AU$1K per room per year). No forklift upgrade: use what you’ve got, and we’ll make it work harder.

We’ve built apps like WorkMate that are ready to go—bundling common problems and tapping native tech (Bluetooth, NFC, UWB). But the real power is beneath: deep integrations, smart workflows, and modular interfaces. Our apps sit on the platform, so they inherit hot-swappable modules and logic. When the next interface lands—glasses, wearables, whatever’s next—we’re there, because we’ve decoupled the front end from the brains.

Apps:

• WorkMate: workplace management with out-of-the-box simplicity + enterprise-level configuration.
• Stagehand: remote AV control without third-party controllers.
• VirtualCare: one system for consults, surveys, referrals, Medicare billing, education, and follow-ups.
• Room booking (Free): search, view, and book by availability, size, features, and location.
• Room booking (Basic): works with any calendar, conferencing, occupancy sensors, AV, and network.
• Desk booking: configurable desk management at scale—no hardware lock-in.
• Visitor management: send the invite—everything else is automated.
• Occupancy-based energy: align energy use with actual occupancy.

Great! That’s better than getting locked into rigid, hard-coded apps. PlaceOS gives you the best of both worlds: a head start so your team can focus on unique challenges without diving into device-level protocol hell.

Our integration drivers connect to hundreds of vendors and core building protocols (BACnet, Modbus, KNX, and more). We handle device integrations, zone management, and system coordination, so you can get straight to building.

Your scoping question changes: What do you want to build, knowing you can connect everything? Extend with new drivers. Contribute to our open-source libraries. Ask us about using a non-commercial version for a side project. We’re built for developers—everything you need is on GitHub and in our Docs.

PlaceOS is developed largely in Crystal, blending Ruby-like ergonomics with C-like performance. We move fast without compromising reliability: strong typing, reusable services, and performance that scales from a single room to enterprise-wide deployments.

Our backend stack is Crystal end-to-end—from open-source drivers to our web framework Spider-Gazelle. We generate accurate API docs automatically, run efficiently on minimal infrastructure, and support lightweight edge deployments for bandwidth-constrained environments. That’s why PlaceOS feels fast and consistent—in the cloud, on-prem, or on a network switch.

SaaS, usage-based, or perpetual licensing—we support it all. We’ll work with your procurement process so it fits how you buy.

Run PlaceOS wherever it makes sense. For high-security environments, everything can run on-prem so your data remains protected. We don’t store your data.

PlaceOS replaces nothing—unless you want it to. It plugs into what you already have.

Built for what’s next, not just what’s now. PlaceOS isn’t tied to any single interface or technology.