Two announcements in the smart building sector are indicative of a warming market, waking up to the immense commercial opportunity that awaits them. Johnson Controls has acquired EasyIO, the latest step in its bid to become a business aimed squarely at the smart building market, while ABB, the venerable Swiss industrialist, launched a new Building Management System (BMS) aimed at small and medium businesses – looking to widen its customer base. For Johnson, this should be quite a cheap pick-up. Based in Kuala Lumpur, EasyIO does have global customers. Providing BMS hardware and services, including the HMI devices like touchscreens and thermostats, EasyIO aims to provide all the sensing and actuation equipment needed to connect the myriad systems in a…