Why Organizations Choose ATEK Over Honeywell
Honeywell’s Building Management Systems control HVAC, lighting, and energy across millions of facilities worldwide. But when a pharmaceutical quality manager needs FDA 21 CFR Part 11-compliant environmental monitoring with audit trails and electronic signatures, they discover that a BMS — even one from a $38.5 billion conglomerate — was never designed for that job. That gap between building operations and regulatory compliance is exactly where ATEK fits.
Understanding Honeywell
Honeywell International (NYSE: HON) is one of the world’s largest industrial conglomerates, founded in 1906 and headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. With $38.5 billion in 2024 revenue, Honeywell operates across aerospace, building automation, industrial automation, and energy. In February 2025, Honeywell announced a three-way corporate split — separating into Aerospace, Automation (which includes Building Automation), and Advanced Materials — expected to complete in the second half of 2026.
Honeywell’s Building Automation division offers platforms like Honeywell Forge, EBI R500 (Enterprise Buildings Integrator), and Niagara-based controllers. Their life sciences division focuses on TrackWise for quality management and process automation — not dedicated environmental monitoring. Notably, Honeywell’s former environmental monitoring brand, Kaye Instruments, was divested years ago and now operates under Amphenol Advanced Sensors.
Honeywell’s recognized strengths include:
- Global Scale and Resources — A publicly traded Fortune 100 company with operations in over 70 countries, Honeywell brings massive procurement power, an extensive integrator network, and established relationships with enterprise facilities teams.
- Building Automation Leadership — Their BMS platforms manage HVAC, lighting, fire safety, and energy optimization across complex campuses. Honeywell Forge adds cloud-based analytics and AI-powered predictive maintenance for building operations.
- Deep BMS Integration Ecosystem — Native BACnet, LonWorks, and Modbus protocol support, backed by thousands of certified contractors and integrators who can deploy and maintain Honeywell systems globally.
Common Challenges with Honeywell
Organizations in regulated industries that rely on Honeywell BMS for environmental monitoring frequently encounter these limitations:
- BMS is not a compliance platform — Honeywell’s building management systems are designed for facility operations (HVAC, energy, occupant comfort), not for generating FDA 21 CFR Part 11-compliant records. Adding compliance features typically requires layering third-party software or custom integrations on top of the BMS.
- No native audit trails or electronic signatures — Regulatory inspectors expect immutable audit trails and electronic signatures tied to individual user accounts. Honeywell’s BMS event logs track building system changes, not the kind of ALCOA+-compliant records that pharmaceutical auditors require.
- Calibration depends on third parties — Honeywell BMS installations use third-party sensors and calibration services. This means coordinating separate vendors for calibration schedules, certificates, and traceability documentation.
- Enterprise support model for compliance-critical issues — Honeywell’s support infrastructure serves its entire building automation customer base. When a temperature excursion threatens a pharmaceutical product at 2 AM, the support path is the same ticket queue used for HVAC commissioning requests. Reviews on Trustpilot and Capterra note inconsistent response times, with some customers reporting slow resolution for urgent issues.
- Corporate transition uncertainty — With the announced three-way split completing in H2 2026, customers may face questions about which entity will own their building automation contracts, where support teams will land, and how product roadmaps will evolve during the transition.
How ATEK Addresses These Needs
Purpose-Built Compliance Platform: Honeywell’s BMS was designed to keep buildings running efficiently. ATEK’s platform was designed to keep regulated facilities compliant. Every feature — from FDA 21 CFR Part 11 audit trails to automatic excursion documentation — exists because a pharmaceutical quality team needed it. There is no need to layer compliance software on top of a building operations tool.
5-Minute Response from a Compliance Team: When a Honeywell BMS alerts to a temperature excursion, the support path typically routes through general building automation support. ATEK’s Montreal-based team consists of compliance monitoring specialists who understand the difference between an HVAC comfort setpoint and a GxP-critical excursion. The guaranteed 5-minute response means your quality team gets expert guidance, not a ticket number.
A2LA-Accredited Calibration Without Third Parties: Honeywell BMS installations require coordinating with third-party calibration providers for sensor verification and certificates. ATEK’s in-house A2LA-accredited calibration lab handles calibration, certificates, and traceability documentation in one place — with no additional vendor to manage and no separate invoices.
Deploys Alongside Your Honeywell BMS: ATEK does not replace your Honeywell building management system. It complements it. ATEK’s wireless sensors deploy alongside existing BMS infrastructure via BACnet, adding compliance monitoring for pharmaceutical environments without disrupting your building operations. Keep Honeywell for HVAC and energy management; add ATEK for regulatory compliance.
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Factor | Honeywell | ATEK | Advantage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Building automation (HVAC, energy) | Comprehensive BMS suite | Not offered | Honeywell |
| BMS integration ecosystem | 70+ years, global integrator network | Focused NA presence | Honeywell |
| FDA 21 CFR Part 11 compliance | Requires additional tools | Native, out of the box | ATEK |
| Calibration lab | Third-party services required | A2LA-accredited in-house | ATEK |
| Response time SLA | Varies by contract tier | 5 minutes guaranteed | ATEK |
| Deployment timeline | Months (enterprise BMS project) | Days (cloud-native sensors) | ATEK |
| Pricing model | Custom quotes + SMA + integrator fees | All-inclusive per monitoring point | ATEK |
| Bilingual support (EN/FR) | Limited | Native (Montreal-based) | ATEK |
Who Benefits Most from Switching
- Pharma and biotech facilities with Honeywell BMS installations that need to add compliance-grade environmental monitoring without replacing their building automation system — ATEK deploys alongside Honeywell via BACnet
- Quality teams frustrated with BMS workarounds who have been layering third-party compliance tools on top of Honeywell’s building management platform and want a single, purpose-built compliance monitoring solution
- Organizations concerned about the Honeywell split who want to reduce dependency on a company undergoing a three-way corporate restructuring by adding an independent compliance monitoring layer
Making the Transition
Adding ATEK to a facility with Honeywell BMS follows a structured, non-disruptive approach:
- BMS Gap Assessment — We audit your current Honeywell installation (Forge, EBI, or Niagara-based) to identify which monitoring points are compliance-critical versus building-operations-only. This determines where ATEK sensors need to deploy.
- Parallel Deployment — ATEK wireless sensors install in compliance-critical locations alongside your existing Honeywell infrastructure. Your BMS continues managing building operations normally. Both systems run simultaneously during the validation period.
- Validation and Integration — Complete IQ/OQ/PQ documentation is included. If BACnet integration is needed, we configure ATEK to share compliance data with your Honeywell BMS dashboards so your facilities team maintains visibility.
- Cutover — Compliance monitoring transitions to ATEK while Honeywell continues handling building automation. Your quality team gains a dedicated compliance platform; your facilities team keeps their BMS. Schedule a consultation to map the transition for your specific Honeywell deployment.
When Honeywell May Be the Right Fit
Honeywell is appropriate for organizations whose primary need is building operations management — HVAC control, energy optimization, lighting automation, and fire safety across large campuses. Facilities with dedicated IT teams, existing Honeywell infrastructure, and no regulatory requirement for FDA 21 CFR Part 11-compliant environmental monitoring may find their BMS sufficient. Honeywell’s global integrator network also serves organizations with building automation needs spanning dozens of countries where local integrator presence matters more than specialized compliance support.
When ATEK Is the Better Choice
Choose ATEK when you need:
- FDA 21 CFR Part 11-compliant environmental monitoring that works alongside your existing Honeywell BMS — not a BMS add-on that approximates compliance
- A dedicated compliance monitoring team with guaranteed 5-minute response, rather than a general building automation support desk
- A2LA-accredited in-house calibration that eliminates third-party calibration vendors and their separate scheduling, invoicing, and certificate management
- All-inclusive pricing that replaces Honeywell’s custom quotes, integrator fees, and annual software maintenance agreements with a single per-monitoring-point cost
- Bilingual English and French support from a Montreal-based team familiar with Health Canada and provincial regulatory requirements
Start with a free assessment to see how ATEK complements your Honeywell BMS for compliance monitoring.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does ATEK replace our Honeywell BMS?
No. ATEK is not a building management system and does not control HVAC, lighting, or energy systems. ATEK deploys alongside your Honeywell BMS, adding purpose-built compliance monitoring for regulated environments. The two systems can communicate via BACnet if your facilities team needs compliance data visible in their BMS dashboards.
Is ATEK FDA 21 CFR Part 11 compliant like Honeywell?
Honeywell’s BMS platforms (Forge, EBI) are not inherently FDA 21 CFR Part 11 compliant — achieving compliance through a BMS typically requires additional software layers, custom configurations, and separate validation efforts. ATEK’s platform provides native Part 11 compliance including electronic signatures, immutable audit trails, and ALCOA+ data integrity out of the box, with included IQ/OQ/PQ documentation.
How does the Honeywell three-way split affect our monitoring?
Honeywell’s Building Automation division will remain part of the core Honeywell Automation entity after the split (expected H2 2026). However, organizational transitions of this scale can affect support structures, product roadmaps, and contract ownership. Adding ATEK as an independent compliance monitoring layer provides continuity regardless of how the restructuring unfolds.
Can ATEK match Honeywell’s global scale?
ATEK focuses on North American regulated industries rather than global building automation. For facilities in the US and Canada that need compliance-grade environmental monitoring, ATEK provides deeper expertise and faster support than a global conglomerate’s general building automation division. For global building operations management, Honeywell’s integrator network remains broader.
How long does it take to deploy ATEK alongside Honeywell?
ATEK’s cloud-native wireless sensors typically deploy in days, not the months required for a full Honeywell BMS project. Since ATEK installs alongside your existing infrastructure rather than replacing it, there is no disruption to your current building automation operations during deployment.
What about Honeywell’s Kaye environmental monitoring products?
Kaye Instruments is no longer part of Honeywell. The Kaye brand (LabWatch, ValProbe) was divested through GE and is now owned by Amphenol Advanced Sensors. If you are evaluating Kaye products, that is a separate vendor relationship from Honeywell.