Digital integration is the idea that data or

information Information is an abstract concept that refers to that which has the power to inform. At the most fundamental level information pertains to the interpretation of that which may be sensed. Any natural process that is not completely random ...

on any given electronic device can be read or manipulated by another device using a standard format. From the digital culture perspective, on the other hand, it is defined as an organization drive to leverage the broad capabilities and vast efficiencies of digital technology and media in order to provide consumers relevance and value. It is also employed in digital governance and could refer to the inter-agency cooperation and intergovernmental collaboration across units at multiple levels of government. The phenomenon is considered a basic megatrend in the so-called knowledge civilization.

Applications

Cell phone calendar to public digital calendar (online calendar)

In this example, a user has a

cell phone A mobile phone, cellular phone, cell phone, cellphone, handphone, hand phone or pocket phone, sometimes shortened to simply mobile, cell, or just phone, is a portable telephone that can make and receive calls over a radio frequency link whil ...

with a calendar, as well as a calendar on the

Internet The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, pub ...

. Digital Integration would allow the user to synchronize the two, and the following features could result: *The user could plan events and have other users notified. *If the Public Digital Calendar is integral with a

Blog A blog (a truncation of "weblog") is a discussion or informational website published on the World Wide Web consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries (posts). Posts are typically displayed in reverse chronological order ...

, then the user could write about the event in it.

Product Development

Digital integration is now considered a part of product development. For instance, modeling systems aims for the digital integration of the product development chain. It is also entailed in the digital automation of product design and credited for the 30 to 45 percent increase in productivity as part of the range of digital tools employed to augment project performance.

Building services integration for energy management and building control

A home owner or commercial building manager could utilize digital integration products to connect intelligent services within a

built environment The term built environment refers to human-made conditions and is often used in architecture, landscape architecture, urban planning, public health, sociology, and anthropology, among others. These curated spaces provide the setting for human ac ...

. * An intruder detection or access control system could be used in conjunction with light level sensors to turn lights on and off. So when you walk into a dark room the lights turn on (if you are allowed to be there) and when you leave they turn off behind you, thus making energy savings by preventing lights from being left on. * The same techniques could be used to control

HVAC Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) is the use of various technologies to control the temperature, humidity, and purity of the air in an enclosed space. Its goal is to provide thermal comfort and acceptable indoor air quality. HV ...

(Heating Ventilation and Air Conditioning) systems. * Home owners and commercial building managers can use Web based digital integration to control and manage services within their buildings via a web browser interface. The intelligent controllers in

Air Conditioning Air conditioning, often abbreviated as A/C or AC, is the process of removing heat from an enclosed space to achieve a more comfortable interior environment (sometimes referred to as 'comfort cooling') and in some cases also strictly controlling ...

units for example may be "Web Enabled" using digital integration solutions and products. There is a growing market for these products. Many of the control systems used for security, lighting, HVAC and Fire detection do not conform to any

communications protocol A communication protocol is a system of rules that allows two or more entities of a communications system to transmit information via any kind of variation of a physical quantity. The protocol defines the rules, syntax, semantics and synchr ...

standard, so often interface software is used to convert the different languages into a common standard for the building or wide area network. Some control systems are now being supplied with communications ports that conform to recognized standards such as

BACnet BACnet is a communication protocol for building automation and control (BAC) networks that use the ASHRAE, ANSI, and ISO 16484-5 standards protocol. BACnet was designed to allow communication of building automation and control systems for applic ...

LonTalk LonTalk is a protocol optimized for control. Originally developed by Echelon Corporation for networking devices over media such as twisted pair, powerlines, fiber optics, and RF. It is popular for the automation of various functions in industri ...

Ethernet Ethernet () is a family of wired computer networking technologies commonly used in local area networks (LAN), metropolitan area networks (MAN) and wide area networks (WAN). It was commercially introduced in 1980 and first standardized in 198 ...

many more provide interfaces to and from their own specialised control networks.

Projects/organizations working toward digital integration

* World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) * BACnet.org

References

Digital systems Digital technology {{technology-stub