The main purpose of a remote management or supervisory system is to improve the quality of management while reducing running costs. For this reason, the functions of the control system may change according to the type of building being controlled.

Buildings with a high technological content:
These days, the possibility to exchange information in real time represents the true advantage for those operating in the economic and industrial sectors. The interconnection between devices and people to create interaction and allow the circulation of information is the expression of this advantage. This connection and exchange of information must be extended to all the technological and computing systems in the buildings, and not just some of the systems and/or the supervisory system: this is the logic behind the evolution of Building Management Systems.

BMSs are management systems that incorporate all the technological functions of a building, including the access control systems, security, fire detection, lighting, intelligent elevators and air-conditioning.
Consequently there are important benefits due to the simple and efficient management of the single control station, a reduction in running costs, the possibility to perform global statistical analysis on the data, and the identification of and immediate reaction to faults and alarms.

Shopping centres:
The control system of a shopping centre, in general, manages the switching on and off and control of most of the systems (heating, refrigeration, air-conditioning and air handling systems, lighting systems) and records the operating status and alarms from other systems, such as the power generator and the fire-fighting system.