Honeywell Building Automation META Nabil Cheqroun discusses smart buildings, AI, IoT platforms and growth across the Middle East in an exclusive Intersec Dubai interview.
Nabil Cheqroun, vice president and general manager, Honeywell Building Automation in the Middle East, Turkey and Africa (META), sat for an exclusive interview with asmag.com at Intersec Dubai, shedding light on how the company unlocks the full automation potential at projects across many verticals.
Asmag.com: It’s good to see you at Intersec again. When we sat down for an interview last year you pointed to smart cities and transportation as two of the main verticals that you are targeting and working on. How did 2025 go for you and what’s your focus this year?
Nabil Cheqroun: Last year, we delivered our solutions in several smart city projects across Saudi Arabia and the wider region. We have also signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with New Murabba, which aims to support the development of the New Murabba destination. A key focus of this collaboration will be to enhance digital infrastructure across the destination. Smart cities will continue to be a key growth vertical for Honeywell Building Automation in 2026.
In 2025, we've been very successful in expanding our IoT platform to connect more edge devices. Regardless of whether it’s building operation, maintenance or occupancy, it’s all on one unified platform now, connected through pre-configured protocols. In many buildings, you have a lot of technology, but the platforms are not fully integrated. Take, for example, you enter this building. A camera “sees” you and an access control terminal checks your credentials, but the data points from different domains are not connected.
In the future, the camera will “see” you and automatically check your credentials. You don’t have to scan your card or look at a separate facial recognition camera integrated into an access control terminal. The experience will be much smoother.
At Honeywell, we started the journey toward a unified platform a few quarters ago, and we've been growing fast on the back of that. 2026 will likely be the year that growth will accelerate.
In terms of verticals, rail saw strong growth. There are a lot of ongoing projects—in UAE, Oman, Saudi, Egypt, Morocco and Tanzania. We’ve been particularly successful in Egypt, UAE and Oman. We also work very closely with Morocco and Saudi Arabia, and I’m optimistic that we’ll be successful in those two markets in 2026.
Another focus area of ours is hospitality. We see a large number of hotels being built across the region. Tourism is booming, and we see a lot of opportunities because Honeywell offers many of the solutions that hotels need. We are the technology provider with one of the most comprehensive portfolios which includes: fire alarms; fire detection and suppression; security cameras; video management and access control solutions; building management systems and a unified platform.
This is all part of our pitch to hotel operators and developers of new projects. We tell them how much they can help enhance efficiency and optimize operational costs. Their reaction is usually very positive because they have one less thing to worry about.
We also focus on the data center vertical, which is growing immensely, thanks to AI, as well as healthcare. There are hundreds of healthcare facilities in the planning stage across the region, offering a lot of potential.
I hope we’ll meet again at Intersec in 2027, and I will tell you that our focus unlocked many of those opportunities.
Asmag.com: In conversations with project partners, what are the major pain points being mentioned? Do they, for example, seek to reduce the number of staff they need to operate their systems? Are they concerned about energy efficiency and compliance?
Nabil Cheqroun: It really varies from vertical to vertical, but we see three recurring themes. First is energy efficiency—understanding how to maintain the same operational outcomes while lowering fixed costs, whether it's Capex or OpEx. Second is operational optimization to reduce costs while ensuring the facility is running effectively. Finally, there is a strong push to unify data through a common IoT platform. Connecting hardware ensures that we understand how every device impacts building safety, security and occupant comfort. Honeywell provides different layers of software to unify these platforms into tailored dashboards. Whether you are a hotel operator, a builder, an occupant or even working in civil defense, our platforms provide the insights you need.
Asmag.com: A main challenge facing operators is siloed data. The person managing electricity bills often isn't the same person managing security or guest comfort. Do you find that end-users are ready to break these barriers, or is there still a need for significant market education?
Nabil Cheqroun: We are definitely getting there. Maturity varies by organization and vertical, but there is clear movement toward unified platforms, especially as building automation advances. However, the challenge you describe is real. One department cares about utility bills, another about intrusion detection and another about staff training—but our technology addresses all of these use cases. The power of our platform is that it unifies the input while ensuring the output is delivered to each stakeholder in a way they can understand.
Asmag.com: AI and the cloud are the dominant topics at the show this year. Where do you see these technologies bringing the most value, and what is the specific demand from your clients?
Nabil Cheqroun: This region is incredibly AI savvy. There’s massive investment from the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Qatar. Honeywell is leading in this space.
Where it becomes most interesting, however, is the expertise we’ve built over time. AI is only as good as the data you feed it. Because Honeywell has a massive installed base of hardware globally and across the region, we have a unique edge. We can process vast amounts of data to understand different building types—from airports and hospitals to hotels and data centers. This allows us to interpret data more thoroughly and provide future-proof solutions that help our clients stay ahead.
Asmag.com: Regarding your AI vision, are you providing a "Honeywell AI" that delivers pre-set solutions, or are you giving users the tools to tailor and fine-tune the AI for their own specific needs?
Nabil Cheqroun: It goes back to our focus on verticals. For example, hotels operate, to some extent, similarly regardless of where they are. We define key performance indicators and train our platform accordingly. The platform then guides the user—whether they are focused on occupant comfort or maintenance—toward the best outcome based on data gathered from thousands of buildings.
Asmag.com: Looking beyond 2026, where do you see the next big wave of opportunity, whether in terms of geography or technology?
Nabil Cheqroun: We live in very exciting times. One area that might surprise many is Africa. When you look at the sheer number of rail, hospital and data center projects under construction in countries like Tanzania, Kenya, and Uganda—especially with the upcoming Africa Cup in 2027—there is a massive need to upgrade infrastructure.
Saudi Arabia will also continue to surprise us. With global commitments like Expo 2030 and the 2034 FIFA World Cup, the growth will be long-term. Similarly, the UAE continues to raise the bar with projects like the Dubai World Central – Al Maktoum International Airport and vast data center programs.
Technologically, the focus will remain on connected, autonomous buildings. The challenge has always been the variety of edge devices and protocols. Honeywell’s platform is technology-agnostic. We take any signal or protocol and standardize it at the platform level so the operator doesn't have to worry about it. Moving forward, unifying and connecting these assets is the only way to maximize outcomes and allow buildings to eventually operate on their own.