Johnson Controls and Pluralsight

Johnson Controls' cybersecurity expertise keeps iconic buildings safe.

Picture an iconic building. The Burj Khalifa Tower in Dubai. The Empire State Building in New York City. Or Levi’s Stadium in San Francisco.

If you’ve ever walked into these buildings—or any commercial building, university campus building or hospital—chances are you’ve experienced the innovative technology that Johnson Controls has been delivering for more than 133 years.

“Where you see a city skyline and notice its iconic skyscrapers of metal and glass, we see millions of lines of code that run that building,” says Jason Rosselot, Director of Global Product Security at Johnson Controls. “Our customers are the owners, operators and facilities managers of buildings throughout the world, who are tasked with providing an excellent experience for the occupants and guests who enter their doors.”

It all started with the invention of the first electric thermostat, and today, Johnson Controls makes products that control many aspects of building systems. This includes cloud-hosted, data-analytic assisted devices and technology that keeps buildings running safely and efficiently.

Johnson Controls at a glance

1885

YEAR FOUNDED, AFTER INVENTING THE ELECTRIC ROOM THERMOSTAT

4+ MILLION

CUSTOMERS IN 150 COUNTRIES

120,000

EMPLOYEES ACROSS 2,000 WORLDWIDE LOCATIONS

Building tech and cybersecurity skills at scale to drive innovation

Like many companies with longevity spanning many decades, Johnson Controls is committed to remaining on the forefront of innovation.

“We’re a technology-rich company and have been for over 100 years, bringing innovations that have transformed the building industry,” says Sudhi Sinha, Vice President and General Manager for the Johnson Controls Digital Solutions Business.

A key part of our digital business focuses on creating new digital solutions that help drive and improve the mission of the building, and Pluralsight helps us to develop our technology skills at scale.

SUDHI SINHA
VICE PRESIDENT AND GENERAL MANAGER FOR THE JOHNSON CONTROLS DIGITAL SOLUTIONS BUSINESS

Thousands of the company’s software engineers, who are experts in control theory and building system engineering, use Pluralsight’s technology learning platform to help them address the ever-changing challenges of cybersecurity.

“Customers depend on a reliable, trustworthy building control system, from card access to lighting to surveillance and beyond,” says Jason. “Because it’s so important that we stand behind our products, we depend on our partner Pluralsight to help make sure our software engineers are getting the cybersecurity skills they need to stand up against tomorrow’s threats.”

CHALLENGE

Keeping ahead of continually evolving cyber threats is imperative for Johnson Controls, which supplies technology that controls many aspects of the world’s most-iconic buildings, including electric, HVAC and security systems. To do so, the company needed to build expert, reliable cybersecurity skills at scale.

SOLUTION

Johnson Controls chose Pluralsight to ensure engineers and developers have the skills and knowledge needed to write secure code, stay on the cutting edge of technology and deliver reliable, digital solutions to their customers.

RESULTS

  • Saves millions by eliminating cybersecurity risks and protecting the company’s reputation.
  • Easy access to the latest cybersecurity knowledge means engineers and developers can meet security needs as they arise.
  • Comprehensive analytics help Johnson Controls’ leaders demonstrate the value of Pluralsight and understand the strengths and knowledge gaps of their teams.

No better solution for closing skills gaps and keeping up

Keeping up with evolving threats requires continual learning, something Johnson Controls engineers can do at their own pace with access to Pluralsight’s 6,700+ courses, when and where they choose, on or offline, anywhere across the company’s 2,000 offices.

“Pluralsight has been instrumental in helping Johnson Controls build a global cyber security training program for our engineers and provides a convenient platform to help them understand the environment of secure coding,” says Shannon Thuecks, Program Manager of Global Product CyberSecurity. “With the rich content that Pluralsight provides from the best authors in the field, our engineers can meet our objectives in a faster manner. And a comprehensive metrics dashboard helps us demonstrate the value and return on investment the platform provides.”

“I’ve used a lot of different learning solutions and technologies over the years, including online solutions,” adds John Jilek, Lead Security Architect. “In my experience, the Pluralsight platform offers some of the best content, the best instructors, and the best course selection.”

Working with Pluralsight, Johnson Controls is building internal product cybersecurity expertise and secure software development skills, which happen to be some of the most in-demand skillsets in security and development today.

Ongoing learning helps us fill key skills gaps in a technology and world that’s constantly changing,” says Jason. “Pluralsight has gone over and above to make sure they’re at the cutting edge of technology skills.

JASON ROSSELOT
DIRECTOR OF GLOBAL PRODUCT SECURITY AT JOHNSON CONTROLS

Access to a platform that includes curated learning, a community of experts, and a vast library of technical answers is more important than ever to help Johnson Controls meet its mission to make a more safe, sustainable and secure world.

Most importantly, says Sudhi, “Pluralsight helps us eliminate cybersecurity risks, which can cost us and our customers millions of dollars.”