Calsense’s Irrigation Management as a Service (IMaaS), a subscription-style smart irrigation system deployment option, won the silver award in the Irrigation Association’s (IA) 2022 New Product Contest in the landscape irrigation category. IA announced the awards winners at the Irrigation Show and Education Week in Las Vegas.

Customers who purchase Calsense’s IMaaS pay a yearly fee, typically over 10 years according to the company for the smart irrigation system.

Mike Haldane, director of commercial operations at Calsense, said the company developed IMaaS to address three critical issues: water scarcity, labor issues and technology.

“Water is running out. We wanted to find a way to get the technology that is needed for smart irrigation to our customers in as timely a fashion as possible,” he said. “Our customers all across the country are struggling to find and retain labor. We felt that being able to complement any labor gaps that may exist on the side of the customer would be helpful to them. The third reason has to do with technology and the rate at which it evolves, making it a challenge for customers to keep up. It’s hard for them to budget technology changes when there are so many unknowns. … IMaaS allows us to shift that risk from the customer to Calsense, since we upgrade their system’s technology as it’s required.”