Kimon Onuma

Kimon Onuma is a licensed architect and technology strategist with over 37 years of experience working at the intersection of the built environment, data, and systems interoperability. He is the founder of ONUMA, Inc., a pioneer in cloud-based solutions for Building Information Modeling (BIM), Geographic Information Systems (GIS), and Digital Twins. Cloud-native before the term was even coined. delivering SaaS in 2000 when most still shipped CDs.: In the early 1990s, Kimon began using the web to virtually connect teams and data across projects—well before the AEC industry was ready. Since the early 2000s, ONUMA, Inc. has remained fully remote and cloud-first, operating independently without outside investors. The focus has always been outcomes over hype, and real-world implementation over theoretical potential. In 2025 ZAiMAP was launched, a new layer in an ecosystem that brings together decades of work into a single, actionable interface. ZAiMAP empowers users to access, map, and act on facility data across time, location, and context, whether it’s for operations, resilience, or AI-driven insights. It’s not a new system, it’s the evolution of what we’ve been building all along: a system-of-systems that supports real users in real places with real challenges. From facilities and assets to emergencies and energy, ZAiMAP delivers situational awareness at scale and connects the dots between BIM, GIS, sensors, AI, and people. Architect of Buildings and Systems: A Fellow of the American Institute of Architects (FAIA), Kimon leads a team with a dual background in architecture and computer science. This unique perspective enables them to support large-scale owner organizations with clarity and neutrality, asking the tough questions and driving open, scalable, and sustainable solutions. Trusted by Owners: Clients have included the U.S. State Department, Department of Defense, Department of Veterans Affairs, Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Coast Guard, General Services Administration, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Navy, the State of California Community College System, and the Los Angeles Community College District—the largest higher education system in the U.S. Driving Standards and Interoperability: Kimon is an active contributor to national and international standards. He chaired the Data Standards Framework Work Group under the National Institute of Building Sciences (NIBS) Digital Twin Committee and works with buildingSMART International, the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC), and the Linux Foundation’s cross-domain Tiger Team on semantics and ontology alignment. BIMStorm and Open Collaboration: He is the creator of BIMStorm, an open, collaborative prototyping initiative launched in 2007 that continues to break down silos between systems, stakeholders, and sectors. His focus remains on enabling owner-driven digital ecosystems through open standards and system-level thinking. Kimon contributes regularly to AutomatedBuildings.com, where he writes on open source, digital twins, AI, and the industry shifts needed to move from fragmented technologies to truly interoperable infrastructure. https://www.linkedin.com/in/kimononuma/