Healthcall vs Ackermann by Honeywell: which nurse call system for your care home in 2026?

Objective comparison between Ackermann by Honeywell, a historic German player in nurse call compliant with DIN VDE 0834, and Healthcall, a Belgian publisher from Frasnes-lez-Anvaing specialising in care homes of 30 to 150 beds. Two complementary approaches, two different project profiles.

Request a Healthcall demonstration

Executive summary

• Ackermann by Honeywell is a long-standing German manufacturer (Gerlingen), integrated since 2013 into the Honeywell Building Technologies division. Its Clino range (Clino IP, Clino 99, Clinocom) is recognised for its DIN VDE 0834 compliance and industrial longevity.
• Healthcall is a nurse call SaaS published by Groovit SRL (Frasnes-lez-Anvaing) since 2017, specifically designed for Belgian care homes of 30 to 150 beds (average 60 beds, approximately 1,250 residents covered).
• Structural difference: Ackermann fits a heavy building equipment logic with proprietary hardware (terminals, room modules, central units), integrated into the Honeywell portfolio (HVAC, security, building management). Healthcall relies on an open architecture without proprietary hardware, native GDPR, with triple database mirroring.
• Local anchoring: Healthcall is Belgian, natively French-speaking, with 21 care home clients in Wallonia and Brussels and a single loss in 8 years. Ackermann is distributed in Belgium via Honeywell integrators and specialised installers.
• Business model: Ackermann operates mainly on CAPEX (hardware purchase + installation + maintenance contract). Healthcall offers a transparent SaaS from 50 € excl. VAT per button, 4 updates per year included, with no migration cost.

Comparison table

Ackermann data: public sources from Honeywell Building Technologies and Clino product documentation (see “Sources consulted”). Healthcall data: Groovit SRL internal documentation, April 2026.

Strengths of Ackermann

Ackermann by Honeywell offers real advantages for a decision-maker managing a large-scale building project or an establishment already equipped by Honeywell:

• German industrial heritage: a brand founded in 1881, historic compliance with DIN VDE 0834 (the German reference standard for nurse call installations), recognised by hospital design offices and project owners.
• Backing from the Honeywell group: a subsidiary of Honeywell Building Technologies since 2013, with the financial strength and long-term stability of an American listed group present in more than 70 countries.
• Extensive Clino range: room terminals, care consoles, central units, the Clino IP module for a complete IP infrastructure, Clinocom for voice communication, DECT and ESPA 4.4.4 integrations.
• Proven hardware reliability: industrial equipment designed for a long life cycle (often 10-15 years), suited to demanding environments (hospitals, intensive care, operating theatres).
• Honeywell building integration: native complementarity with the other Honeywell Building Technologies bricks (HVAC, access control, fire detection, BMS supervision), relevant for a new-build project managed as a global technical lot.
• International dimension: for a multi-site group operating in Germany, France, Benelux and beyond, Ackermann offers consistent product standardisation across several countries.

Strengths of Healthcall

Healthcall has been designed to address the specificities of the Belgian care home market:

• Belgian care home specialisation: 8 years of operation dedicated to the sector of care homes of 30 to 150 beds (average 60 beds). 21 client establishments, approximately 1,250 residents covered, a single loss in 8 years.
• Independent Belgian publisher: Groovit SRL, based in Frasnes-lez-Anvaing, self-funded, with no dependence on an international group. Product decisions taken locally, in French.
• Open architecture, no proprietary hardware: no hardware lock-in, no proprietary terminal or central unit to buy back in case of change of provider or fleet evolution.
• Native GDPR, Belgian infrastructure: hosting on the Belgian premium host cluster, triple database mirroring for service continuity, GDPR compliance factored in by design.
• Transparent business model: SaaS from 50 € excl. VAT per button, 4 updates per year included, no migration cost. No maintenance contract to renegotiate every three years.
• Local French- and Dutch-speaking support: a direct point of contact in Belgium, without going through a third-party integrator.

When to choose Ackermann over Healthcall

Choose Ackermann by Honeywell if your project fits a new-build or heavy renovation logic, with a “low-voltage” technical lot led by a design office that consolidates nurse call, BMS, fire detection and access control within a single Honeywell ecosystem. Ackermann is also relevant for a hospital group or an international multi-site operator seeking consistent product standardisation across Belgium, France, Germany and beyond, with DIN VDE 0834 compliance explicitly required by the project owner. The CAPEX entry ticket and installation lead times (cabling, hardware integration) are then absorbed by the overall project envelope.

Choose Healthcall if you run an independent Belgian care home or a small family group (30 to 150 beds) seeking to modernise its nurse call system without engaging in a heavy project, without imposed proprietary hardware, and with clear budget visibility (monthly SaaS, updates included, zero migration cost). Healthcall is suited to management teams that want a direct Belgian contact, French- or Dutch-speaking, and that wish to keep control of their infrastructure without depending on a third-party building integrator for each software evolution.

Typical use case

Ms X, director of a care home of 78 beds in Hainaut province, operates a wired nurse call system installed 14 years ago by a local integrator. Spare parts support is drying up, carers complain of recurring breakdowns, and the GDPR auditor has flagged the absence of centralised call traceability.

Two scenarios are proposed:

• Ackermann scenario: a design office recommends the full replacement of the installation with a Clino IP solution. Quote for hardware + cabling + integration + training: significant CAPEX, a 3 to 5 month project with nuisance management in an occupied building, an annual maintenance contract to negotiate with the local Honeywell integrator. Relevant if a global building renovation is already planned.
• Healthcall scenario: SaaS deployment on the existing network infrastructure, without proprietary server-side hardware to install, monthly billing from 50 € excl. VAT per button, 4 updates per year included, direct French-speaking support. Reduced commissioning lead time, minimal project impact. Relevant for a management team wishing to solve the problem without engaging in a building project.

The choice depends on the project profile (global building renovation vs standalone software modernisation), the available budget (CAPEX vs OPEX) and the existing technical environment.

Frequently asked questions

Does Healthcall fully replace an existing Ackermann installation? Healthcall can coexist with an existing Ackermann infrastructure as long as it exposes standard interfaces (ESPA 4.4.4, IP, gateways). In a full replacement scenario, Healthcall removes the dependency on proprietary hardware, but each case must be technically qualified during a prior audit. Contact Groovit for an integration audit.

Is Ackermann GDPR-compliant for a Belgian establishment? Ackermann Clino products are designed according to DIN VDE 0834 and Honeywell publishes a group-level GDPR compliance policy. However, operational compliance depends on the configuration deployed by the local integrator (data hosting, retention periods, sub-processors). Healthcall is designed from the outset as a native GDPR service, hosted in Belgium on the premium private cluster, with a standard DPA (data processing agreement) provided by Groovit.

What is the difference in deployment lead time between the two solutions? An Ackermann renovation project involves cabling + hardware integration work, which typically spans several weeks to several months depending on the size of the establishment. A Healthcall deployment, because it does not require a server or proprietary central unit, is significantly faster. The exact lead time depends on the button fleet and the existing network infrastructure.

Are Healthcall call buttons compatible with Ackermann terminals? Healthcall provides its own buttons (from 50 € excl. VAT per button) in an open architecture logic, independent of any manufacturer. In certain partial integration scenarios, bridges can be studied with an existing Ackermann fleet, but the approach recommended by Groovit is to decouple the software layer (Healthcall) from the hardware fleet to remove proprietary lock-in.

Ready to compare the two approaches in concrete terms?

If you run a Belgian care home of 30 to 150 beds and you are hesitating between an Ackermann-type building equipment solution and a specialist SaaS like Healthcall, the best step is a targeted demonstration on your context: establishment size, existing network infrastructure, budget deadlines, GDPR requirements.

Request a Healthcall demonstration

You leave with a clear view of the functional scope, the business model and the implementation lead times, without obligation.

Sources consulted

• Honeywell Building Technologies corporate site, Ackermann / Clino product page: https://buildings.honeywell.com/
• Ackermann Clino, manufacturer site: https://www.ackermann-clino.de/ and https://ackermann-clino.com/
• DIN VDE 0834 standard, requirements for nurse call installations (German framework, consulted via Beuth Verlag).
• Clino IP / Clino 99 / Clinocom product documentation, Honeywell Ackermann technical datasheets (downloadable from the manufacturer’s site).
• Healthcall data: Groovit SRL internal documentation (April 2026), D9 canonical figures, 2017, 21 care home clients, ~1,250 residents, self-funded, premium private cluster, triple database mirroring, native GDPR, 4 updates/year, from 50 € excl. VAT/button.
• Sectoral keywords: DataForSEO dataset ackermann-fr.json / ackermann-fr.csv (FR query volumes relating to Honeywell / Ackermann, April 2026).

Page updated on 21 April 2026, Groovit SRL, Frasnes-lez-Anvaing.