New research shows that the ownership of smart home products increased by more than 50% over the last 12 months. For 2016, the international research firm Parks Associates expects further growth as 43% of broadband-equipped households in the US plan to purchase a smart home device. Parks predicts a similar trend for Europe and the UK.
The smart home is becoming reality for more and more homeowners. However, despite the strong growth rates, the research firm still sees room for major improvements in the smart home industry.
“Connectivity opens the door to new, highly differentiated products and services, but interoperability remains a challenge,” said Tom Kerber, director, Research, Home Controls & Energy, Parks Associates. “Connecting products to networks and other products is essential, yet a secure, plug-and-play experience is still uncommon in the smart home. Network standards, application standards, and APIs are all part of the solution.”
Parks Associates and industry executives from Affinegy, Cirrent, ecobee, ULE Alliance, and Wi-Fi Alliance will examine the factors driving adoption of smart home solutions during the CONNECTIONS Summit at CES 2016 in Las Vegas. Factors that impact the adoption of connected products, the importance of interoperability, and the new ways companies are addressing ease of use to create a seamless experience for consumers will get analysed at the session “Ease of Use, Interoperability, and Mass-Market Adoption”.
One of the selected speakers, Avi Barel from the ULE Alliance, expects that the smart home market in Europe and the UK will see even higher growth rates once the main challenges have been met. “The idea behind the smart home is that it makes our lives more convenient and our homes more secure and energy efficient. To achieve these goals, a solid support from the underlying technologies is required,” Avi Barel points out. “Now that more and more manufacturers are basing their products on up-to-date technology like the ULE standard, the ease-of-use and the security for the end users should increase rapidly.”
The annual research and industry event CONNECTIONS Summit will take place January 6-7, 2016 during CES, which runs from January 6-9 in Las Vegas. The event features two days of panel discussions on the smart home, Internet of Things (IoT), and connected entertainment, with trends and implications for connected consumers and opportunities for companies to build new revenues and innovative business models.
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