No matter the type of appliance or home technology system a consumer might be in the market for, an internet of things (IoT) solution that can be monitored and controlled via an app is available. This proliferation of connected devices combined with falling prices has given rise to a smart-home boom.
In fact, according to research recently published by Parks Associates, 34% of broadband households own a listed smart-home device, compared with 24% three years ago. In addition, the average number of devices owned per household that has at least one smart-home device rose in 2020 to 7.4 devices on average from 6.8.
Although consumers might be warming up to the idea of having more IoT devices in their home, mixing and matching this tech presents challenges.
During Parks Associates’ virtual CONNECTIONS conference in November 2021, Jennifer Kent, the organization’s vice president of research, pointed out that there long has been a difference in how consumers go about building out their smart-home systems. Although some opt for a “curated” approach in which an installer will deploy devices designed to work together and connect them in a single user interface, many others have opted to build their own system over time through do-it-yourself (DIY) products from online and brick-and-mortar retailers. The resulting lack of interoperability can cause problems.
More Devices, More Complexity
The DIY approach provides consumers with a larger number of device choices as well as the ability to avoid installation or ongoing monitoring or maintenance fees. However, it introduces more setup complexity.
According to Kent, 36% of consumers who set up smart-home devices on their own say they experience difficulty, and the number who experience ongoing problems with these devices also continues to rise. She notes that recent research from Parks found that 38% of smart-home product owners experienced two or more technical problems with a smart-home product in the past year, which is up from 11% just two years ago. In addition, 44% of those who experience a technical problem report that they had difficulty getting the device to interact with other devices in the home.
“The basic value proposition of a home with technology that works together is simply not being met in many cases,” Kent says.
Despite consumers often buying technologies separately, interoperability is still a key consideration. According to Kent, a quarter of network camera buyers say the capability of the device to integrate with a homeowner’s existing security system was a primary factor for their purchase, and smart-lock owners also note that it was important that it worked with other devices in the home.
In a recent Parks survey, Kent said 86% of smart-home device owners say they want unified control of all their smart-home products through a single app.
Tech giants, such as Amazon, Google and Apple, serve as the primary control method for many smart-home devices, according to Kent, but residential security platforms (14%) and internet service providers (7%) still play a prominent role.
Evolution Necessary
In a panel discussion held during the event, Ramen Sidhu, vice president of products, Xfinity Home and Connectivity, said the Parks research proves that the status quo of smart-home tech owners having to juggle between a plethora of apps to manage various devices isn’t sustainable for the market.
“[Consumers] don’t wake up in the morning and all of sudden say, ‘I want a smart home,’” Sidhu says. “There is an experience that causes them to go out and add something. It causes them to add a security system, a [video] doorbell, camera, smart lock, thermostat or garage door opener.”
Steve Herbert, director of global business development for Samsung, says the standard for single-family homes over the past several years has been to install several stand-alone devices, maybe connect them with a voice assistant and call it a day. However, Herbert, who works with homebuilders and developers, says his company has been working to attract business by developing a “richer experience.”
“The way to think of us is as the conductor of an orchestra,” Herbert says. “It is not just about the ease with which you can control a device, but it is about having a home operate purposely and autonomously on its own, and we think that is the true value of the platform. Yes, it is a one-app experience, and that’s absolutely better than a six-app experience, but it is also about the automation.”
Wilco van Hoogstraeten, director of radio-frequency solutions provider Qorvo, says the company’s goal is to make smart-home devices “just work” and keep working, without any involvement on the part of the consumer.
“It just works in that you can buy any product, and it works in your ecosystem,” he says. “This is very much where the platform play is very important and where it is important that interoperability between platforms is sold somewhere on the lower layer that you don’t have to buy brand X when you already have one other brand X or it won’t work. One of the problems today is people are not always sure they can buy something and it will work, and that is something we want to solve.”
In addition, with regards to making products that keep working, van Hoogstraeten says that although the smart-home market has expanded, it perhaps hasn’t lived up to its full potential when you consider startups that entered the market and folded, leaving behind technology that now is essentially defunct.
“Five years from now, the world probably looks very different, but our product should be upgradable in the field to then do whatever is the basic [function],” he adds.
Benefits Matter
Aaron Emigh, the CEO and co-founder of smart-home system provider Brilliant, predicts that the homes of the future, much like automobiles today, will be “smart” and have computers built into them. But for that to come to fruition, he says three things have to happen: unification of devices in the home with a single user experience, accessibility for everyone and practical technology for all at a reasonable price.
“People see the most immediate pain points first,” he explains. “Right now, you’re having a problem just connecting things, so the connectivity layer really stands out, but the user experience layer is ultimately the thing that provides the value and opens the door for every home to be smart. The dirty secret of a smart home is that with most smart-home products, there is one person in the house who loves it, and there is everybody else who sort of tolerates it. That has to change. It has to come to a point where everybody in the home is getting the full benefit of smart technology across the board. I think people recognize that. They just get frustrated in trying to figure out how to make [the devices] all work together. That’s the big problem for our industry to solve.”
Enter the Pros
Scott Harkins, vice president of sales and channel marketing at Resideo, says that if Emigh’s premise that all homes of the future will be smart is correct, then it’s unlikely that DIY solutions will be what gets the market there.
“So often the DIY solution or the point solution that is purchased by a homeowner today is a novelty item,” he says. “It’s cool; it’s on a wall; it has an app; they can control it that way. Two years later, they have five apps controlling different things that don’t work together.” The solution is a professional organization or person.
Unlike automobiles today, in which the automaker has the opportunity to vet and test the technology that’s installed in their vehicles before deployment, a homeowner doesn’t have the same ability. However, Harkins says the professional channel can address this gap by sitting with homeowners and going over their options.
“They can’t figure it out on a website,” he says. “They have to know before they sit at the kitchen table with the homeowner that it is going to work when it is installed. They’ve tested it. They know what will work; they know what won’t; and they know they will likely create a happy customer.
The security pro also can provide value that isn’t possible with a DIY product by learning so-called “unknown values.” “Those unknown or unlocked values are things like home-security monitoring 24/7/365, which in the smart home is probably the most obvious recurring revenue piece,” Harkins adds. “But there are so many others.” He notes automated filter replenishment as an example.
“Our HVAC system knows when the filter is dirty and should just be able to get you one, so you don’t have to worry running out and buying a $6 air filter down at Home Depot. It just shows up,” he says. “All of these wireless devices in your home have batteries in them, and those batteries will all fail. Auto-replenishment is an easy opportunity to create an ongoing relationship with your consumer if you’re a pro. These are all services that I don’t believe a DIY solution will be able to bring and that the pro is very uniquely positioned” to deliver.
Joel Griffin is the Editor of SecurityInfoWatch.com and a veteran security journalist. You can reach him at [email protected].
Joel Griffin
Joel Griffin is the Editor of SecurityInfoWatch.com and a veteran security journalist. You can reach him at [email protected].
