The connected home space is one of “activity but uncertainty” today. The security industry holds the advantage right now, with a built-in revenue model and expertise in integration; but the challenge will be not losing that edge as outside competition starts to figure it out.
Talking about the connected home today can be a challenge when you are faced with the question “What is the connected home?” Is it an “interactive service” plus one? A “smart home?” Is it the Internet of Things (IoT), or the concept of home automation brought down to a more affordable scale? For many, the answer to these questions is “yes.” Others acknowledge the difficulty of pinning it down but say in the end it doesn’t matter what you call it, only what the benefit is to the industry and the homeowner.
“I wish I had a great, simple definition for the connected home, or smart home,” says Ryan Petty, vice president of product and innovation, ADT, Boca Raton, Fla. “The way we think about it is the ability for an ADT customer to be able, regardless of where they are located on planet Earth, to have awareness of what is going on at home. We can achieve that through various sensors and devices, but the ability to talk to the home is at the core for us and the way we approach it and think about it.”