After announcing it would spin off from Honeywell Homes a year ago and becoming a publicly traded company on the New York Stock Exchange on Oct. 30, Resideo Technologies Inc. will be in the spotlight again at the CONNECT event Nov. 15-18 in Marco Island, Fla. Co-hosted by both Honeywell and Resideo, CONNECT 2018 will be covering both homes and buildings topics, and showcasing residential and commercial security technology. 

As a precursor to the event, SDM spoke with Resideo President and CEO Mike Nefkens about the company’s recent spin-off from Honeywell and its goals for the future. 

SDM: What was Resideo’s reasoning behind spinning off from Honeywell?

Nefkens: Being a standalone company offers Resideo the chance to have a more targeted focus and strategic direction to meet the needs of our dealers and their customers. As an independent company, Resideo will operate in a more nimble and agile manner with the ability to make faster decisions, increase product development velocity and dedicate resources to grow in a rapidly evolving industry. The company will benefit from enhanced customer focus and optimized capital allocation, while still being able to use the Honeywell Home brand. 

SDM: What is the benefit for dealers in this situation?

Nefkens: Approximately 95 percent of our sales goes through the professional channel so it is very important to us. It’s what has made us successful and we plan to continue to build products for our professional security dealers who are sitting down every day with homeowners, helping them make decisions on how to protect their families. With the well-recognized Honeywell Home brand, leading positions in core spaces, innovative products and services and a leading distribution channel, Resideo is well prepared to serve our dealer network. Dealers will benefit from partnering with us as we plan to extend growth across the professional channels with new marketing programs, investing in sales and technical training, designing solutions with simplified installation and maintenance and by helping contractors provide better services to the end user.    

SDM: How do you see this decision impacting the industry as a whole?

Nefkens: We believe Resideo can be a leader in the IoT/smart home space and is uniquely positioned because of our installed base in home security systems, heating, ventilation and air-conditioning controls. With security keeping watch on the exterior, comfort products on the wall, smart controls behind the wall and cloud-based mobile apps giving consumers greater control, Resideo is launching as a global leader with the know-how to truly connect the home. Our network includes more than 100,000 contractors who are integral to Resideo’s strategy, and we are focused on modernizing our pro channels to deliver the connected home experience. 

SDM: What are some short- and long-term goals Resideo has now that it’s an independent, publicly traded company?

Nefkens: Our goal is to simplify the smart home experience. We’re going to double down on the pro channel and give our dealers the tools they need to streamline the smart home installation, and deliver an exceptional experience for users. Resideo will build on our recognized track record of developing innovative new products and solutions, and continue to invest in and grow our partner ecosystem. We’ll use our expertise to create software that provides a seamless experience for customers in their smart home, with recurring revenue opportunities for dealers. We will also look to expand in high growth regions by leveraging existing portfolio and OEM partnerships while localizing solutions to specific markets where megatrends support adoption of our solutions. 

We’re looking forward to hosting our CONNECT conference this month where we will spend time with our top dealers and share more details on Resideo. We’re also preparing to launch our new dealer loyalty program at the event; dealers will benefit from rewards and rebate opportunities, product discounts, business management and lead generation, product certification and training and more.