Craig Johnson, President, Residential Solutions, Emerson Labs spoke with the Parks Associates’ analyst team prior to the 22nd-annual CONNECTIONS: The Premier Connected Home Conference to discuss how companies can capitalize on consumer interest in a home insurance-smart home connection.

Craig will be speaking on the Energizing the Smart Home: Changing Role of Utilities panel at 11:15 AM, Wednesday, May 23, in San Francisco. He will be joined by the following speakers:

Jason Dudley, Senior Planning Analyst, Salt River Project
Rob Munin, President and CEO, Lux Products Corp
Wayne Morrison, Principal, Emerging Technologies, Reliant

How will artificial intelligence (AI) impact the smart home, IoT, and connected entertainment landscapes in 2018 and beyond?
Artificial intelligence has already started to shift the connectivity of the smart home landscape. With these shifts, the industry will see a natural match between technologies like machine learning with the proliferation of real-time device data. Useful information in the form of advanced warnings and insights about the consumer’s home and security, will make adopters like Emerson stand out from the crowd. There will be a shift in consumer’s minds to: “Why should I have to monitor my things, when the cloud can do it for me– effectively and safely?”

What effect will the implementation of 5G technologies have on connected consumers? What effect will it have on providers?
The Internet of Things is redefining how we connect information to the internet. The way we stream data and watch TV isn’t the correct way to stream information to your thermostat. With the 5G connected frontier paving the way, we’ll see effective cost efficiencies among both consumers and businesses.

How might blockchain impact the smart home landscape? Is it worthy of all the hype?
Blockchain is a pivotal technology platform in the evolution of the Internet of Things. It allows us to shift the challenges of trust and security from an inherently flawed model of central control to a distributed, trust-is-not-required technology built on the proven technologies of encryption. The technology takes the best concepts of a mature, proven, and secure field of mathematics and converts the information-centric business model in a way that would not have been possible before.

Have you seen any new cutting-edge innovations that could tip the smart home scale from early adopter to mass market adoption?
Yes! Modern device companies – those who understand and place an emphasis on usability before, during, and after product launch – make smart home technology accessible to everyone. Innovations focusing on the user experience, the exploding field of tools and best practices will continue to evolve, shifting the scale toward consumer interest.

Will the rise of DIY solutions significantly impact the traditional security landscape?
Absolutely. Security is not just the application of encryption or control. Understanding how the information flows through a system, how it is consumed and by who defines true security. Making devices accessible to the DIY market, but also helping those individuals stay safe is an important challenge. It’s also going to separate businesses who can stay in the Internet of Things space and those who don’t understand and try to apply a traditional, control-based security model. Zero-trust networking and blockchain are great examples of the future showing up now, and it makes us all more secure even outside of the Internet of Things.

How can companies capitalize on consumer interest in a home insurance-smarthome connection? What potential impact will that interest have for business models on both sides?
There is value to be captured on preventing bad things from happening to your most expensive and precious assets, including your property and family. If a consumer can avoid a tragedy for less than it costs to handle it, or a company can provide better service for less cost, they should - and will - adopt smart home analytics. Imagine a future where instead of being covered by a house fire it’s prevented from happening in the first place. How much would that be worth to you, and how much is your family’s safety worth?

For more information on CONNECTIONS, visit: www.connectionsus.com.