Prior to Parks Associates’ 22nd-annual CONNECTIONS: The Premier Connected Home Conference, Russell Vail, Executive Vice President - Market Development, Alula spoke with the Parks Associates' analyst team to discuss the future of connected products and the impact on the smart home landscape.

Russell participated on the Home Security: The Expanding Market panel on Wednesday, May 23, at 2:00 PM. Panelists who joined him on this session included:

Lewis Brown, CEO, MiOS
Mike Hackett, Co-founder and SVP, Qolsys
Jim Poder, VP, Product Management Residential Systems, Nortek
Matt Wolf, Head of Partnerships, SimpliSafe

Given the continual increase in the number of connected products, how can providers ease consumer concerns associated with data security and privacy?
Providers need to make their privacy policies visible to the consumers - Not just ‘click here’ to accept.

Be clear on how the data is securely transported and how data is accessed securely.

How will artificial intelligence (AI) impact the smart home, IoT, and connected entertainment landscapes in 2018 and beyond?
AI will have a bigger impact in video analytics combined with other technologies in the home to determine occupancy (Who, When and Where) and to automate processes that make HA more self-aware.

What effect will the implementation of 5G technologies have on connected consumers? What effect will it have on providers?
In some cases, it will cause a technology sunset of older cell networks. This will cause providers who use cellular as their transport to replace the older technology. In the case of security dealers will require a truck roll.

How might blockchain impact the smart home landscape? Is it worthy of all the hype?
Would certainly increase the security and data integrity as well as overhead for communications.

Have you seen any new cutting-edge innovations that could tip the smart home scale from early adopter to mass market adoption?
True plug and play designs that do not require onsite configuration will drive mass adoption. It is more than just saying it is simple it is proving it.

Will the rise of DIY solutions significantly impact the traditional security landscape?
Absolutely, it will impact the traditional security space. The traditional security space will need to embrace the DIY as an option for subscribers who do not want to have anyone come out for the install. Will need to embrace DIY and DIFM (Do it for me) to expand their current business.

How can companies capitalize on consumer interest in a home insurance-smart home connection? What potential impact will that interest have for business models on both sides?
Insurance companies have been interested in risk mitigation strategies. Insurance Smart home connection companies will ultimately have to share data with the insurer to show user activity, occupancy, history, exceptions etc. Having a smart security system does not mean you actually have turned it on and are using it. 

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