Stuart Lombard, President and CEO of ecobee, answers the following industry questions before attending the CONNECTIONS Summit at CES, hosted by Parks Associates January 6-7:
What is the most important next step to engage consumers in smart home solutions, connected entertainment services, and/or value-added services like tech support and connected health?
The most important next step is the first step. Once consumers have a single device they can see the potential in other devices. As connected home devices generally deliver great user experiences, customers who have a strong experience with a single product begin to look for other connected products that can help make their lives simpler and better.
What is the biggest challenge your company faces in 2016?
The biggest challenge we face is deciding which of the many connected home opportunities to focus on. This is endless opportunity – just not enough hours in the day.
What is the biggest driver for the connected consumer market?
The biggest driver for connected home devices are consumers’ connected lifestyles. Consumers are constantly connected through their smart phones and they expect their devices to be connected as well. A second major driver is low cost sensors which allow devices to perceive and react to people in the home, which in ecobee’s case, leads to meaningful energy savings and enhanced comfort.
What are the most important initiatives your company is taking in 2016?
The most important initiatives for ecobee include understanding our customers’ aspirations and motivations as well as creating curated experiences that allow them to live simpler and better lives.
Describe your vision for the smart home and entertainment markets in 2020.
We believe in a world that is effortless – where our customers lives are more comfortable, happier, better and simpler so that they can be more focused on the things that really matter: their families and the moments they share together. This vision is enabled by a future that moves from discrete devices to a computing fabric that senses and reacts to the people in a home and makes living effortless.
Stuart Lombard will be speaking on the panel session "Ease of Use, Interoperability, and Mass-Market Adoption" on January 6 at 2:30pm. Sponsored by Cirrent, this session will also feature insights from Affinegy, Cirrent, Nest/Thread Group, ULE Alliance, and the Wi-Fi Alliance. Add this session to your CES schedule today!
For more information on the speakers and sponsors involved in the 2016 CONNECTIONS Summit, visit www.connectionssummit.com.
