Before attending CONNECTIONS™Europe in Amsterdam, Thomas Rockmann, Vice President Connected Home at Deutsche Telekom AG, answered several industry questions:

Where do you feel the largest opportunity is for the smart home industry in Europe?

There is a myriad of business opportunities in the smart home sector, as the move to selling hardware-based services grows. We have identified three key business opportunities that are open to the widest range of players, including telcos, energy utilities and retailers.

Across multiple industries, security and safety represent the entry path into the connected home market. There are several innovative propositions in this category, including integration with traditional monitored security operations, and with social media platforms Analysts Technavios forecasts the global IoT security market to grow at a CAGR of 55.01% during the period 2016-2020.

An example of the use of smart home security as an entry point into the smart home, is the roll out of KPN’s SmartLife, which initially provided Dutch consumers with the ability to manage security sensors around the home via a smartphone app, and is following this with the implementation of its ‘KPN SmartLife Comfort’ heating proposition.

In the energy management sector, a growth trajectory is already clear partly because of government intervention into mandating (or encouraging) the installation of smart energy meters with the aim of giving consumers more control over energy costs.

Energy data gathered via smart meters represents a compelling opportunity for utilities, as it will enable them to build more attractive connected home propositions using detailed customer insights.

The third major opportunity is around home automation, a broad category that refers to applications that make life easier and indeed more pleasant.

The global home automation system market is expected to grow from USD 32.11 billion in 2015 to USD 78.27 billion by 2022, at a CAGR of 12.46% between 2016 and 2022.

While many early adopters will clearly be gadget lovers, the growth of several major consumer electronics products in the connected home space – such as Amazon’s Alexa and Sonos – is bringing buzz, excitement and education.

What challenges does Europe face with rolling out new smart home products and services?

There are significant challenges facing the smart home market, and perhaps one of the most visible is being caused and perpetuated by market fragmentation.

On the one hand side consumers have clear needs around security, comfort or energy consumption matters, while on the other hand side consumer confidence is undoubtedly affected by the lack of clarity over interoperability. Consumers are unsure whether smart home devices share the protocols or have common integrations. This confusion is evident at nearly every level of the IoT market, and even where standards are required, the variety is confusing.

Additionally, global giants also have their sights firmly set on our markets and the value that can be extracted from many diverse industries. The opportunity is now; global competitors will not sit around and wait for European players to fully prepare their strategies and product development plans.

How will companies leverage the growth in the market in the next 12 months?

We see companies focusing on understanding the customer, their needs and pain points and how these can be met by increased connectivity.

To date, the smart home market has been too focused on technology for technology's sake, and has overlooked the customer and their needs.

There will also be a greater willingness to partner to realise growth. Many smart home companies will thrive via collaboration, especially as there are not yet the industry-wide platforms or consistent standards.

Companies will be introducing new and flexible business models. Flexibility of the model and the payment structure will be critical to gain the broadest appeal, and all with the aim of providing consumers with greater levels of flexibility, convenience and peace of mind.

The winners will be those that are prepared to innovate, take risks, and be willing to lead in a nascent market.

We are looking forward to hearing you present, but what are you most looking forward to about the show this year?

I am looking forward to participating in the high-level discussions, networking, and introducing our Connected Home Platform to a wider audience.

Rockmann will speak on the session “Value Propositions: Accelerating Adoption of Connected Home Solutions” alongside speakers from Centralite Systems, Qorvo, Bosch, and Fibaro Group.

For more information on CONNECTIONS™ Europe and how your company can become involved, visit www.connectionseurope.com.