Smart home industry leaders address innovative business strategies and technology at CONNECTIONS™

Parks Associates announced new research today showing that 28% of U.S. broadband households are very familiar with Amazon Alexa, which leads all surveyed smart home platforms. The IoT research firm hosts CONNECTIONS™: The Premier Connected Home Conference on May 22-24 at the Hyatt Regency in San Francisco, featuring multiple sessions focused on new voice technologies, smart home platforms, and business models driving consumer adoption of multiple IoT solutions.  

“Consumers want robust user experiences; they are not going out to buy platforms but products. A number of stakeholders in the smart home space are vying to provide a unifying platform to tie together all the moving pieces of the home,” said Dina Abdelrazik, Research Analyst, Parks Associates. “Interoperability is a key factor in enabling a working ecosystem of devices. Nearly 75% of U.S. broadband households planning to purchase a smart home product consider interoperability to be important, and CONNECTIONS speakers will be addressing these key issues throughout the event.”

Abdelrazikwill moderate the session “Smart Home Platforms: Consumer Value and Experience” on May 23 to discuss strategies for companies to communicate the value of smart home platform during the purchase process. “Smart Home Business Models: Shift to Services,” moderated by Tom Kerber, Director, IoT Strategy, Parks Associates, examines the role of data in creating new value-added services and recurring revenues through smart home devices.

Session speakers:

• Eric Adler, CEO, Flume, Inc.
• Dan DiClerico, Smart Home Expert, HomeAdvisor
• Lisa Fetterman, Founder and CEO, Nomiku
• Matt Johnson, VP, Business Development, EnergyHub
• Marcus Scheiber, CEO, ROC-Connect
• Naveen Chhangani, Head, Product Management, Arlo, NETGEAR
• Jim Hunter, Chief Scientist and Technology Evangelist, Greenwave Systems
• Kevin Meagher, Chief Commercial Officer, Intamac
• Josh Pederson, Director, Product, Ayla Networks
• Brett Worthington, VP Global Business Development & Partnerships, Samsung SmartThings

"With water conservation and leak detection as the next frontier for the smart home, Flume is responding to the market's desire for new business models and integration with industry-leading platforms as we launch our product. Our participation in CONNECTIONS™ demonstrates that strategic direction," said Eric Adler, Co-founder and CEO of Flume, Inc.

“We are excited to once again share our perspective on the opportunities of a contextual connected life,” said Jim Hunter, Chief Scientist and Technology Evangelist, Greenwave Systems. “The connected home is part of a bigger story of the mobile connected consumer, as such we believe the landscape and opportunities will continue to evolve, as will the go-to-market strategies through which consumers are engaged.”

“CONNECTIONS™ is a great conference because it consistently brings together a diverse range of IoT stakeholders,” said Matt Johnson, VP, Business Development, EnergyHub. “Coming from a software company that works closely with utilities to find value in IoT devices, it’s always interesting to hear other people’s perspective on how the concept of the smart home is changing their industry.”

“Cloud platforms have helped to address interoperability issues, but they are now the key enabler for players to reinvent traditional business models and channels to market,” said Kevin Meagher, Chief Commercial Officer, Intamac Systems “The future winners and losers in the smart home are likely to be defined by their ability to use these platforms to leverage data from devices and deliver innovative, new, value-added services to the consumer.”

“Achieving success in the smart home market is not a simple task,” said Josh Pederson, Director, Product, Ayla Networks. “From user on-boarding, voice control, third-party integrations, interoperability with other devices, and general user interaction, consumer product manufacturers face a tall order of challenges. Their choice of platform provider should be able to assist in every area and more."

The 2018 CONNECTIONS™ Conference will explore increasing consumer interest in smart home products, as well as opportunities for new approaches to communicate the value of the smart home platform during the purchase process.

For information, visit www.connectionsus.com. To schedule an interview with an analyst or to request specific data, contact Julia Homier at julia.homier@parksassociates.com, 972-996-0214.

About CONNECTIONS™

Parks Associates' 29th annual CONNECTIONS™: The Premier Connected Home Conference is hosted May 13-15 at Renaissance Dallas at Plano Legacy in Plano, Texas, and brings industry leaders together to provide insights and business forecasting about the adoption of technology including broadband, smart home, security, connected health, energy, and home automation.

CONNECTIONS™ provides ongoing insights throughout the year with virtual and in-person conference sessions. Parks Associates' analyst team leads the conference sessions, which are focused on technology innovations, consumer adoption and trends, product and service forecasts, and the evaluation of new business strategies, partnerships, monetization opportunities, and value-added service design.

CONNECTIONS™ is a pivotal platform for partnerships and exploring the future of technology adoption and its impact on consumers and businesses. www.connectionsus.com