Last week we were once again a proud sponsor of CONNECTIONS Europe, the annual conference hosted by Parks Associates for leading executives from the connected home industry. This year, the event’s main theme has been IoT and the Connected Consumer, a topic dear to our hearts.
Rafi Zauer, Essence Head of Marketing, appeared on two different panels, discussing the challenges and the future of the consumer IoT connectivity together with other industry experts. In the first session, ‘Smart Home and Connected Health: Personalization through IoT Innovation’, the panel explored the next connected innovations in the home healthcare market, including independent living solutions that have strong crossover connections with the smart home. They also shared strategies for providers and manufacturers to work with patients and caregivers to deliver services that truly impact care outcome.
The second session, ‘Residential Safety and Security: Fulfilling Unmet Needs’ examined the unique challenges in expanding the European monitored security market, and identified new business areas where the Smart home can create innovative value propositions, expand adoption, and increase revenue opportunities.
As always, CONNECTIONS Europe has offered a great opportunity to sound out the market and identify some industry trends that will shape our near future. Here are the 5 key points that we detected:
- Expanding voice control
There is a consensus that over the coming years voice commands will become the ubiquitous interface to interact with and control connected devices, replacing mobile apps. Also, voice control will be used to perform other actions such as online searches and shopping, among other internet transactions. Amazon Alexa and Google Home are just the beginning of it.
- AI- the interface of the future is no interface at all
But going even further in time, the interface of the future will be no interface at all. The industry is looking for smart solutions that are truly smart, not just devices that can be remotely managed, but real Artificial Intelligence that learns from previous experiences and adapts to the consumer’s preferences over time, making decisions on its own. As things progress with machine learning, behavior analysis and other forms of artificial learning, our smart devices will be able to recognize us, know our preferences in music, lighting patterns, security settings or temperature adjustments, and apply them without us having to do anything.
- Insurance companies are entering the Smart Home market
The understanding that the future of the insurance industry is in the IoT has led Insurance companies to set their sights in smart home solutions, posing themselves as new market players. Nowadays, the market talks about Insurance companies offering Smart Home and IoT services in the exact same way that it did about Telcos a few years ago. The difference is that Insurers have an obvious benefit from getting connected devices inside their customers’ homes to help prevent damage and thus reduce claims. This would also help improve the company image and reinforce customer loyalty.
- Understanding the importance of Cyber security
Security companies are trying to raise awareness in the smart home market about the risks of connected IoT devices and the importance of educating consumers in best security practices. After some trial and error, the market is finally coming to terms with the importance of ensuring the security of connected devices in all its layers and development stages. Cyber security is key to overcome reticence and reach mass market adoption.
- Energy saving – the strongest smart home driver in Europe
Although smart home is still a small market in Europe, it seems like one of the strongest drivers for mass adoption among European consumers will be energy saving. This is due to the strong environmental conscience of European consumers, and their view of energy saving as one of the most important assets to invest in connected solutions. Consumers are not the only ones starting to understand the inherent connection between smart home and energy savings. In this year’s conference we witnessed many energy companies shop around for smart home solutions, aiming to enter the market.
To get more information about our connected living solutions presented in CONNECTIONS Europe, contact us here.
