Bill Lee, Vice President of Smart Home Product Marketing, Samsung Electronics America, provides insight on several key industry trends for Parks Associates’ 11th-annual CONNECTIONS™ Summit conference, which will be held January 5 at CES 2017 in Las Vegas:

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?

Authentic “DIY” simplicity will be, in my opinion, the most critical next step to engage consumers. Consumers must truly feel that entering, activating & enjoying a new technology must be as simple as using your Keurig coffee maker. Whereas manufacturers should increase and improve any and all customer service touchpoints (chat, live call, etc.), this should be in addition to — and not in lieu of  — built-in, engineered simplicity. This critical factor will catapult smart home solutions from early adopter to early majority.

What changes do you expect to take place in the next year in the smart home and connected consumer markets?

I believe that you will see more businesses, retailers and dot.coms enter the business. This may mean lower pricepoints, more promotions and better opportunities for consumers to enter the space. This may also mean added confusion and complexity. Its therefore critical for manufacturers and brands to rally around having an authentic conversation with consumers around simplicity of setup and use.

What is the biggest driver for the connected consumer market?

Simplicity in setup and use. A consumer should be able to set up their new devices with a Quick Start Guide.

What are the biggest technology innovations impacting the connected home market?

The widespread adoption and “feature creep” of connectivity into everyday devices is, in my opinion, the biggest innovation to affect the industry. As connectivity or a product’s relative “smartness” increases, it disarms consumers’ fear, or apprehension, of connected devices while showing consumers how these new approaches can make us both smile and improve our daily productivity in a dramatic way.

Lee will speak on the session “IoT and Smart Home: Changing Business Models” on January 5 at 3:45 p.m. Other speakers on the panel include Vivint Smart Home, Target, ROC-Connect, American Family Ventures, and TROVE.

For more information on CONNECTIONS™ Summit, visit www.connectionssummit.com or register by clicking here.

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