Blog articles from 10/2016

Data breaches that expose sensitive data of millions of customers and cost large companies millions of dollars are now pervasive in the news.  As cyber-criminals formulate new ways to attack, many companies and consumers are now more aware of the vulnerabilities involved in providing and using connected products and services. Despite the fact that cybercriminals are consistently devising new attack strategies, device manufacturers and consumers are yet to pull out all the stops...

Last week, half the Internet was shut down by an unprecedented hacker attack on the servers of Dyn, a major U.S. domain name server (DNS) host for media companies such as Netflix, Facebook, and Twitter.  The hackers used what is commonly referred to as a distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack. DDoS attacks basically bombard a server with so many requests it has to slow down or shut down because it can’t handle the traffic. Even with sophisticated DDoS protection software in...

This week, Chinese CE device and entertainment company LeEco made impressive announcements about its U.S. market entry plans. Which market? All of them. LeEco makes phones, bikes, VR headsets, and even an electric car prototype. It acquired TV manufacturer Vizio in July, and makes its own TV sets as well. It is not dipping its toe into the U.S. market with a single device type but jumping in wholesale with an entire ecosystem of devices. Recent research from Parks Associates shows...

IoT devices are projected to diffuse exponentially from their current penetration by a wide variety of sources, with an estimated 50 billion connected devices by 2020. Among those sources is the home services marketplace, which totaled $319 billion in 2015 and is expected to reach $365 billion in 2018. Monetization of connected products  using new models is a significant opportunity. The value of the lead generation that IoT solutions provide to home service contractors is one...

Before attending CONNECTIONS™Europe  in Amsterdam, Kevin Meagher , SVP Business Development of ROC-Connect, answered several industry questions: Where do you feel the largest opportunity is for the smart home industry in Europe? I believe the larger opportunities are with service providers that want to bundle smart home with their broadband and entertainment. However, as in the U.S., retailers are starting to make a strong push into the market so new opportunities...

Before attending CONNECTIONS™Europe  in Amsterdam, Martin Woolley , Technical Program Manager of Bluetooth SIG, answered several industry questions: Where do you feel the largest opportunity is for the smart home industry in Europe? Among some of the more obvious and current applications are lighting, heating systems, locks, and windows sensors. However, there is a huge opportunity for the industry as a whole to adopt a new, upcoming mesh standard, Bluetooth mesh....

Before attending CONNECTIONS™Europe  in Amsterdam, Leigh Calton , Head of R&D at Ageas UK, answered several industry questions: Where do you feel the largest opportunity is for the smart home industry in Europe? Creating new products and services that consumers value What challenges does Europe face with rolling out new smart home products and services? Gaining consumer trust over data access, compatibility of devices, and creating relevant...

Before attending CONNECTIONS™Europe  in Amsterdam, Cees Links , General Manager Low Power Wireless of Qorvo, answered several industry questions: Where do you feel the largest opportunity is for the smart home industry in Europe? Security, elderly care, lighting control, smart meters – but all relative small and scattered. What challenges does Europe face with rolling out new smart home products and services? Fragmentation of the market, cost...