Blog articles from 11/2020

Despite all the connected home products and services, the home is still more connected than it is intelligent. As connectivity becomes a de facto requirement to stay competitive, value creation will continue to move up the stack into the applications where data analytics drive new features and services.    Don't miss the upcoming CONNECTIONS Conference session  AI and the Smart Home: Proactive and Predictive Intelligence wich will be on November 12 at 10:00...

The COVID-19 crisis has put fixed and mobile broadband networks to the test. Shifting work patterns and increased consumer use of connected devices and services at home bring into sharp focus the critical importance of the networks that provide the foundation of our connected lives. At this same moment, major shifts are occurring in the fixed and mobile broadband landscape.   ISPs are re-evaluating their offerings as more and more consumers drop the broadband & pay TV...

Parks Associates will hold the 24th annual CONNECTIONS executive conference online as part of CONNECTIONS Community . The final sessions start NOV 10-12 and will include presentations from Parks Associates' leading analysts and visionary sessions featuring executives in the connected entertainment and digital home technology industries. Matt Wolf, Head of Partnerships at SimpliSafe , shares his thoughts with us on COVID-19's impact in the smart home market ahead of the upcoming...

Yesterday, the Wall Street Journal reported that Comcast is in talks with Walmart to partner on a new line of smart TVs. The smart TVs would be running Comcast's X1 operating system, which powers the company's Xfinity set-top boxes and Flex streaming media devices. As per Wall Street Journal's report, Walmart would manufacture and promote the X1 smart TVs in its retail stores, potentially under Walmart branding, and also receive a share of recurring revenue generated via these smart TVs...

DIY and smart home products are adding opportunity and volatility to the market for professionally monitored security and driving changes in the home security business. These solutions offer consumer advantages with lower-cost and contract-free monitoring options that attract new consumers. In the COVID-19 environment, direct-to consumer sales of DIY systems and do-it-with me services offered by dealers have provided a means to keep doing business. However, adopting these new offerings...

Independent living solutions, which encompass a variety of assistive technologies, enhance seniors’ ability to stay in their home safely and enhance communication with loved ones. The COVID-19 pandemic exposed the seniors’ vulnerability and the challenges of remote caregiving. Companies across the spectrum from device manufacturers to monitoring providers to home health agencies are responding to the need for new solutions that help our oldest consumers live well and safely at...

Towards the end of October, Google announced the discontinuation of its three-year-old Google Nest Secure alarm system. Although Google will no longer sell its DIY home security system, it will continue supporting its current Nest Secure users. This announcement was not a big surprise, given Google’s $450 million investment in security stalwart ADT earlier in August. Google first introduced Nest Secure in 2017 as a modular home security system that was simple to install and use....

Innovative companies are driving new revenue by extending professional monitoring services beyond residential security to new use cases in the connected home.    These include monitoring of loss prevention devices, personal emergency response systems (PERS), energy management, asset tracking services, and indoor air quality, among others. Parks Associates research finds that 28% of seniors with security systems in place are willing to pay for in-home...