"Internet of Things" articles

Connectivity in the home and the addition of connected devices continues to expand year-over-year. These products provide an increased level of convenience for consumers through home automation and home security applications, energy management and energy efficiency services, and the ability to control and monitor the home remotely. Smart thermostats have been around since the early 2000s; however, the introduction of the Nest Learning Thermostat in 2011 brought a greater level of...

Home builders are traditionally risk averse when it comes to adding new technologies in their homes. However, home builders can be an effective channel to introduce smart home products and services to a broad range of customers, including those that are not traditionally tech enthusiasts. Builders across the country convened in Irving last week for Builder Connections, hosted by Hanley Wood, to hear insights on consumer demand for smart home products and services and trends impacting...

The recent rise of insurtechs has spurred modernization in the fundamentals of insurance, including policy creation, underwriting, and claims management. Insurtechs, such as Hippo and Lemonade, have implemented AI and data analytics to provide quick and accurate quotes to their customers while also decreasing their own operating costs. Such innovation has disrupted the traditional insurance industry and has helped alter underlying business models of legacy companies, forcing them to...

One of our mantras at Parks Associates is that many smart home device manufacturers need to strengthen their value propositions in order to win-over the mass market consumer and justify the higher price of connected products. In short, offer consumers more for more, more for less, or at least more for the same cost as competitors. The Yardian (a portmanteau, or mash-up, of “yard” and “guardian”) by Aeon Matrix is a smart irrigation controller that beefs up its...

Smart home device ownership tripled between 2014 and 2018, and households utilizing smart home technology now own an average of six devices. As the number of connected devices in the household increases, so does the consumer’s risk of exposure to a data privacy breach. That risk is amplified by devices like smart speakers with voice assistants (Amazon Echo, Google Home, etc.), which collect massive troves of data, while device manufacturers potentially harness that data without...

The smart home starts at the front door, with devices like smart door locks, networked cameras, smart garage door openers, and video doorbells representing not only a foundation for security solutions but also access points for a future world of services, including in-home and in-garage delivery, home rental solutions, pet and cleaning services, and much more. Parks Associates research shows video doorbells lead in adoption among the three primary access control devices. At the...

According to Parks Associates research, 28% of US broadband households now own at least one smart home device, and device-owning households own an average of six devices in their home. A newly published Parks Associates report, Race to Control the Smart Home Ecosystem: Attracting Partners , states that as device adoption continues to increase each year, smart home platforms will help establish order out of the chaos that comes from the steady influx of connected devices in...

“What will it take for smart home to reach mass market adoption?” Recently, I explored this perennial industry question at Parks Associates CONNECTIONS 2019 conference. While we regularly discuss everything from compelling use cases to value propositions, I presented a few thoughts on drivers and barriers around the notion of “building on Early Adopter cheers and overcoming Mass Market fears.” Now, if we’re thinking in terms of Geoffrey Moore’s classic...