Standalone products, also called point solutions, are self-sufficient products that generally operate independently from other products and systems. Smart home systems consist of a groups of devices that work together to enable a variety of use cases and applications. Both standalone devices and systems have market drawbacks that influence market adoption. For standalone devices, consumer benefits include the fact that they are often simple to use and the vale proposition is usually easily understood. However, consumers do not benefit from the expanded value that can be achieved through device interoperability and when they do acquire additional products, the burden of product integration is often on the consumer. Device manufacturers bringing point solutions to market are often able to bring these devices to market faster. However, future monetization potential for standalone devices is often limited when compared to smart home systems

Several factors inhibit smart home purchases. Among consumers who do not own or intend to purchase a smart home device, 25% report security and privacy concerns as a reason for not adopting devices and 17% perceive smart home products will make their lives more complicated. Consumers tread carefully when adopting smart home devices. Consequently, adoption of standalone devices significantly exceeds adoption of smart home systems. Twenty-four percent of U.S. broadband households own at least one smart home device, compared to 13% of households that have a home control system of some kind. Broadband households who already own smart home devices are also significantly more likely to purchase other devices than those that do not own devices.

Moderated by Patrice Samuels, the CONNECTIONS™ session, “Smart Home: Standalone Devices versus Whole Home Systems,” addresses the buyer journey and the impact of standalone devices versus whole system purchases on mass-market adoption.

This session takes place on Thursday, May 23, from 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Speakers include:

• Charles Cheevers, CTO, ARRIS representing Wi-Fi Alliance
• Dan DiClerico, Home Expert & Smart Home Strategist, HomeAdvisor
• David Friedman, Co-Founder, Executive Chairman, & Chief Strategy Officer, Ayla
• Linus Lundberg, Google Home + Nest Business Development, Google
• Matt Swatsky, Vice President – Residential Mid-Market Business, Lutron

For more information visit www.connectionsus.com