May 17, 2022

24% of smart home owners hired a professional to install their device

26th annual CONNECTIONS™ Conference highlights business model innovations, data privacy, and growing role of the home as the smart home ecosystem expands

International research firm Parks Associates is hosting the 26th annual CONNECTIONS™ Conference this week, May 17-19 at the Omni Frisco Hotel in Texas. The event features Parks Associates consumer and industry research along with insights from leading technology and service companies on trends driving home technology adoption, attitudes around data privacy, and business model innovations. Event keynotes include Alarm.com, Comcast, Cox Communications, Nice North America, and Sunnova.

Parks Associates recent research shows that among US internet households with smart home devices, almost 20% returned a device because it didn’t work as advertised, and 14% returned their smart home device because they had difficulty with the physical installation. Further, 24% hired a professional to install the smart home device. CONNECTIONS™ will address the issues driving home network technology purchases and the role of managed services, consumer attitudes on data privacy, and new business models emerging focused on services at home.

CONNECTIONS™ is sponsored by Alarm.com, Calix, Cox Communities, F-Secure, Homebase, Plume, Airties, Bitdefender, Johnson Controls, Nice, Notion, Rapid Response Monitoring, Resideo, Schneider Electric, STRATIS®, AmTrust Specialty Risk, Gadgeon, Ivani, Midea, Cooktop Safety, Iris® Powered by Generali, and Assurant.

“We are pleased to be back in-person with CONNECTIONS™, with special sessions each day digging deep into the emerging opportunities and new challenges in the smart home and related industries,” said Chris White, Sr. Analyst, Parks Associates. “Installation is a common source of problems for consumers, and our research shows an increasing reliance on professionals for setup and technical support versus a few years ago.”

CONNECTIONS™ speakers:

• Matt Barber, CEO, Vutility
• Jeff Bales, Sr. Director Business Development & Sales, Notion, a Comcast Company
• Erik J. Bernal, CEO, Elite Water Systems
• Joel Berntsen, Vice President of Strategy and Partnerships, Vutility
• Brent Corn, Vice President of Sales and Alliances, IOTAS
• Kent Dickson, GM, IoT Platforms & Services, Yonomi/Allegion
• Jennifer Doctor, Senior Director, Product Management, Johnson Controls
• Patrick Dunn, Program Director, Center for Health Tech and Innovation, American Heart Association
• Jeff Elbaum, Vice President, Global Sales, Iris Powered by Generali
• Stephen Eyre, Vice President, Partner Community, Calix
• Scott Ford, CEO, Pepper IoT
• Amanda Forsyth, Director of Product Management, Cognitive Systems
• Peter Giacalone, President, Giacalone Associates
• Karen Gough, VP of Sales, Span.io
• Nancy Green, Senior Vice President, Aveus
• Geordie Hagerman, EVP of Commercializaiton, Cognitive Systems
• David Henry, President and GM, Connected Home Products, NETGEAR
• Marty Hebert, Head of Security Sales & Strategy, RapidSOS
• Morgan Hertel, Vice President of Technology & Innovation, Rapid Response Monitoring Services
• Stacey Higginbotham, Founder, Stacey on IoT
• Jamie Hsu, Product Manager, RealPage
• James Jackson, Director - Energy and Utility Partnerships, Emerson
• Matt Johnson, CEO, EarlySense
• David Jurgens, VP Strategic Alliances, SAM Seamless Network
• Dr. David Keeley, CTO, Electronic Caregiver – ECG
• Henry Kim, Director, ThinQ Platform, LG Electronics U.S.A., Inc.
• Abe Kinney, Senior Director, Product Management, Alarm.com
• Uday Kiran Chaka, CEO, Sentry AI
• Mitch Klein, Executive Director, Z-Wave Alliance
• Aleem Lakhani, Executive Vice President, US Specialty Risk, AmTrust
• Michael Lee, CEO, Octopus Energy
• Jay Lent, Director of Business Development, North America, Tuya Smart
• Josh Lunsford, Executive Director Cox Communities Strategy, Cox Communities
• Dave Mayne, Chief Revenue Officer, Alula
• Nick Millette, Product Development Merchant, Smart Home and Home/Mobile Electronics, The Home Depot
• Blake Miller, Founder & CEO, Homebase.AI
• Earnest Morgan, Director of Engagement, Rutestock LLC
• John Morin, Product Manager, Connected Living, Assurant
• Jeff Morrison, Senior Director, Multifamily Sales, Brivo
• Lainie Muller, Director, Health & Wellness, Strategic Sales, Alarm.com
• Nathan Nunley, Sr. Manager, Smart Home, Silicon Labs
• Lee Odess, General Manager, New Markets, Latch
• Paul Palmer, VP Service Provider Business, F-Secure
• Wannie Park, CEO, Zen Ecosystems
• Sai Reddy, CEO, CamerEye
• Andreas Rudyk, Co-Founder and Co-CEO, Smartfrog & Canary
• Madison Saab, Channel Manager, Builder Program – North America, Alarm.com
• Akash Sah, Chief Procurement Officer, Brinks Home
• Kian Saneii, CEO, Independa
• Bob Scaglione, VP of Business Development, Support.com
• Katherine Schieltz, Senior Manager, Innovation and Product Development, Constellation
• Bill Scheffler, Vice President, Business Development ULE, DSP Group/Synaptics
• Heather Sellar, Director of Sales and Business Development, Essence
• Patrick Serrato, Head of Global Ecosystem and Partnerships, Midea
• Chad Shepler, COO, StoryBuilt
• Brett Sobol, Sr. Growth Initiatives Lead, Hippo
• David Sym-Smith, Partner, Mobility Ventures
• Jen Theobald, Director of Strategic Partnerships, Rapid Response Monitoring
• Scott Tjaden, Product Development Manager for Smart Home, Constellation
• Razvan Todor, Sr. Director, Product Management, Bitdefender
• Jason Wade, Founder, Doorbell Ninja
• Kevin Weirich, Sr. Director Global Product Management, Connected Products, Resideo
• Yana Welinder, CEO, Kraftful
• Brad Wills, Director: Strategic Customers & Programs, Schneider Electric

For 26 years, CONNECTIONS™ has brought together thousands of industry players from the consumer technology ecosystem for networking opportunities, consumer and industry research from the Parks Associates analyst team, insights from visionary speakers, and thoughtful, curated sessions focused on technology innovations, consumer behavior, and product and service adoption and trends.

To request data or an interview, contact Rosey Sera, [email protected], 972-490-1113.

About CONNECTIONS™

Parks Associates' 27th annual CONNECTIONS™: The Premier Connected Home Conference features an in-person conference on May 23-25, 2023 and multiple virtual sessions hosted throughout 2023. The event focuses on the adoption of technology including smart home, security, connected health, energy, and home automation.

Bringing together more than 1,500 senior executives, CONNECTIONS™ provides networking opportunities combined with visionary keynotes and virtual sessions. The Parks Associates analyst team leads all conference sessions, which are focused on technology innovations, consumer adoption and trends, product and service forecasts, and the evaluation of new business strategies, partnerships, monetization opportunities, and value-added service design.

Throughout the event, sponsors offer demos during networking events, spotlighting new technology innovations and services for the entertainment, mobile, and smart home market segments.

CONNECTIONS™ 2023 features an in-person conference on May 23-25, 2023, with virtual sessions on March 2, July 20, and October 5. For more information, contact [email protected], call 972-490-1113, visit www.connectionsconference.com.