Smart home channel opportunities just beginning

28aa8f108e881657229d88bf6ead4af5Beancounters from Gartner think that the UK is just at the start of its adoption of smart home technologies and there could be big opportunities for the channel.

Gartner said that it was still early days and those who had not got a smart home strategy probably have not missed out on much.

Gartner analysts said that of the UK, US and Australia America was ahead in adoption because the concept had been out there longer but there had been some movement here as the technology begins to gain popularity.

The most popular products were home security alarm systems followed by monitoring, energy management and then health and wellness management.

Big G suggested that the secret to pitching smart home products was to concentrate on an overall solution to help the user get more from the technology.

Jessica Ekholm, research director at Gartner said that messaging needed to be focused on the real value proposition that the complete connected home ecosystem provides, encompassing devices, service and experience.

“The emphasis needs to be on how the connected home can helps solve daily tasks rather than just being a novelty collection of devices and apps,” she added. Users liked to be able to manage their various smart functions through a single dashboard and thought that branding was important. More than half saw a value in products being certified.