The Internet of Things is having a dramatic impact on how society lives and plays. By 2020 there will be 26 billion connected devices enhancingour lives and giving us added control, security, and peace of mind.
Within the home is where most of the action is happening, and exciting changes are already taking place; in fact, connected home devices will make up 25% of all IoT shipments in 2015. With a forecasted annual growth rate of 67% over the next five years, the importance of IoT to consumers and the industry is becoming unmistakable. From heating, lighting and energy monitoring systems through to connected kitchen appliances; IoT within the home is set to boom.
The full potential of the Connected Age will be realized as consumers make the transition from a connected home with fragmented devices to a fully integrated Smart Home; a central hub where the Internet of Things integrates seamlessly across their personal and business lives, enabled by high-speed broadband connection. The challenge for service providers lies in creating a Smart Home experience that gives consumers convenience as much as it enables connectivity. Businesses will need to work across a number of systems, devices and industry standards, to offer a streamlined user experience. They will also need to integrate diverse technologies, unobtrusively, across a personal network.
This will require the support of software and platform development providers that specialize in creating open platforms for connectivity. To maximize the opportunities of the Connected Age, product manufacturers, and service providers should be focused on extending their engagement with consumers throughout a product’s lifecycle and beyond; and they should be working across the full-range of verticals to maximize their product or service’s reach and the potential to create business partnership and monetization opportunities, while providing the consumer with a more streamlined user experience.
Picture this: A Connected Car works with a home entertainment system provider to determine what music the consumer was listening to before they left the house. When the consumer enters the car, it automatically reverts to the most recent song and playlist. However, rather than just focusing on the playlist, the home entertainment system partners uses the analytics gained from this service to establish an agreement with an advertising agency supported by the Connected Car’s ‘entertainment service’ and delivers personalized advertising offers throughout the duration of the drive, tailored to the drivers mood and preferences. Alternatively, a connected home infrastructure works with various appliances in the house, adapting to personal routines by recognizing or triggering personal wake-up alarms, switching on a kettle, warming the house and turning on the lights, drawn from a connected diary of events, or a pre-set feature. Each time that the device is connected to the system, the product or service providers have an opportunity to learn about consumer behavior, improve or promote their service and even encourage positive behaviors.
The applications of connected devices within a Smart Home are extensive, and already delivering real benefits in terms of energy management and cost savings, security and living assistance for the elderly and those who need additional support. The market for IOT within the Connected Home will continue to grow and as consumers demand a streamlined experience across every aspect of their home lives, the opportunities for collaboration, and connectivity will explode.
ADB is helping businesses maximize their existing technologies and extend their services by developing a single gateway within the Smart Home. With Personal IoT, businesses are supported in their transition from a provider of connected devices, to a multi-play service operator, offering their customers a unified and simple to use Smart Home experience. By utilizing our consumer-centric and highly flexible Personal IoT solution, we help service providers increase consumer loyalty by putting their brand at the very core of the Smart Home.