ABB, Bosch, and Cisco plan to establish an international joint venture that will develop and operate an open software platform for smart homes. Agreements to this effect were signed on November 27, 2014. The joint venture should be headquartered in Germany. The plan is subject to approval by the antitrust authorities. The companies involved expect that the joint venture will be able to commence operations at the beginning of 2015.
Partner alliance with appliance manufacturers to be set up
* Simple exchange of data between different types of devices
* New software platform to unite a range of services
* Partner alliance to be open to all appliance manufacturers and service providers
ABB, Bosch, and Cisco plan to establish an international joint venture that will develop and operate an open software platform for smart homes. Agreements to this effect were signed on November 27, 2014. The joint venture should be headquartered in Germany. The plan is subject to approval by the antitrust authorities. The companies involved expect that the joint venture will be able to commence operations at the beginning of 2015.
For a home to be “smart,” it is crucial that all the appliances and systems in the home – e.g. washing machine, heating units, lamps, and window blinds – can simply and securely exchange data with each other as well as with smartphones and tablets. The aim of the ABB, Bosch, and Cisco joint venture is to develop and operate an open software platform that will enable this simple exchange of data between different manufacturers' devices. In the future, therefore, users will not have to worry about technological compatibility when operating their electric and electronic devices at home. The new platform will also make it possible to provide a range of services related to household devices, in areas such as energy management, security technology, and entertainment. This will make new business models possible: software developers, for example, will be able to create a wide variety of apps for these areas of use.
In addition to developing and operating a software platform, the companies intend to establish a partner alliance which will be open to all manufacturers, developers, and suppliers of products and services in the area of smart homes. The objective is to incorporate a wide range of user requirements when developing the software platform. This will enable the creation of a comprehensive “business ecosystem” which facilitates intercompany collaboration.