In order to expand our coverage into multiple business sectors, SMAhome will reposition itself in 2019 to focus on business applications, and building and home related topics. Both the operation of the SMAhome website and the circulation of its quarterly magazines will cease in 2019. The website content will be relocated to asmag.com Smart Building & Home, and the SMAhome editorial team will continue to work for the industry on asmag.com, covering all the latest topics.
Thanks to connectivity, our lives have become much more different compared to the past. Home appliances have become interactive, capable of sharing data and providing extra convenience. The human voice can now further command and control multiple smart devices. Robotic devices can assist people with monitoring, education, entertainment and housekeeping.
The high growth experienced by the smart home industry in the past five years has created many magnificent achievements in different regions, with the U.S. taking the lead. In the next decade, we expect China will become another big market in the smart home sector and that other industries will also become highly connected networks and smart.
Similar to what we can find in our own homes, many connected business solutions in buildings have also started to have their own ecosystems. With IoT technology as an enabler, these systems in smart buildings can be connected to automation, HVAC and security subsystems. In addition, smart buildings are like smart power grids, with energy efficiency as a primary long term goal. Occupant comfort is also another big issue. Designing people-centric buildings should always be prioritized when using these technologies.
When it comes to people in a building, what they demand would vary depending on business purpose. For example, what a financial building requires would be totally different from a hospital or a hotel. When it comes to IoT applications for business, the complexity of implementation is much higher due to demands from end users and also multiple stockholders.
In 2019, please stay tuned to asmag.com to explore various business topics. We always welcome your feedback.
Jill Lai, Editor-in-Chief, asmag.com and a&s International