A Nov. 2012 study from IMS Research projects that the global market for smart-home devices will more than quadruple in the coming five years, growing from less than 20 million nodes in 2012, to more than 90 million in 2017. One of the main drivers is the increasing number of service providers branching into the managed home control space. A number of American telcos and security providers, such as ADT, Verizon, Comcast, Rogers Communications, Time Warner Cable and Cox Communications, are already offering a range of smart-home solutions via a cloud-based managed service approach.
A Nov. 2012 study from IMS Research projects that the global market for smart-home devices will more than quadruple in the coming five years, growing from less than 20 million nodes in 2012, to more than 90 million in 2017. One of the main drivers is the increasing number of service providers branching into the managed home control space. A number of American telcos and security providers, such as ADT, Verizon, Comcast, Rogers Communications, Time Warner Cable and Cox Communications, are already offering a range of smart-home solutions via a cloud-based managed service approach.
Similar offerings are also either deployed or in the pipeline for European counterparts, such as Swisscom, Bouygues Telecom and many others. Some companies are instead opting to develop and white-label a common platform for partner companies, as Deutsche Telecom is doing with the Qivicon solution.
To date, ZigBee and Z-Wave have been favored by a number of managed service providers. According to Lisa Arrowsmith, Associate Director of Connectivity at IMS, “Z-Wave and ZigBee have both gained strong traction in the North American market, deploying in managed home systems which are predominately aimed around home monitoring — with a high number of relatively low-cost nodes, such as magnetic contacts as well as in comfort and convenience applications. In the European market, energy management is set to be the key driver of managed home system deployments, with devices such as smart plugs and HVAC controls. Here, there is a more fragmented approach to connectivity technologies, with a range of standards and proprietary technologies being used.”
While ZigBee and Z-Wave dominate the managed service market today, a range of other low-power wireless technologies, such as EnOcean and DECT ULE, are set to take the stage as shipments of these technologies gain traction. Arrowsmith continued, “The energy-harvesting properties of EnOcean can be attractive for service providers and consumers alike, reducing maintenance and support costs. DECT ULE will also see significant uptake in managed systems, as it can enable existing DECT gateway customers to add home control functionality via an over-the-air software upgrade.”