Nest, Yale and five other device makers and chipmakers announced Thread, a new wireless networking protocol. This reinforces the fact that the global smart home market is heating up in a battle that goes beyond end products.
Nest, Yale and five other device makers and chipmakers announced Thread, a new wireless networking protocol. This reinforces the fact that the global smart home market is heating up in a battle that goes beyond end products. For an Asian manufacturer be competitive in the international market, “it has to be more flexible and acutely aware of the pros and cons of each communication standard in order to cater to international buyers, who have diverse demands,” commented Y.K. Chen, Director of New Business Development at Climax Technology, a leading supplier of security, smart home and telecare solutions based in Taiwan.
Climax considers its 2008 transition from security to smart home a natural evolution. “We have a long history of working closely with alarm monitoring companies; now we also develop solutions for customers in the telecom industry, such as telcos, ISPs and MSOs, as well as utility companies. We serve both groups with turnkey solutions, whether it is a security brand looking for value-added features or a telco trying to differentiate itself from its competitors,” Y.K. said.
“Most successful smart home solutions launched by telecom providers attract customers primarily with home security features. Our experience working with alarm monitoring companies allows us to integrate smart home and home security features in a way that enhances the user experience for both,” he continued. “Meanwhile, security service providers that want to attract new customers also reach out to us to integrate health care, home automation and other value-added features,” Positioned as an one-stop original design manufacturing specialist, Climax’s 20 years of experience with telecommunication and RF technologies enables the company to integrate security features into smart home solutions and smart home features into security solutions.
Climax offers its customers flexible, customized system designs. “Customers are free to choose whichever wireless technology they prefer, whether it’s Z-Wave, Zigbee, proprietary, or something else. If the customer has experience with system integration, we leave the system open for system connection and communication; if not, we can provide server solutions for monitoring or cloud controlling. Due to security concerns, some alarm monitoring companies prefer local storage devices such as a home NAS or NVR over cloud storage—we help facilitate that as well.”
Commenting on the current state of the smart home market, Y.K says it is really taking off. Climax has seen its smart home revenue grow 150 percent in the past two years. “It’s not simply a matter of telcos entering the security business or security service providers entering the smart home business—the two sides are heading in the same direction.
However, although the boundary between security and smart home has blurred, there are still differences between professional and self-monitoring markets,” he said. “At the moment, professional security accounts for 10 percent of the total market. 90 percent falls into the DIY or self-monitoring category, which is what many telcos and energy companies are trying to capture. We have very satisfied customers in both camps!"
Product Adopted:Energy Efficiency