by Lisa Arrowsmith, Director – Connectivity, Smart Homes & Smart Cities, IHS Technology

Cloud-based home management systems that allow users to remotely control household features like lighting and air conditioning are predicted to grow rapidly in the next few years.

Other examples of use-cases for cloud home management include: receiving a notification on a smartphone or tablet when children return home from school; remotely adjusting the temperature of the home while at work via a smartphone, tablet or computer; and receiving alerts if an elderly relative deviates from his or her normal routine.

Smart home service provider landscape: a diverse mix         
The types of companies offering cloud-based home-management systems are diverse. One major group consists of existing service providers who have other core business lines; examples are security or telecommunications providers and utility companies. Many of these companies have entered the home-management market to reduce customer churn or to increase new subscriber rates and average revenue per user (ARPU).

Other types of companies also are entering the fray, including device suppliers and retailers. Smart home specialists are expected to play a major role in the deployment of smart home services globally. This category of companies includes both home automation providers that are moving their existing customers to cloud-based services by providing an external communications gateway and an associated backend service; alongside a new breed of connected home specialists, such as Nest, Revolv, SmartThings and others.

Smart home services market to vary regionally      
The smart home service provider landscape is projected to vary widely by country. In North America, security providers, such as ADT, Alarm.com and Vivint, have been at the forefront of the market, providing combined smart home and professionally monitored security systems. Telecommunications companies, such as Comcast or AT&T, also play a major role.

In the European, Middle Eastern and African region (EMEA), utility companies are expected to dominate, accounting for one-third of the installed base at the end of 2018. Utility companies already offering or developing smart home devices or services in Europe are believed to include British Gas, Essent, Eneco, Nuon, RWE, EnBW and Eon. European multiservice operators (MSOs) have generally been slower to enter the smart home service market than those in North America, although there have been exceptions such as Bouygues Telecom and Swisscom. Others, such as SFR and Orange, have also now entered the market, with more expected to follow.

In the Asia-Pacific region, some multiservice operators have been offering basic smart home services for a number of years, although volumes have remained relatively low. As more enter the market, with wider value propositions and attractive tiered pricing, the role of MSOs is set to grow.

However, it is device suppliers that are expected to drive the majority of growth in Asia-Pacific. In some cases, the device suppliers are expected to focus on the creation of the “smart” hardware, using open standards to make it compatible with services from other companies. However, some appliance suppliers are expected to also “own” the backend system used, creating their own branded smart home service platforms.

Growth in the adoption of smart home services is set to increase rapidly, in part due to the diverse supplier mix that allows consumers to obtain different services from the company types they find most appealing in this segment. According to the IHS Technology “Smart Home Subscribers Intelligence Service,” the global installed base of cloud-based home management services, is projected to grow to 44.6 million at the end of 2018, up from 5.6 million at the end of 2013 (see above chart).

The installed base this year is expected to surge 63 percent to 9.1 million.

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reprinted from IFA international

Nest adds 4 automation partners to its "Works with Nest program"-- Control4, Crestron, Remote Technologies Inc (RTI) and URC, allowing installers to officially integrate of the company's devices with home control systems.

Another, far less surprising, addition to the program is Nest-owned security camera maker Dropcam. The Nest smoke detector now can tell Dropcam cameras to start filming in case of fire, and the Learning Thermostat can use the cameras as a motion detector.

"We’re excited to bring Works with Nest to whole-home automation," a company statement reads. "Professional installers are a key market partner for Nest and we’re committed to enabling our products to connect with the home automation systems they trust and install every day."

Elgato announces app-powered product and accessory range at IFA 2014, including the Eve connected home sensor lineup, the Alvea smart LED bulb and the Smart Power portable power solution.

The Eve sensors gather air quality, temperature, humidity, air pressure, energy and water consumption data before pushing all to a companion iOS app via Bluetooth Smart. The app provides users with a home overview, as well as insights on how to make their house smarter.

Meanwhile the Avea is an app-controllable LED bulb. Unlike similar lighting solutions (such as the Philips Hue smart bulbs) it does not require a bridge device, and users can coordinate multiple bulbs via single iDevice.

Controls provided by the app include dynamic mood lighting and a "Wake-Up Light" alarm function.

Samsung gets a pair of unlikely spokespersons for its Smart Home automation platform, currently on show at IFA 2014-- David Hasselhoff and 1982 Pontiac Trans Am KITT, the stars of Knight Rider.

A just released video has the "smart" car getting a bit jealous of the Hoff's Samsung-powered home automation, going as far as to interrupt the filming of an advert for the system. Because, let's face it, nothing says "smart home" like classic 80s TV right?

As for actual home automation, IFA 2014 sees the platform getting safety services, energy management and location awareness functionality. Users can monitor IP cameras and digital door locks throughout the Smart Home smartphone app, as well as check energy consumptions and have the system switch appliances on or off depending on the homeowner's location.

A further addition is voice control-- users can activate air conditioners, robot vacuum cleaners and Smart LED lighting via the S Voice service on Galaxy smartphones and Gear smartwatches.

SmartHome Ventures emerges from stealth mode with the reveal of Peq (pronounced "peek"), a DIY home automation solution promising "professional grade" service to the consumer market.

Peq is similar to other consumer-grade automation systems such as SmartThings, Revolve and Staples Connect. A Peq hub devices acts as a, well, hub, connecting a variety of Peq devices and sensors (including a camera, smart thermostat, light and appliance modules, motion sensor, water sensor and carbon monoxide detector) to the internet and a companion mobile device app.

In turn the app provides easy-to-use control, as well as custom rule creation and live video streaming.

The Peq service is subscription based, and allows the addition of an unlimited number of OpenHome Certified devices to the system.

Samsung continues to stab at home automation as it buys SmartThings, makers of a smart home control platform consisting of a via router-style hub, sensors and smartphone app.

The company does not reveal the asking price, but according to Re/Code Samsung coughed up around $200 million.

"We will continue to run SmartThings the way we always have: by embracing our community of customers, developers, and device makers and championing the creation of the leading open platform for the smart home," SmartThings CEO Alex Hawkinson writes in a blog post announcing the acquisition.

Following the sale SmartThings will continue running as an independent company, even if it will move to Palo Alto, California in order to be closer to the Samsung Open Innovation Centre.