Smart home is one of the fastest growing categories in consumer electronics, and Global Fairs and SmartHome Initiative Deutschland look to bridge the link between it and the sales channel with a series of workshops at IFA 2019.
The "Center of Smart Building" in Hall 11.1, will host a series of key workshops explaining the latest in business opportunities, as well as the technical channels involved. Behind the workshops are Chairman Günther Ohland and Managing Director Alexander Schaper-Schneider, who founded the SmartHome Initiative Deutschland association 10 years ago as a cross-sector federal association in Germany representing the entire smart home value-added chain.
“We’ve been together since 2015,” Global Fairs managing director Jan Nintemann says. “Together with SHI we have a big network that helps each other and helps create a better channel for smart home/smart building vendors.” Global Fairs brings over 20 years of experience in bringing technology to buyers at IFA, including an early involvement with mobile communications and consumer IT.
Smart home cuts across multiple sectors, including consumer electronics, information and telecom technologies, electrical technology, heating, air-conditioning and plumbing and security and health technology. Information and telecom technology have provided a digital bridge between previously siloed areas of expertise, creating digital interoperability at the application level.
Along with the Smart Homes & Buildings Association in the UK (SH&BA) and Fédération Française de Domotique in France (FFD), the SHI has a European committee to coordinate joint activities. Altogether, they represent more than 600 professional members across OEMs, retailers, distributors, ISVs, integrators, telcos, and energy suppliers.
The workshops at the Center for Smart Building will bring top European experts sharing expertise on the fast growing technology, which should be welcome as a replacement for the current sales dip in traditional categories such as smartphones and PC.