Smart Home: the Internet of Things is coming through your front door

Services, channels, business models, data value, privacy, cyber security, alliances and ecosystems, communication protocols and interoperability are just some of the pillars of this revolution that ignites the Italian and international competitive scenario, while new global players are starting to make their entrance in this market, often with their own sales organizations, and startups are proliferating. Likewise, points of contact between consumers and the Smart Home are multiplying: retailers (traditional and online), manufacturers, insurances, utilities and telcos are moving in at different speeds on the connected home.
Finally, a key theme is the one of data made available by connected objects in our homes: the strategies to valorise them of companies that collect them are still not very defined, but this will be one of the critical aspects of the Smart Home market development. The Internet of Things is therefore beginning to enter our homes, but to open the door wide to innovation it is important to work more on the offer perceived as still too immature by Italian consumers.
Developing the offer however also means working on “services” often enabled by the data provided by the connected objects in our homes that on the other hand, lead to a growing focus on Privacy and Cyber Security issues, also addressed by legislative authorities.

The Report which presents the results of the Smart Home 2016-17 Research by the Internet of Things Observatory, has the goal of studying the main market characteristics and to critically outline its evolution.