It is only recently that millennials—usually considered the demographic most comfortable with new technology—are starting to become the most influential purchasing demographic. Things are beginning to change.

Gateway to the future

Another small seed that has enormous growth potential is the smart companion, a concept that has increasing utility as AI and associated technologies improve. From a simple entry point—whether a smart speaker or a smart security system—consumers can start to experience and embrace the concept of a smart companion. Through that experience, consumers become increasingly comfortable with the new technology. There is plenty of opportunity for enhanced products and services here, too, enabling consumers to set parameters for their smart home, from security to performance, and to be alerted when action needs to be taken. The future holds the promise of almost entirely autonomous ‘home sitter’ systems, where not only are events—such as a water leak or an open window—detected, but also prioritized and resolved, freeing up consumers’ time and resources.

Telecoms operators are currently taking several approaches to the smart home. One of the most logical and commercially viable is deploying smart home technology to enhance and defend their broadband proposition. Operators are also experimenting with new business models that are multi-dimensional with various partners and connected ecosystems, many of which play to telecoms operators’ major strengths in owning customer relationships and wider management expertise.

The smart home market is perhaps the ultimate exercise in big-picture gazing, encompassing the entire consumer electronics supply chain and touching enterprises from traditional high-street retailers to pure-play digital service providers. Yet it can be distracting—and time-consuming—to spend too long contemplating its full extent. The time has come to look to the small details, like solving consumer needs simply and easily, incrementally improving products and services to really deliver standout performance in a crowded market, and facilitating positive relationships between existing customers and trusted third parties.

We believe that the connected smart home of tomorrow will become a reality, but we will all need to think small sometimes, in addition to thinking big.