92% of Security Installers/Integrators See Home Automation as a Future Revenue Generator

[slychiu]

An overwhelming majority of security installers and integrators see home automation as a potential growth area, a survey has revealed.Polling the views of hundreds of installers, IFSEC Global found that 92% saw the ‘smart home’ – whereby lighting, heating, alarms and other household functions are interconnected and remotely controlled via smartphone or PC – as a potential area for diversification.

No surprise, then, that almost as many – 88% – would be more likely to attend IFSEC International if a dedicated home automation zone were introduced.
“In the top end of the market, people are spending hundreds of thousands on smart home technology,” write one installer who completed the survey. “There are a few cheap end products out there, but the most important factor here is that products can be retro-fitted and not too expensive.

[color=\"#ff0000\"]“It would be great to see a security system that integrates as one package.  As far as we are aware this does not exist. We’ve been trying to push the home automation side, but are still seeking the right product.”[/color]


http://www.ifsecglobal.com/92-security-i...mepage_1st

[Vangelis]

The pivotal thing here (and something that will undoubtedly be missed) is the differentiation between Cloud and Standalone automation.

So much of the systems now rely on some kind of Cloud analysis / storage / telemetry, that it has built in a single point of failure - The Internet connection

In the event of a loss of connection, you may come home to a \'dead house\', unable to turn on the lights! Even with 4G backup, this is only one way comms.

Integrating security as part of and automation system on a single unit (especially if running a generic OS) is only going to leave you exposed down the road.

I have always kept Comfort separate from my automation for this reason, and although it is more than an alarm (logic engine etc) I still feel this is the best architecture.

Vangelis