According to new projections from Juniper Research, the installed base of connected appliances in “Smart Homes” will surpass the 10 million mark by 2017.
That’s an impressive jump from 4 million at the end of 2013.
Juniper’s new report – Smart Home Ecosystems & the Internet of Things – found that consumer awareness of connected appliances, such as smart fridges and washing machines was gradually increasing, but that such devices are not widely considered to represent attractive purchases.
Still, smart appliances remain a niche item, given high retail prices, poor use cases and security concerns. While the technology to leverage IoT (Internet of Things) devices is already available, no service provider has yet made a system for intelligent automation available to consumers.
Other key findings of the report reveal that deploying Smart Home services in the cloud will reduce the need for expensive Smart Home device processors, and allow these devices to benefit from the power of Big Data. Additionally, service providers should encourage a user community to help diversify Smart Home application possibilities to cater for individual needs.
