The startup aiming to support your smart home

As the holiday season approaches, it seems that technology is about to dominate headlines again. Amazon recently launched six new gadgets, all of which were available for under $150, we have a yet another iPhone on the horizon and Google Home introduced new devices too. Before the tech prediction lists appear, it seems that we are already on track for 2018 to be the year that the smart home becomes a reality for mainstream users and not just early adopters.

The idea of a smart home has been knocking around since the Jetsons hit our TV screens in the sixties. However, the oldest science fiction dream is finally becoming a reality. The smart home system refers to a variety of overlapping electrical and wireless systems that will enable a smart home to function as a combined whole unit.

A typical scenario of a smart home involves someone driving home from work in their smart car. As they get close to their house, their smart car connects to their garage, and their garage door opens automatically. The lights, heating system and all other kitchen devices come up automatically once the car enters the home.

The success of the Amazon Echo and Google Home has brought a high increase in the demand for Internet of Thing (IoT) devices. Homeowners are now adding lights, thermostats, security cameras, locks, switches, sensors to their home networks. But, are users aware or even care about the risks?

Since smart homes are connected to the internet, they are also vulnerable to cyber-attacks by hackers. The reality facing many homeowners is that they are not armed with the skills to manage the complexity of their home network and technology ecosystem. Not to mention the frustration that engulfs a home when the internet goes down.

These are the first world problems that Axius are aiming to solve. Rather than be just another device support company; they are one of the first services to help simplify the entire process of managing your new smart home.

Essentially Axius offers IT support for the home. The startup is providing proactive and on-call services to ensure your smart home is connected and working as intended and free of downtime. The platform also provides support, management, and security for homeowners with IoT devices.

When I spoke to Axius founder, Colin Barceloux on my podcast, he advised: “There is nothing worse than a lock malfunctioning and preventing a resident from going home. At Axius we avoid this with the continuous monitoring and troubleshooting of all your IoT devices.”

The platform is designed to accommodate smart homes of all shapes and sizes. It automatically creates your profile to reflect all your devices connected to your home network.

Homeowners are increasingly facing an inconvenient truth that their humble abode now has more connected devices than offices in a small business just a few years ago. But, they don’t have the luxury of an IT support number for when things go offline.

The Axius hub was designed to connect directly to your home router with security measures that notify you when any device is trying to connect to your network, giving you options to either block or allow the device to connect.

With a bank-level security, Axius secures its user’s data by encrypting it between their app and server. These services are designed to improve digital lives with strong security, connectivity monitoring, and live tech support.

The company hand-pick tech experts who are friendly, genuinely caring, love technology and are striving to provide meaningful customer support. It is hoped that their strong commitment to improving lives with their services makes will make them stand out from all other tech support companies.

Experts have been warning about the security risks that surround the growing number of IoT devices in our lives. Gartner reported that there will be 8.4 billion connected things will be in use in 2017, up 31 percent from 2016. It seems we are facing an unprecedented effort to keep all of these devices working and secure. Could Axius be the first of many services aiming to protect users from themselves?

Currently, the support team is based entirely in the United States, with highly vetted experts who are available seven days a week to assist wherever and whenever it is needed. But, they don’t rule out further expansion plans or franchises as smart homes become the norm all over the world.

Whether you really need your own IT support line and monthly subscription or just a tech recommendation program is still up for debate. But, it seems that we are beginning to see the early signs of households underestimating the level of tech in the homes.

If you are known to be tech-savvy and used to receiving a phone call from a friend, colleague or family member at 9:32 pm on a Sunday evening, your days of providing free technical support might finally be numbered.

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Thanks for reading. You can find my previous LinkedIn articles here that led to me being named one of LinkedIn's "Top Voices on Technology."

You can also connect with me on Twitter at @neilchughes or contact me via my site Technology Blog Writer if you want to reach out or appear on my podcast.