Voice Propels Home Automation over the Adoption Chasm

The home automation industry long promised a "Jetsons" style home experience with every bit of lighting, home entertainment, appliances and more managed remotely.  But, home automation systems were complex, expensive, and required intrusive installation. And, the buying experience could be perilous for the ill-informed.  To operate, downstream devices required a control hub, and customers frequently experienced compatibility issues between operating systems or manufacturers, which made any new purchases a special challenges.  It seemed an all or nothing scenario for home owners, either buy everything all at once from a single manufacturer at great expense, or risk compatibility if you wanted to add a new system to automation later on.  And, the club seemed open to home owners only, as few products existed for renters seeking simple automation tasks.

These reasons drove many analysts to wonder if the smart home and home automation would ever jump the chasm of user adoption and become a viable industry.  Just a few short years ago, it looked as if home automation would forever remain a limited opportunity for the rich and tech obsessed only.  Then Jeff Bezos delivered Alexa, and within two years the market for home automation changed radically.

Alexa and voice control accomplished two goals simultaneously. Alexa created a defacto standard for voice activation, which eliminated the need for a dedicated hub and app compatibility.  Forget worrying about a centralized app for all of your automation devices and programs. Just buy an Alexa compatible plug, switch, or device and let your voice manage everything.  "Alexa, turn up the volume on my TV."  "Alexa, turn on the living room light." "Alexa, show me who's a the front door."  Overnight, manufacturers who used to worry about building compatibility with obscure HUB protocols just had to make their devices work on Alexa 

And, Amazon offered an easy marketplace for consumers to find compatible devices.  Amazon has delivered more than 44 million echo devices, creating  a virtual hub for those consumers and eliminating the other problem for home automation adoption, a tiny market.  In 2016, Recode published an article outlining many of the mis-steps of the home automation market, lamenting that the market really was just a series of very small niche markets, with few that demonstrated the potential for scale.  Thermostats were cool and selling okay, but installations could be perilous. Security devices were great, but wiring took forever and never worked well.  Garage door openers seemed slick, but who really needs an app for that? Nothing showed much potential for breaking into the mainstream.  Now, with 30-40 million residences already powered by Alexa, real home automation has the opportunity for scale.  And, renters can enjoy the fun, as well, with so many lights, switches, cameras, and even some security systems that can be installed easily and come pre-configured for the Alexa voice control.  

For new technology to leap the chasm from innovation and the very earliest adopters to the wide common marketplace, it has to become intuitive and reach critical mass.  On their own, individual automation solutions had no traction with the broad market. Today, it's easy to find fixes for any application from lighting to video doorbells to streaming cameras to spy on your dog.  If you don't think so, just ask Alexa.  She knows where to find them.