Although homes around the world are increasingly becoming smarter and more connected, the adoption of the connected home is slow in SA.
That's the view of Anton Vukic, channel director of Phoenix Distribution, who points out that a good number of consumers still don't totally understand the benefits of connected-home devices, or even how they work.
He defines a connected home as one which is networked with numerous devices connecting to the Internet, and to each other, and delivering services to the home.
"Connected home devices include a wide variety of smart appliances, such as washers, fridges, dryers, as well as energy equipment such as smart lighting and temperature control. It also includes security systems such as sensors, monitors, cameras and alarms," Vukic explains.
A recent Accenture study discovered that in SA, 72% of consumers report various problems when they use new device types such as wearable fitness monitors, smart watches, smart home thermostats, in-vehicle entertainment systems, home-connected surveillance cameras and security systems, and wearable health products.
The biggest challenges experienced by consumers are that the smart devices are "too complicated to use" (25%), "did not work as advertised" (20%), and "set-up did not proceed properly" (18%), says Accenture.
To Vukic, lack of ubiquitous broadband in SA is one of the biggest impediments to the connected home. The connected home goes beyond a collection of individual services to the home, it must be developed and connected as a totally integrated platform, he says.
Unfortunately, he adds, broadband is not the only hindrance to the widespread adoption of the connected home in SA.
"There needs to be a single environment where all these devices, systems and services can be delivered to the end-user, but where the individual has full control of their data, their devices and the network as a whole."
He believes the connected home has the potential to enormously boost efficiency, as it will allow consumers to carefully manage their consumption of various resources such as water, power and even other consumables such as food and broadband.
"Not only will this save vast sums of money in the long run, it will take some of the strain off the environment. With SA being plagued by load-shedding, this could be a huge benefit."
Another stumbling block to the adoption of the connected home is the lack of consumer trust, particularly in light of the burgeoning cyber security threat, Vukic notes.
"Every day we read of a new device that has fallen foul of hackers. It seems that almost nothing is sacred - baby monitors, pace makers, insulin pumps, smart lighting and even cars have been hacked. No wonder people are reluctant to allow a slew of potential threat vectors into their homes."
Accenture concurs, saying the majority of South African consumers are concerned about security. The survey found that more than half (52%) are not always confident about the security on the Internet.
"South Africa needs to overcome several barriers before the connected home dream becomes a reality. Fast broadband, economic weakness and uncertainty, load-shedding, lack of standardisation, lack of consumer trust, and absolutely no regulation, are all obstacles in the way," Vukic concludes.
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