Source: ABI Research Press Release

ABI Research announced that it has found that a “third way” is emerging in the home automation system market space and it promises to fuel tremendous market growth: home automation as a managed service provided by the homeowner’s cable broadband provider or telco. Homeowners will be able to monitor their homes remotely, and control basic features such as lighting or air conditioning. These new managed home automation services will both compete with and complement the traditional home security alarm market.

According to the latest forecasts from ABI Research, there will be more than nine million security cellular M2M connections active in the United States before 2015. Practice director Sam Lucero notes, “Traditional security firms such as ADT will increasingly be joined in the mainstream by these new providers offering managed home automation services. Verizon Wireless announced such a service at CES this year, and Comcast is currently trialing one in the Houston, Texas area.

They key concept is that these are not primarily security alarm systems but  basic home automation systems; they can incorporate a security alarm system as part of the overall offering (typically with the inclusion of a cellular back-up connection, as is the case also in the traditional security alarm industry). ABI Research sees this model starting to become really mainstream in 2012-2013.

As usual, however, there are factors that will inhibit this market growth as well as those that drive it. According to VP and practice director Kevin Burden, “The key inhibitors are the newness of the technology to the service providers, and the newness of the services to potential subscribers; a significant consumer education process will be required, but the telco and broadband providers are well positioned to do it.”