In my blog article last week I was somewhat expecting to be flamed by readers for promoting the ADT Pulse home security product. I wasn’t and that’s refreshing because I tried to highlight the solution over the vendor. That's becoming quite a challenge as connected products become mainstream.
I'm not an ADT customer, but I am a Verizon customer. I didn’t consider these companies to be in the same market, but when I picked up my (US) Mail last night I found something strangely familiar: an advertisement for Verizon's Home Monitoring and Control solution. With M2M capabilities now enabling consumer applications, we're seeing market competition for product offerings that didn't exist just a few years ago, and from companies you may not have expected to be competing head-to-head.
If you have a home, a vehicle, or a business, a broad range of vendors are packaging M2M-driven value added services for you now. It doesn't mean you're more likely to purchase service just so you can shut off your iron as you head out on vacation, but you're certainly being offered more control over the world around you. More options will drive increased competition, and that will ultimately drive down consumer costs for these features. It's all good.
Vendor focus or not, products and services like these are maturing quickly. If you're a supplier you need to be very aware of value that products like the ADT Pulse, Verizon Home Monitoring, or the new Cadillac Shield capabilities are offering YOUR customers. Don't let the market opportunity pass you by, and don't recreate the wheel - all the cloud capabilities you need to build your connected product or service are right here, right now.
