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Smart And Simple
Smart security products represent a massive opportunity for installers to upsell to tech savvy consumers and to increase profit margins, writes Mike Derham...
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A Smarter Choice
The explosive demand for more connected homes has created impressive opportunities for installers. However, to maximise the potential, it’s essential to choose the right smart technology partner. Ryan Bromley, co-founder of Kubu Smart, explains more.
The rapid expansion of the market for smart home products is impossible to ignore, writes Kabu Smart’s Ryan Bromley. In its last annual ‘State of the Connected Home’ report, techUK working in partnership with global consumer intelligence company, GfK, determined that the market’s current value stands at an enormous £4.78 billion.
The same research also found that three out of four UK adults own at least one connected home device and that the biggest growth across the five main categories of connected home technology occurred in smart home security.
Ownership of products such as video doorbells, smart locks and smart window and door sensors grew by over 50%. This increase was significantly greater than that seen for the remaining categories which are smart domestic appliances, smart entertainment, smart energy and lighting and smart health monitoring.
Choices
Against this backdrop, it’s perhaps easy to understand why there has been a glut of new smart security products coming to the market from both new and established brands.
Installers today have a wide range of choices but as with most things in life, not all of these options are created equally, so it pays to be aware of what to look for – and what to avoid.
Making sense of standards
When it comes to smart devices, there’s a huge array of different standards applied to products, some more credible than others. These accreditations cover various performance characteristics from battery life to data encryption.
The slight downside to all these different standards is that it can be difficult for installers to know which to trust.
At Kubu Smart, we advocate the accreditations awarded by the IASME Consortium. That’s because this is a wholly independent organisation which is recognised both by the UK government and by Secured By Design (SBD).
The IASME Consortium works alongside almost 300 other expert organisations, including the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), to advise and certify organisations in cyber security and counter fraud. It is responsible for the delivery of schemes such as Cyber Essentials and Cyber Essentials Plus.
The IASME IoT Cyber Assurance scheme should be of particular interest to installers of smart window and door sensors and smart locks as it certifies that these products, as well as other internet connected devices, employ certain measures to resist cyberattack.
The scheme has two levels. Level 1, which is aligned to the Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure Act 2022 and that requires products to comply with the three most critical provisions of the European ICT security standard – ETSI EN 303 645.
Level 2 goes much further. It is aligned to a number of different global standards and demands compliance with all 13 of ETSI EN 303 645’s provisions.
Working with hardware
All Kubu Smart devices, sensors, and software benefit from this higher, Level 2 accreditation. This impressive cyber security perfectly complements the physical security of the locks that our technology is used alongside.
These products – such as the Avantis and greenteQ iQ range of ‘Works with Kubu’ door and window locks – are SBD and PAS24 accredited.
Innovation with integrity
In addition to evaluating the standards and accreditations awarded to any smart sensor or lock, it’s equally important to consider the credentials of their manufacturer.
Ask yourself, is it an ethical company? Has it been established as smart tech company from the off or is it a more traditional security product manufacturer looking to break into this area?
These qualities can make a difference in terms of productivity longevity and continued availability as well as the provision of technical support.
At Kubu Smart, we are proud of our levels of integrity and all of our products and solutions are based on our own, exclusive patents developed using our expertise as a dedicated smart tech company.
Picture: Installers today have a wide range of choices but as with most things in life, not all of these options are created equally, so it pays to be aware of what to look for – and what to avoid.
Article written by Ryan Bromley, co-founder of Kubu Smart
11th September 2023