From Security to Access: Smart Devices in the Modern Home

From Security to Access: Smart Devices in the Modern Home
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Smart home devices have always been about convenience and security for homeowners. Now, Chamberlain Group is leveling up with its integrated ecosystem, myQ, delivering peace of mind and easy access to homeowners and boosting home efficiency.

Sara Gutterman, CEO of GreenBuilder Media, met with Iain Urquhart, EVP and Chief Revenue Officer of Chamberlain Group, to speak about the rapid transition towards sustainable housing and the need for technologies like their myQ ecosystem to make homes more resilient and connected. They also talk about why these technologies are a perfect fit for the VISION House Las Vegas. 

Want to be a fly on the wall? Check out their full conversation here!

Q: It’s a pivotal time in the building industry with substantial and meaningful transformation taking place. What kind of transformation are you seeing right now and what are you most excited about?

A: I agree–it is a pivotal time for the industry with respect to added value and added capabilities, with smart home technologies becoming mainstream. We're seeing ease of use, access, and security–all of the things that homeowners want–are being brought to the table by builders, and we're excited to be a part of that.

Q: What shifts in consumer demand are you tracking?  

A: We're all about intelligent access at Chamberlain Group, and all of our brands like, Chamberlain and LiftMaster, and the myQ ecosystem all focus on enhancing access and control. 

If you think about the early days of smart homes, it was really about security and peace of mind, which is certainly important. But the day-to-day use of those products is actually more about access. Homeowners are using smart home tech for the awareness of a package being delivered, the ability to provide access to neighbors or service providers like cleaners or repair contractors. 

We're also seeing an increased interest in knowing who's coming in and out of your house and when, even the kids coming home from school, giving a homeowner peace of mind that they've made it home safely. 

You can look across our core access products like the garage door opener with the ability to marry a smart, video keypad outside of the garage, which allows a homeowner to see who's coming in and out of the garage and actually communicate with them and decide whether or not they want to provide them access at that point and open or close the door for them–access has become quite sophisticated. 

We're also seeing that with some technologies in the garage, like with our SecureView products. And we're adding more to our portfolio. We see this smart access and ease of access as a continued value add to the homeowner and to the market. It's a really exciting time. We're investing heavily in it. 

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Q: Can you tell us about any use cases that you are developing now that you can share with us?

A: We now have over 11 million people using our myQ app, and the main trend that we're seeing is a shift from one-use apps and products to ecosystems. 

So we really look at it as an access ecosystem. Now I can't go into specifics to everything we're doing there, but clearly the garage is one point of access. There are other points of access around the house that we are looking at. How do we enable and provide that high value ease of access/control capability on myQ so that you use one application for that across the entire home?

We're also looking at inside-the-house applications for access, securing items within different parts of the home, and choosing when and how access is granted. We have partnerships with major security companies like Vivint. We have a partnership with Amazon and Walmart for in-home delivery, which continues to grow and benefit our customers. 

We're going to continue to look at those partnerships because we know that the integrated ecosystem is really where the value is going to come for the homeowner because you don't want to use 10 different apps to do 10 different things. So that's really where our innovation and focus has been. 

Q: We've seen over the years that people are using their garages for home gyms, bike shops, or gathering spaces. Are you seeing this trend, and is it more prevalent with younger generations who may not have multiple vehicles? How does your technology fit into that?

A: We are seeing this trend in the market. A lot of it has to do with the phase of life versus generational components where it may be earlier or later in life that homeowners are using garages for gathering and other uses. We see a really strong use case for camera capabilities around the garage for parents of young children. 

Our research shows that in about 70 percent of U.S. homes, the garage is the primary entry and exit point of the house, not the front door. So you start to think, why not have a camera at your garage? And with our technology, not only do you have the camera, but you actually have the access generation and management as well. 

Our SecureView smart garage opener is a rotating camera. And people can point the camera to the areas that are most important to them, like the back door, or a prized possession like a car or motorcycle.  

Q: Why are you excited to be a part of the VISION House Las Vegas.

A: We have seen for years within the building industry a primary focus on the cheapest upfront cost, but that's not what the consumer is looking for anymore. The consumer is looking for a smart home at an affordable price, and you've got to provide both. 

As these capabilities and technologies become mainstream, builders can offer a better home buying experience and a more valuable solution.  We believe fully in the concept of the smart home that delivers real value by bringing a whole new user experience to the homeowner. And so we're really pleased to be part of this initiative. We believe in it. We think this is where the consumer wants to be. 

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