WHO’S AFRAID OF CONNECTED OBJECTS?

The IoT increasingly present in Italian homes: a RISCO Group study on Italians and smart homes promises a rosy future, despite a country still in crisis
We have already spoken many times about the Internet of Things, discussing the actually quite innovative capacity of such a concept in terms of the extant debate about the automation and integrated systems. If the data of the Internet of Things Observatory of the Politecnico di Milano’s School of Management, whose Director Giulio Salvadori we interviewed, already indeed confirm that the smart home market in Italy surpassed 180 million euro at the end of 2016 (+23% compared to 2015), here comes other accompanying data about the Bel Paese calculated by the RISCO Group, a New York-based company that produces Systems and Security products for technicians, professionals and integrators. The results show a comforting picture in some ways, though they do not resolve some of the questions related to the world of smart homes.
The quantitative survey was conducted on a sample of unspecified individuals. According to the responses received, 64.4% of Italians have already heard of smart homes; one Italian in five already has at least one connected object in their home, and one in ten would like to add one within the next two years, for a budget forecast that fluctuates between one and five thousand euro. Among the primary reasons that lead to this choice are the need for the greater security (79%), consumption reduction (42%) or greater domestic comfort (41.5%); and, finally, remote control of entrances (31%) and household appliances (28.7%). On the other side, the primary hesitancies towards adopting interconnected devices are elevated costs (47%), fear of malfunctions (41%), fear of being hacked (37%) and that of having to carry out invasive work in the home (30.9%) (not necessary in the case of a system that is already connected to the Cloud).
IoT: revolution or simple market strategy? It is not clear, at least from these data, what the answer is. What is certain is that, at the moment in Italy (as is indeed also found in the Observatory’s analyses), in the face of an effective demand from users, frequent inactivity from local administrations is recorded, partly due to the lack of specialized personnel, in addition to waiting for action from the market’s OTTs (Over-The-Tops) – particularly from software houses such as Google or Facebook. It should also be said that the request, though existing, concentrates on specific objectives, which unfortunately indicate an Italy that is still in crisis: indeed, on one hand, the greatest brake for adopting interconnected devices is price. On the other, the greatest stimulus for nearly four Italians in five, is security. On closer inspection, the most significant finding that emerges from the report is: whether it is justified or less so, the need for greater control of one’s own home today seems to be the primary driving force of smart homes.
To see the complete text of the study: https://www.riscogroup.com/italy/content/studio-risco-group-su-italiani-e-smart-home-%E2%80%93-l%E2%80%99iot-sempre-pi%C3%B9-nelle-case-del-bel-paese
For further information on RISCO Group Italy: http://www.riscogroup.com/italy