News

Conference proves 'connected home' and convergence ready for mainstream (18/12/2003)

The first Connected Home conference, brought to you by HSA Conferences and Junction, bought together key industries and individuals, critical in the development of home automation and local connectivity.

This successful first event provided insight into a variety of sectors and businesses involved in the industry and the products and services being developed by some of the leading organisations. It also identified, for those just entering the market, exactly what is meant by the Connected Home.

The event created excellent networking opportunities and provided the right environment to meet and establish prospective partnerships, vital in driving the market forward.

The Connected Home event featured industry experts from around the world who provided insights into the future of home networks and connectivity. There was an exceptional speaker line up and the feedback from the audience, speakers, sponsors and supporters was extremely positive.

Speakers included representatives from BT, Intel, Cisco, Whirlpool, Echelon, IBM, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe, BSkyB, Motorola, IBM, Opus Technologies, BBC, Motorola, CEDIA, Imperial College London, Amino Communications, OSGi Alliance, LG Electronics UK Ltd., Parks Associates, Homeportal, Addleshaw Goddard, Fraunhofer Institute, Global Quality UK and ProSyst Software AG.

Day One focused on "Launching the Connected Home," with an exploration of current and future industry trends . The second day was aimed at "Connected Home Services" and the various technologies and applications available to consumers.

According to Michael Harrison, Chairman of the conference, "The main focus of the conference was to foster partnerships within the industry. Through this event, we wanted to help all involved parties gain visibility and generate additional exposure within the larger marketplace. Furthermore, we wanted to showcase the exciting array of connected home-related services and technologies currently available to consumers. The Connected Home is ALREADY here - it is just a question of moving forward and integrating the products and services in the right way to create a connected environment."

Jay Lim, Managing Director, LG Electronics UK Ltd., a sponsor of the event summarised, "The Connected Home Conference 2003 provided a perfect forum for us to communicate our technologies to members of this growing market. The co-sponsorship was an opportunity for LG to maintain its strong presence in the home networking arena."

Ian Johnson, Director of Junction, commented, "We have seen much networking activity over the last couple of days and much evidence of a desire for partnership creation within the home networking and automation markets. It's previously been an industry waiting to emerge into the mainstream, and now it seems many of the leading players are starting to introduce new services and a variety of devices into the marketplace. Our role is really to bring these different players and different industries together, and help this market move forward."

The Connected Home was sponsored by Intel, LG Electronics, IBM, Motorola with the full support of the OSGi Alliance, CABA, UPnP, Konnex Association, TAHI, (The Application Home Initiative), The Internet Home Alliance, EIBG, DAA, Lonmark and CEA. Partners included OPUS Technologies, PDD and West Lothian Council.

The next 'Connected Home' event will be held in London, April 21st / 22nd. Following on from the Connected Home 2003 and the audience requirement for greater partnership creation, the conference will bring together ALL sides of the equation - Builders, Installers, Content Providers, Retailers, Product Manufacturers and Service Providers.

Ralf Baral, Business Development Executive for IBM's Smart Home outlined; "The Connected Home is seen as one of the major events to initiate and accelerate open communities to provide end to end value chain for the new business of Smart Home Services."

The conference will provide added-value through greater market insight and focused communication messages from all of the event stakeholders - sponsors, partners, and speakers and from delegate interaction and participation.

Alongside the conference proceedings will be an exhibition where companies will promote their new products.

The Connected Home 2004 is aimed directly at the industries supporting the Connected Home market - Construction, Installers, Product Manufacturers, (white goods, computer and consumer electronics, energy, telecoms, etc.) Service Providers, Service Companies (energy utilities, telecom operators, waterco's, cableco's, etc.), Software Companies, Component Manufactures, Multi-media content specialists, research laboratories, start-ups, etc. The target audience consists of over 200 senior level international delegates. Attendees will be CEOs, Vice-Presidents, Business Development, Marketing and Technical Managers, Project Managers, Engineers and Analysts.

The event will have more panels and shorter speeches to allow for the wide and different variety of perspectives. It will continue the strength of drawing from a variety of different industries, and bringing together those that were unlikely to mix at the same event as each other.

Daniel Schellhoss, EVP of ProSyst Software AG: "This event is right on time. Service providers are starting to set up new service offerings while manufacturers bring new home networking devices to the market. The fact that all relevant parties -- from the manufacturer to the customer -- will meet at this event proves how well-planned and organized it is."

www.the-connected-home.co.uk