January 2014 FLASH INSIGHT. revolv A smart home aggregator that unifies bestin-class solutions into one ecosystem

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1 January 2014 FLASH INSIGHT revolv A smart home aggregator that unifies bestin-class solutions into one ecosystem

2 Copyright This document is intended for your personal use only. The distribution is permitted only in an unaltered form. The use of the contents and graphics in other documents is permitted only with the prior consent of MÜCKE, STURM & COMPANY and requires proper citation. The texts and figures in this document have been compiled by MÜCKE, STURM & COMPANY within a presentation; they are no comprehensive documentation of the overall event. All of the company names, logos, brands, trademarks, registered trademarks and products used in this document are sole property of the corresponding companies and are used for illustrative purposes only. 1

3 Mücke, Sturm & Company offers periodical analyses of new home automation solutions based on the customer journey methodology. Management Summary Mücke, Sturm & Company MS&C is a management consultancy with focus on digital markets MS&C has been active in the German market for over ten years and belongs to the leading consultancies within the TIME industry MS&C supports companies to gain a competitive advantage in markets that are affected by digital transformation MS&C offers its clients unique product insights in its Smart Home Experience Center where more than 40 smart home solutions can be tested and analyzed Customer Journey Customer journey is an analysis concept to measure the customer satisfaction along the pre-sales, sales and aftersales customer experience MS&C has developed a smart home customer journey analysis concept and regularly investigates the six steps of the sales and after-sales phase of newly launched products (purchase, unboxing, installation, configuration, usage, extension) Customer satisfaction is measured at the so called Moments of Truth the most important points of interaction of a customer with the product The points of interaction are called Touchpoints and can be differentiated in personal and impersonal, controllable and uncontrollable points of contact revolv revolv is a US based start up which launched its smart home platform in December 2013 The underlying concept of revolv is to unify various smart home products into one ecosystem and enable their control with one single interface Using revolv, the user can connect best-in-class product solutions like Philips hue, nest thermostat, or Sonos to each other and combine their functionalities in programmable scenarios In a competitive comparison, revolv sets up new benchmarks, especially in the installation process TIME: Telecommunication, Internet, Media, Entertainment 2

4 revolv follows a pure-play aggregator business model in the B2C space. revolv: Details Strategic Rationale Offer of smart home gateway without sensors, actors, or other devices Integration of best-in-class smart home applications by supporting multiple established radio protocols and by supplying a unified and intuitive interface Products Use Cases Own Devices: 1 Third Party: >30 Shutter Control Door and Window Sensors Ambient Assisted Living Appliance Control Entertainment Rule Creator Costs Door Locks Security and Surveillance Lighting Control Heating Control Water Monitoring Monthly Costs: none Gateway: $299 Revenue Model Supported Third-party Devices (Excerpt) Belkin Switch: $49.99 INSTEON Motion Sensor: $34.99 Kwikset Doorlock: $ Nest Thermostat: $ Philips hue LED-Bulbs: $ SONOS Speaker: $ Stand-alone solutions Open API revolv ecosystem Gateway 1 $$$ Consumer 1 Customer still needs to purchase stand-alone solutions in order to use their functionalities 3

5 Customer Satisfaction Compared to industry standard, revolv sets a new benchmark in the installation process. Nonetheless, the user has to cope with limitations in functionality. Customer Journey After Sales Analysis (Excerpt) Best Purchase Unboxing Installation Configuration Usage Extension True plugand-play installation process Automatic pairing of available devices Easy-to-follow guidance through configuration menu Increased usability through one single interface for different product solutions No preconfigured scenarios available Limited app functionalities compared to native apps of product provider Worst Worst Best Worst Best Worst Best The user experiences a highly automated and easyto-follow installation process. revolv uses FlashLink 1, a state-of-the-art technology, to transfer information between smartphone and gateway. The user is guided through the configuration process step-by-step. Yet, preconfigured scenarios are not offered in the app. In daily usage, revolv stands out due to combining multiple solutions in one ecosystem. On the other hand, the user must accept limited functionalities compared to native product solutions. 1 Information between revolv hub and smartphone/tablet is exchanged through blinking display or camera flash 4

6 The revolv installation process requires no online registration and can be completed within only a few minutes. Installation: Setup of Gateway Connection of hub with power power supply WiFi settings transmitted via FlashLink 1 Geo location setup Initial setup screen Possibility to connect additional smartphones Successful installation In-app sales Very quick initial setup No need for online registration / setup of user account Easy-to-follow guidance through installation process Revolutionary transmission of Wi-Fi settings No manual input of any required information necessary No web-interface available Currently only ios supported Missing Ethernet port 1 5

7 A great variety of best-in-class third party devices is compatible with revolv and can be automatically added to the revolv ecosystem. Installation: Pairing Devices Background scanning for devices Automatic device identification Initial configuration screen Confirmation of successful pairing process Very quick device pairing process Automatic scanning for devices in the home network Automatic device pairing once they are identified Compatibility with best-inclass product solutions Increasing number of pairable devices since product launch Technical stability depends on third party products Some devices require a separate login Only one hub per app is supported 6

8 The revolv app offers an intuitive setup process for scenario configuration. Actions can be triggered by motion, time, location, or double tapping on the screen. Configuration List of possible triggers for actions Timing functionality Geo fencing functionality Activate action through double tapping Embedded link to amazon Easy to understand differentiation of action triggers Very simple and intuitive setup of scenarios Embedded link to Amazon s home automation shop Geo fencing is currently limited to one iphone only Geo fence range cannot be adjusted Multiple actions can be linked to one trigger Triggers cannot be combined 7

9 revolv integrates a variety of smart home solutions into one native mobile app with support of currently three different radio protocols. Usage Home Screen Sidebar Menu Philips Hue nest Thermostat WeMo Switch Sidebar menu on both sides Color selection of the light bulbs Room temperature setting Smart plug on / off switch Integration of a variety of smart home solutions into one mobile app Actions can be directly activated on the home screen Very short latency period Support of different control gestures (tapping, sliding, rotating) Very intuitive app interface Z-Wave, Wi-Fi and INSTEON protocols supported (4 add. protocols on roadmap) Limited functionalities compared to native apps of original product provider No voice control functionality 8

10 revolv is a challenge for all closed platform providers as it provides the user with a new degree of flexibility through comfortable third party product integration. Outlook Drivers for revolv + revolv enables usage of multiple stand-alone smart home products in one app + The user can flexibly shop different smart home products without usability restrictions + The gateway is future-proof as it will support seven different radio protocols (Z-Wave, WiFi, INSTEON, ZigBee, and three proprietary protocols) + revolv currently focused on integrating the best-in-class product solutions Challenges for revolv - revolv is an aggregator only and hence depends on third party products in terms of functionality and technical reliability - The user faces functionality drawbacks due to the integration of app functionality into the revolv UI - revolv creates additional costs for the end user without adding new functionality to his smart home - Online platforms like IFTTT also enable connectivity of stand-alone solutions but do not require additional hardware and costs We are constantly analyzing industry trends and developments in the sector of technology, media, and telecommunications. If you would like to discuss the impact of our findings on your business, please get in touch with: Michael Mücke Managing Director smart-home@muecke-sturm.de 9

11 The Smart Home Experience Center offers insights into more than 40 smart home solutions from over 10 different countries. Smart Home Experience Center MS&C Smart Home Experience Center and more 10