OpenXchange Breakfast Covers the Changing Competitive Landscape

Launching the 2017 ESX Main Stage programming was the OpenXChange Breakfast, sponsored by Qolsys, which featured a panel of industry visionaries who identified and discussed disruptive technologies and emerging trends that will help navigate the changing competitive landscape.

This year’s panel included Scott Harkins, vice president of Honeywell Connected Home; Robert C. Martens, futurist and vice president of strategy and partnerships at Allegion; Andrew Thomas, co-founder and chief revenue officer at SkyBell; and Justin Wong, vice president of Business Development at IFTTT. The panel was moderated by ESX Chair, George De Marco.

The discussion focused on the ideas of home security vs. the connected home, DIY security as a service and the future of the industry. One of the first topics discussed was whether or not connected homes or the Internet of Things (IoT) is making the need for physical security obsolete.

The panel reviewed how security integrators are uniquely positioned to fill the needs of consumers by owning the home technology space.

“When you blend together energy efficiency, security and safety — and convenience — you are able to provide a more personalized experience to the consumer,” said Martens.

The panel agreed that DIY, connected products and professional security will eventually mix — it will have to.

The audience was encouraged to tell a story and get personal with their customers in order to sell IoT products and grow their RMR.

“In my opinion, It’s not enough anymore to be one or the other. We need to work on telling compelling stories to sell all of these products together,” said Thomas.

SD&I magazine and SecurityInfoWatch.com were the media sponsors of this main stage session.