Can OliverIQ Transform the Smart Home market?

Platform Interoperability and Superior Service

OliverIQ was unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2024 as a Smart Home-as-a-Service (ShaaS) for a variety of service providers, including ISPs, home center retailers, and home builders to offer to their customers. The platform is currently in beta with select partners and is expected to launch in Q2 2024. OliverIQ does not claim to support all smart device SKUs, but states its platform is compatible with up to 90 percent of the most popular smart home devices in the market. While there are plenty of smart home options in the market, TechInsights believes the underlying goal of the platform, which is to deliver a pain-free smart home experience with three layers of support, uniquely addresses major pain points of existing DIY smart home deployments and will resonate with the Do-It-For-Me (DIFM) segment. This type of support is typically common for higher end smart home companies like Creston, Control4 and Savant that offer whole home control solutions.

Installing and managing a few smart home devices, like smart lights, smart sockets, and surveillance cameras can be simple, but the task becomes more challenging as even more are added. This is where the service support of OliverIQ can be a valuable resource. Providing high end customer care and service options for a mass market audience is a priority of the platform, and OliverIQ wants to expand on product offerings available to more households. The number of these devices per home is expected to to increase dramatically over the next five years as technology improves and as they become more affordable.

Despite the optimism for OliverIQ’s market viability, challenges lie ahead. OliverIQ will be heavily reliant on the brand messaging they develop and communication with their partnerships. So while it remains to be seen how these sentiments will reflect consumer buying trends for the foreseeable future, TechInsights remains positive on the potential of OliverIQ. TechInsights believes that Smart Home services have the ability to increase revenue for telecommunications and device providers. In order for OliverIQ to successfully take the next step, they must demonstrate value in their promotional strategies with their partners.

What to Expect

Interoperability and network-wide support create a sense of trust and dependability between OliverIQ and its partners, who are taking on some risk rebranding a product not developed as their own. Fortunately, OliverIQ has built its business model on being flexible. The platform’s partners can decide whether they would prefer to use technicians and installers contracted with OliverIQ or their own. With a range of partners like telecom providers, home builders and home centers, flexible business models are imperative.

OliverIQ expects its partners to launch publicly in Q2 2024. While initial deployment will occur domestically in the United States, the platform will be available globally at the request of service providers. OliverIQ will primarily service single family households in the initial stages of the rollout but anticipates expanding its coverage to other residential housing situations. This should not come as a surprise as the smart home market in general has seen a steady increase in the number of devices per home, with the average expected to be around 19 by 2028. This trajectory along with the versatility of OliverIQ should spell growth for the platform itself as well as the partners involved in rebranding the product under their own service.

Critical Next Steps

To take full advantage of the innovation of OliverIQ, TechInsights recommends keeping a close eye on the platform as rollout into Q2 2024 begins. Our analysts believe that because of the platform’s ability to combine virtual and in-person support along with unique approaches to solving customer pain points, OliverIQ has an opportunity to capture a sizable portion of the market share. The demand for worry-free installation and simple connectivity protocols is high, especially amongst early majority homes, so look for OliverIQ to become a recognizable name in the near future.

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