Under Rated No More
I was in Istanbul last month for a global press conference on consumer electronics exhibition IFA 2014, that will be held in Berlin later this year. As my understanding of consumer electronics and home appliances was about TVs, refrigerators, washing machines, music systems, I was a bit unsure as to how would the conference benefit a hardcore IT and telecom journalist like me. I was utterly wrong.
While changes in PCs, mobile phones, and phenomenon like BYOD is pushing consumerization of IT, but a big catalyst are these gadgets—remember those TVs, refrigerators, washing machines, music systems, cameras, dish washers, vacuum cleaners et al, we once labeled as white goods, and saw them as the inferior cousins of IT products.
I don’t know how many of you are keeping in touch with, for instance, new TV announcements for instance. While curved screen and 3D TVs grab most headlines, but the more important news is that these products are getting a lot more intelligent in terms of knowing their owners preferences and usage habits and patterns, hence making their owners experience better. These products are connected and take feed from not just regular broadcasters, but from YouTube too, and these are now becoming connectivity devices that allow you to update status and socialise on Facebook and LinkedIn.
Obviously, TV has a lot of stories since it has the maximum amount of electronics in it and continues to be the central family device. But the story of fridges and washing machines is no less amazing. Now there are washing machines that will sense how dirty your clothes are and accordingly release the amount of detergent required. Your home security camera can send you a room by room video clip every four hours. Your fridge can send you an SMS that milk, bread, and eggs need to be re-stocked. There are endless stories like this, and I am sure you have heard many of them. But the point I am making is that not the traditional PC and its family, but the household gadgets will be a big driver.
This should be a good news for the infotech and communications industry. I was not surprised to see in this gadget conference a company that was not selling gadgets but a gadgets management and connectivity solution. They gave a sneak peek into a platform that will allow people to connect and control appliances such as a washing machine, a dishwasher, an oven, a fridge, and a coffee maker from remote places, irrespective of which brand these belong to. With this see I see more business and collaboration opportunities for IT as well telecom companies as they will have more reasons to reach out to consumers. And obviously the home appliances themselves will have a much higher value to offer to users. The next phase of ICT journey seems to be getting ready to take off.
<ibrahima@cybermedia.co.in>