Homeowners are demanding user-friendly, smart security from a brand they can trust, says Omer Sagi, smart door locks director at ASSA ABLOY EMEA.IFSEC will for the first time feature a Home Automation House, an interactive mock ‘smart home’ that features products from Yale as well as Comnet, Merit Lilin and Control4, among others. Register for IFSEC here then book a meeting with the Yale team to take place during the event. The ASSA ABLOY group’s journey from mechanical to digital security will be on display at stand E1100.
Omer Sagi: Customers are requesting these technologies right now. It’s already happening. “’Connected living’ and the ‘smart home’ are terms that customers understand. You read them in regular newspapers, not just the technology press. In the UK, mainstream department store John Lewis even has a dedicated “Smart Home” catalogue. Electronics retailers, security specialists and domestic energy suppliers already sell smart-home gadgets, including door locks.
There’s also been rapid growth of smart-home specialist installers, who are developing real channel expertise. In short, we already see the growth now, and ASSA ABLOY is well prepared with a smart locks portfolio to meet the demand.
IG: What do customers demand from this new generation of smart locks?
OS: In part, it’s the same as what they want from any smart device: they want it to make their lives easier. But in some ways, locks are very different to a smart fridge or a smart light bulb.
A front-door lock is the home’s most important line of security. So, much more than for any other smart device, a trusted brand is critical. A brand like Yale, for example, which has been around for over 150 years, but also already sells stand-alone smart locks and smart locks that easily integrate with leading smart-home ecosystems.
IG: The supply chain in this market is very complex, with smart home specialists, technology and telecom companies, energy utilities, locksmiths and other retailers all involved. Can you explain how ASSA ABLOY will work to ensure your products get to market in the way customers want, and that those key suppliers need?
OS: Obviously, it’s about working with each individual partner to make sure they can create the right offering for their customers. In a way, however, we can solve the same problem for everyone in the smart-home supply chain. Lock formats differ from country to country, which can be a challenge.
That’s why smart locks are often missing from a typical smart-home product portfolio. But ASSA ABLOY has a global reach. We have built decades of understanding door complexity and door security. Locks are the missing piece in the smart-home jigsaw, and we can supply it, with hardware that fits doors with Euro profiles, Scandinavian profiles, and so on.
So international retail chains, for example, can stock our locks everywhere without worrying whether we have locks compatible in all their geographical markets. We almost certainly have.
IG: What are the other key challenges in ensuring customers are able to get what they want, and how is ASSA ABLOY positioned to meet them?
OS: The major challenge, for everyone operating in this new market, is the speed at which it is changing. It really hasn’t settled down yet, so we need to keep listening.
That’s one of the reasons we recently commissioned research with IFSECGlobal.com, to find out what homeowners want from a smart lock, what kinds of functionality they value most, and what they expect to pay. We later published the research, in “The Smart-Home Security Report 2016.” We’ve made it available for anyone working in this market to download.
IG: Can you tell us about the specific smart lock products ASSA ABLOY will be selling, and the different brands they will be supplied under? How will your locks be differentiated?
OS: Our ENTR™ Smart Lock combines a patented high-security mechanical cylinder with technology that allows users to unlock via smartphone, PIN code, remote control or fingerprint reader. It is sold internationally under leading brands including Mul-T-Lock, Yale, TESA, NEMEF, KESO, Vachette and FAB. Yale is a trusted name in home security all over Europe.
We’ll be selling cylinder-based smart locks and complete handle sets in several countries — Yale Keyless and Keyfree Connected locks in the UK, for example, and the Yale Doorman in Sweden. We have stand-alone locks that are easy to install and work out the box, as well as locks that are compatible with established and new smart-home ecosystems. Our aim is to offer customers a lock from a trusted brand that allows them to secure their smart home exactly how they want. After all, a smart home should start with a smart door.
IG: Looking forward, how do you see ASSA ABLOY smart locks integrating with other technologies in the “home automation” sector? These products come from industries with completely divergent standards, after all.
OS: We have extensive experience with third-party lock integration in the commercial sector, where we are a market leader. We believe compatibility will be a key feature of the residential smart lock market, too, so our locks are built to support multiple standards.
The new Yale locks, for example, can integrate with Samsung’s SmartThings platform. We also support Zigbee, so our locks just plug-and-play in that ecosystem.
Integration plans go further. In early 2016, Yale announced they were working with AT&T providing Keyless Connected and Keyfree Connected locks in the O2 smart home ecosystem.
Scheduled for launch later in 2016, the Yale Linus is a smart lock that works with the Google-owned Nest platform. It will join the growing Works with Nest ecosystem, alongside products from Whirlpool, Phillips and Lutron. In Germany, energy company RWE have just started selling our ENTR™ lock. Interoperability will be a key driver in this market, without doubt, and that’s in the DNA of our entire smart-lock range.
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