News Poll: CEDIA gaining the industry's attention

YARMOUTH, Maine—A majority of respondents to a recent SSN News Poll—47 percent—said the Custom Electronic Design and Installation Association (CEDIA) expo was very important to security companies looking to keep pace with the growing demand for connected home technology. An equal percentage of readers said that while they didn't attend the show, they're interested in checking it out in the future.

It's fair to say CEDIA is squarely on the industry's radar.

“The convergence of home and business technology is here,” one reader said. “Audio/video-IP convergence emerges, and the Internet of Things is driving much of this. Either get on the bus or be left behind.”

“I think this is a great show that would welcome security dealers that are looking to add audio/video, access control or automation to their business,” said Kelly Bond, senior vice president, business development, at Alarm Capital Alliance / My Alarm Center. “I attended a couple of the tracks on adding RMR, but they did not really explain how an integrator can start adding RMR. It might be helpful to provide a workshop so that those dealers have some steps to start with.”

Bond added that while the show floor was superb—“the lighting, music and mood made it seem like being in your living room,” she said—security, it seemed, “was almost lost in this show.”

Unsurprisingly, 55 percent of respondents said residential security companies stand to gain the most from attending a show like CEDIA, while 40 percent believe integrators would benefit. Only 5 percent say the show is best cut out for monitoring companies.

One reader, who did say integrators would benefit the most from CEDIA, believes the show is relevant enough to the technological direction of the industry at large that all manner of security companies should be considering the show.

“Integrators have the most to gain right now, but with continuing changes in technology, it will become increasingly beneficial to residential security companies and, depending on what services a monitoring company offers, equally so for them as well,” the reader noted.

Another respondent said CEDIA is most valuable to “the custom audio/video shop” that specializes in installations in theater rooms, or installs multi-room audio and automation. “For security guys, it's just a distraction from our core business, unless you want to be a jack of all trades,” the reader noted.