Engineered Environments: Embracing Change

The Turnkey Solutions group focuses on smaller, retrofit projects in existing homes or minor remodels using predominantly wireless solutions.

The Client Services group supports its growing client base with service, system upgrades and expansions.

The Jetson Systems business unit offers programming services only. That way, product sales do not play a role in the unit's business model.

So if the free-spending days are gone, what do customers want now? Three drivers create the underpinnings of Engineered Environments' product offering:

• Value-conscious solutions as mandated by demands of the new economy
• Designs that support the sustainable lifestyles edict of many Californians
• The undeniable replacement of the traditional touchpanel with Apple's iPad

"Because Engineered Environments' Bay Area client base tends to be tech and Apple-centric, they all want to control their home with their iPhone and iPad," says Stearns. "Since the release of the iPad, we have worked diligently to develop and/or refine iPad control for every solution we offer. Engineered Environments now provides iPad control for the four major integrated control system platforms - AMX, Crestron, Savant and Control4">Control4."

Meanwhile, Engineered Environments is developing a Web app that will talk to any of those four controllers (and more) via a universal bridge that will allow the company to offer its GUI regardless of the hardware platform.

"Our clients really don't care what hardware resides underneath their iPad and iPod Touch that they have in their hand, and rightfully so. They just want controlling their environment to be easy … and fun," adds Stearns.

Technology Selection Process
When a new technology hits the market, Engineered Systems goes to great lengths to evaluate it (Read: Randy Stearns Weighs in on iPad, 3D, Streaming Media). Ultimately, however, it comes down to the clients. The company sees itself merely as a facilitator whose aim is to provide clients what they want. In other words, the staff is not spending its time looking for market-expanding opportunities, but instead is simply listening and reacting to clients' needs.

"When a client asks for something we don't currently offer, we research it and find a solution that meets their needs, so long as it fits within our business model, capabilities and profit objectives," says Stearns. "It may be hardware-based, software-based or a combination of both. Once an application has been developed for one client, it becomes part of our arsenal for others."

Some of the technologies the company has added in the past year due to client requests are video conferencing, power monitoring and control at a circuit level, and IP cameras with networked video recorders (NVRs) across multiple properties.

Stearns calls his approach "conservative." The company keeps lists of preferred vendors and approved products. Each year, products are re-evaluated during a formal product review meeting. Some of the criteria used in the evaluation process are profitability, dealer support, training and exclusivity.

For new products, the company will often first install it in an existing client's home where it can be tested quickly in a real-world environment. Meanwhile, most products are thoroughly tested on a lab bench by the chief engineer. Products like an amp, speaker or processor can be evaluated in a matter of hours, while technology platforms like Control4 or Savant may be evaluated for months, not necessarily just to see if they work reliably, but to fully grasp the subtleties of their operation and capabilities.

Besides a technical review, products are evaluated on how they fit into the company's current product mix, product margins, presumed client acceptance relative to aesthetics and price, and more.