Nice changing the way in which its control ecosystem works for North American audiences with the integration of Yubii OS as a dedicated smart home controller into the ELAN OS 9 framework.
What is Yubii OS?
In European markets, Yubii Home, part of the Yubii OS platform, is already established as a standalone smart home controller, supporting a wide range of Z-Wave and Nice-branded devices for lighting, climate, access, and sun-shading.
The OS is designed for retrofit-friendly installations and modular expansion, mainly by enabling wireless control across thousands of compatible devices. Nice, however, states that the decision to integrate Yubii into its Elan OS for North American audiences is part its broader global vision for what it’s calling its “Smart Living” ecosystem.
What Does Yubii Bring to ELAN?
According to Nice, with Yubii Home as a dedicated controller, an ELAN system gains access to native support for Z-Wave protocol, easier integration of battery-powered devices, smart modules and Nice automation solutions from directly within the Nice ecosystem.
Nice states that the initial focus of the integration will be on motorized shading’s incorporation so installers can get access to streamlined, bridge-free experience with enhanced responsiveness and design consistency on the platform.
This new architecture will also replace legacy bridge-based approaches and enable Yubii Home to act as a dedicated gateway within ELAN OS-controlled systems.
“For the North American market, this integration is about solving real-world installer challenges,” said Jeff Shaw, Chief Product Officer at Nice North America.
“By integrating ELAN OS 9 with Yubii Home as a dedicated gateway for wireless devices and shading, we’re giving dealers a more robust, scalable architecture, one that simplifies installation, improves reliability, and creates a clear path for system growth without forcing them to start over.”
Takeaways for Dealers
For professional integrators, Nice says this new approach to a smart living ecosystem is designed to reduce friction across the entire project lifecycle by offloading wireless communication to a purpose-built gateway. This, Nice suggests, allows installers to support a greater number of devices, extend system range, and reduce troubleshooting related to battery-powered endpoints.
Additionally, the initial integrations with Yubii home aim to provide a more modular growth plan for integrators. Customers can start with shading on Yubii before upgrade to larger, more substantial systems later on down the line, with the system itself being easily scalable through ELAN integrations.
Nice has also stated that the dual-OS approach will allow components of more varied systems to perform at their best depending upon the method of communication.
Early Previews of the ELAN and Yubii Integrations
Nice will be demonstrating the new ELAN and Yubii integrations at ISE 2026, stand 2H300 from February 3 – 6. Yubii Home’s initial North American introduction will begin in a limited, shading-focused configuration. Broader functionality and distribution plans will be announced later.
Nice’s Smart Living Redirection
As part of the announcements, Nice has stated the Yubii integration marks a “pivotal shift” in the company’s core philosophy, that philosophy being defined by “Smart Living” as a vision to create seamless, intuitive experiences that adapt to how people live, work and connect every day.
The shift towards this idea of smart living, however, can be seen taking shape years back with the company, starting, at its earliest, with the rebranding of several major properties, including the ELAN control platform, though certainly accelerated in recent years through the tightening of its brand portfolio and the spearheading of multiple AI initiatives, turning the company into a market leader in that particular segment.
In writing for CE Pro October 2024, then Senior Editor Bob Archer remarked how Nice had seemingly “revitalized” itself following a complete overhaul of the ELAN control platform into what it is today.
This transformation continues to this day under the strategic leadership of CEO Mohamed Ali Vaid for the North American channel who has stated that much of the concerted focus has been in improving the channel partner experience.
