As the smart home market continues to mature, not only are the technologies becoming more reliable and sophisticated, but they are also becoming more interoperable.
After assessing the current smart home market both Sonos and Alarm.com determined they share a number common philosophies despite the fact that one services the audio category and the other supports the security market.
“There’s actually a lot of natural similarities in what we focus on,” says Casey Clemens, Director, Americas Commercial, Sonos.
“Now as our companies stand, Sonos is an audio company driven by software. Alarm.com is a software as a service company that is focused on the security aspect of the home.”
Clemens notes that Sonos sees many of the same trends that professional integrators see in the field where homeowners are increasingly seeking out the benefits of smart home technologies, and to ensure it is correctly positioned to stay engaged with homeowners, it has forged an alliance with Alarm.com.
“The number one common goal we share is simple reliable experiences that only get better through software,” Clemens points out.
Citing a recent Parks Associates study, Clemens points out that two thirds of security system owners are looking to add smart home devices over the next year to their homes. Conversely, he continues, just over 40% of broadband Internet subscribers are looking to add smart devices to their homes.
According to Clemens, integrators can take advantage of consumers’ desire to integrate comprehensive smart home systems by offering clients security systems with audio capabilities and control.
“Sonos’ role in that is there is clearly an opportunity here. Our responsibility back to our install professionals is to create very simple opportunities to be able to link these two systems together because we know that when people are using security systems, they are looking to expand upon it and be able to use it as the smart home interface inside their home,” he asserts.
Clemens continues by noting that Sonos’ partnership with Alarm.com opens up opportunities for installers to create even better experiences for their customers.
Alarm.com Offers Seamless Sonos Integration
The integration of Sonos into Alarm.com is designed to be seamless. Clemens says all homeowners or integrators would need to do is link their Sonos and Alarm.com accounts. This facilitates the ability to control music from the same app or same security panel they are using for their security systems.
Another benefit is Sonos’ built in voice control with support for both Amazon Alexa and the Google Assistant. Clemens comments that this allows integrators to provide customers with some robust voice control capabilities within their home automation system.
When Sonos is integrated into Alarm.com’s interface, homeowners can access their Sonos ‘Favorites’, control audio playback via play/pause, adjust volume, mute and un-mute, group and ungroup speakers, and they can include audio in the ‘Scenes’ set up in Alarm.com’s platform.
Clemens adds that music playback is one of the most popular commands customers use so integrating Sonos will increase usage and engagement with the smart home.
“If you are a business that relies heavily on RMR [recurring monthly revenue] as a revenue source for you, these increased engagements statistics actually align perfectly with the lack of attrition you see,” he emphasizes.
“Somebody that gets used to using a system throughout the day on a day-to-day basis is less likely to cancel a subscription over time because it is part of their daily routine.”
To keep up with Sonos news such as its Alarm.com partnership and more check out the Sonos website for regular updates.
