By now, you’ve probably heard about – if not seen for yourself – Amazon’s Alexa commercial at this year’s Super Bowl. You might even belong to the 25 percent of people who own some kind of smart home product (like Alexa). 

What you might not have heard is that smart home technology is taking the real estate industry by storm. In fact, AI and other smart home technology can actually increase the resale value of most West Michigan homes – an important factor to consider now that more and more Millennials are buying homes and interested in smart, connected devices. 

We’re just beginning to realize the enormous potential of home automation. For years, we’ve recognized the elegance, comfort, convenience, and safety aspects of a fully integrated home, but we’re learning that those attributes are just the tip of the iceberg. Smart homes of today can aid the disabled, monitor the ill and enable our West Michigan residents the opportunity to stay in their homes longer. 

According to a recent survey, 43 percent of employed Americans said they spent at least some time working remotely. By 2020, projections estimate that mobile workers will account for nearly three quarters (72.3%) of the total U.S. workforce.  Mobile devices and simple, yet sophisticated, collaborative tools have enabled today’s workforce to effectively work from anywhere – an airplane, a hotel room or a well-appointed home office. Remote work is a boon to productivity and can lead to higher efficiency and lower turnover. Not only does it attract younger workers, it keeps older workers in the workforce longer. So, the benefits are many but establishing a remote environment that represents the employer’s brand while providing a productive, collaborative space for the employee requires more than plugging in a laptop. 

An interesting shift is occurring. In this fast-paced race to digitalization, the role of the technology integrator has transformed yet again. As more devices, systems, features, services, apps and appliances exist on the network and integrate or “talk” to one another, the technology integrator is transpiring as the single-source service provider for all things “technology.” Hence, 2017 has seen the residential systems technology integrator, a low-voltage provider specializing in everything from network infrastructure, security, communications, energy management and HVAC to elegant lighting and shade control, home entertainment and fully integrated control systems, emerge as the “Technologist.”