Why integrators should provide Managed Services for Smart Homes
Just like 1-click is to a fast and easy online shop – central oversight and the ability to troubleshoot problems quickly and efficiently is vital to the connected home experience. But Tech Support, Managed Services and Maintenance are not the first thing that customers thinking about when buying new smart home stuff or installing a home automation system.
Maintenance contracts and Managed services are definitely not cool! It just isn’t as sexy as those funky looking smart bulbs or that brain shaped remote and there has been little hype on the topic yet.
But, because there are a number of unavoidable headaches that emerge with the invasion of technology, slowly but surely though, people are starting to catch on to why smart homes are going to need a lot more IT support.
Smart Home owners need Maintenance, Support and Managed Services because:
- Smart homes have too many finicky parts: all kinds of devices that each have their own system
- Not all devices play nice
- Even the best systems have bugs
- There are too many actions: Set-Up, Reboot, Clap On, Clap Off
- Too many places to look for help: its Guerrilla style device troubleshooting these days. End users use anything they can to try and get things working again.
- Time consuming: Managing all this new technology requires a lot of time and energy which people don’t have the knowledge or patience for.
- No clear way to get help: Most people need more home network help, but don’t know where to go to get it.
Providing Managed Services for the Smart Home are what Smart Homes consumers are waiting for! Managed services could help – by being the support system that customers need for all of their technology headaches. At the same time Providing Managed Services for the Smart Home, enables a series of benefits for key industry players like Installers and AV integrators too.
Benefits of providing Managed Services for the Smart Home
- Build recurring revenues (RMR): instead of just installing something and getting paid. Integrators have an opportunity to build recurring monthly revenues through managed services
- Increase profitability: adding more revenues to the work that they already do
- Monetize their existing customer base
- Build terminal business value
Why Smart Home Managed Services have struggled
So, if consumers want and need help with their technology at home, why isn’t anybody doing it? We believe that Managed Services for the Smart Home have struggled for a few key reasons:
- EXPENSIVE SOFTWARE: to date there has not been (until now) an affordable and scaleable software that can be used to provide remote monitoring and tech support to smart homes. Domotz Pro, network monitoring and remote tech support system changes that. Because of it’s affordable pricing structure, of only $2.99/mo per network, it enables IT professionals to build scaleable and profitable remote IT services.
- OLD THINKING AND VIEWS: Consumers still largely have an “everything should work ” perception when it comes to IT. They believe that because they purchased a technological device that it should work. The issue is that devices don’t always work. They have issues, bugs, need software updates and can have problems interacting with other devices on a network.
- SCALE-ABILITY: Providing remote tech support and building an RMR business only works when it scales. So far those who have dabbled in remote support have only sold contracts to customers here and there. In order to make RMR successful, it needs to be a part of each and every contract.
- IT’S A TOTALLY NEW CONCEPT: Because remote maintenance and managed services are a new concept, it requires different sales tactics and processes. It’s also something that consumers are used to spending money on. What’s important here is that you: package your offers neatly, use simple terminology your customers can understand, convey the benefits and share the results.
