Connecting up the Home with the Needs of Users

"The Connected Home ...Easy to use?" was a talk by Dimitri Van Kets, senior strategy and business development manager at Belgacom, presented at the recent conference on The Connected Home in London. Many industry speakers gathered to share visions of smart living rooms and interactive TV subscription services. What made Van Kets' talk stand out was the simple equation he drew between the user-centredness of networks of consumer electronics and success.

He addressed three themes:
* What drives consumers towards a connected home and how can their expectations be met?
* What are the future trends of the networked home?
* How does one deliver services consumers understand?

'Consumers are not able to imagine their future needs. However, allowing them to test, analyse and try new products and services in an everyday environment will turn out to be really efficient,' he said.

He also pointed out that technology is already further evolved than users desire. 'Besides, users do not care about technology!' he quipped. Instead of worrying about new technology, the industry has some marketing to do: 'Start from known devices, link with values, one step at a time. People do not embrace what they do not understand.'

And he gave his view that networked homes were still too confusing for the average consumer. In describing the evolution from digital gadgets that 100% can use to a home entertainment network, he reckoned that about half of all users would get lost on the way. He predicted that only one in 10 people would feel confident with using a connected home.

He advocated developing any new equipment by watching and integrating individual needs and behaviour. 'It is connectivity and interoperability which sell, not features,' he said. 'There is no one killer application: interest doubles if one bundles products and services together so people can cherry-pick.'

He finished by saying: 'Sell benefits and user experience, not a product, not technology. Educate, guide, immerse customers in a service experience. Create consumer experience stores: feel it, try it, understand it, buy it!'

His talk was in marked contrast to the approach of many other speakers in that he focussed on use and the perspective of the user. Van Kets indicates that the issues of usability of networked home systems are not so different to those of products, just more complex and less adequately considered.

Associated Link: The Connected Home

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