Providing Market Intelligence for 40 Years

In The News

How Parks Associates Helped Shape 30 Years of Smart Home Innovation

In a video interview from CONNECTIONS 2026 in the Silicon Valley, Elizabeth Parks reflects on the evolution of the connected home market, the growing role of AI and why the dealer channel still matters in an increasingly automated world.

Parks Associates brought its CONNECTIONS conference back to Santa Clara, Calif., May 4-6, for its 30th anniversary edition, a milestone for a firm that has spent four decades tracking the evolution of the connected home market. From the early days of home networking and automation to today’s AI-powered ecosystems, the annual conference has long served as a gathering point for manufacturers, service providers, dealers and technology executives trying to understand where the market is heading next.

As part of my coverage from the event, I sat down with Elizabeth Parks for a conversation that touched on both the industry’s past and the increasingly complicated future now taking shape around AI, interoperability, cybersecurity and the connected consumer. During the discussion, Parks reflected on how many of today’s smart home conversations mirror ideas the industry was already discussing decades ago — only now with far more sophisticated technology behind them.

Parks said that dynamic places enormous pressure on companies to deliver a strong first experience because consumers who encounter friction early may never move deeper into the category.

We also discussed the growing challenge facing dealers and installers as AI-enabled products and services rapidly enter the market. While Parks acknowledged the pace of innovation may outstrip how quickly many integrators can adapt, she emphasized the importance of manufacturers continuing to support dealer channels through training, programs and workforce development efforts.

Toward the end of the conversation, Parks pointed to cybersecurity and data privacy as areas she believes will become much larger concerns across the connected home landscape in the years ahead, even as AI continues to dominate industry conversations.

Watch the full video interview for more from Elizabeth Parks on the evolution of the smart home market, what still surprises her after three decades of research and where she believes the industry is heading next.

From the article, "How Parks Associates Helped Shape 30 Years of Smart Home Innovation" by Rodney Bosch

Previously In The News

mHealth Study: Caregivers Want Medication Management Help

A study by Parks Associates finds that 11 percent of today’s caregivers are using mHealth tools that feature medication lists and reminders. However, that same study found that 27 percent of caregiver...

Nearly Half Of U.S. Broadband Homes Have Multiple Streaming Subscriptions – Study

The number of U.S. broadband households subscribing to two or more OTT services has more than doubled since 2014, according to a new study by streaming media tracker Parks Associates. Nearly half — 4...

AT&T-Time Warner Mega-Deal: Merger For New Media Era Or A Bad Remake?

Pay-TV operators are seeing a “slow erosion of the core business,” analyst at Parks Associates said. “After years of attempts to be more than just a ‘dumb pipe,’ pay-TV operators have come to reali...

Can mHealth Make Chronic Care Patients Care About Their Health?

According to the Parks Associates survey, 55 percent of Americans with at least one chronic condition aren’t speaking with their primary care physician any more than once every three months. What’s wo...