Greg Berkin, Managing Director at Concours Ventures, provides insight into how to captivate consumers and develop software that helps engage consumers in smart home markets:

What is the most important next step to engage consumers in smart home solutions, connected entertainment services, and/or value-added services like tech support and connected health?

Captivating consumers with 'life-changing' value propositions such as VAD (value-added 'ing' data) and SUM (save us money) from IoT networked, connected, smart solutions and services vs idiot-proof functionality (i.e., check engine light) to justify the investment, hassle, migration, incompatibility, obsolesence, etc. 

VAD-'ing' models: (analyzing, monitoring, graphing, saving, alerting, securing, eventing, incentivizing, goal-setting, crediting, zero-footprinting, calendering, i.e., disrupting and enabling).

What is the biggest challenge your company faces in 2015?

In IoT, staying focused on scalable technologies with value-centric approaches and exploitable services and/or margins.

What is the biggest driver for the connected consumer market?

Mobile software & services enabling command & control, choice, promise, value-proposition, currency, life-altering services & products.

What are the most important initiatives your company is taking in 2015?

Exploring smart IoT, travel, smart car (i.e., auto & avionics, Next Gen for aircraft and autos).

Describe your vision for the smart home and entertainment markets in 2020.

In 2020, extreme data control with AI (artificial intelligence) driven smart services, choice-driven entertainment with blended experiences (VR, gaming, 4K, mobile hybrid) and IoT sensing exploiting the entire value chain.

Greg Berkinwill be participating on the panel “Investing in the IoT Markets” on Thursday, May 21, at 1:15 PM during CONNECTIONS™ in San Francisco, CA. Other companies on the panel include August, Digital Trends, Comcast Ventures, and Dreamfunded.com.

For more information on CONNECTIONS™ speakers, sessions, or topics, visit www.connectionsus.com. Register to attend today!