PlumChoice, Inc., the leading specialized technical services provider in optimizing the benefits consumers and small companies derive from their personal technology experiences, today announced that Executive Vice President, Paul Weichselbaum will speak at Parks Associates’ 9^th annual CONNECTIONS™ Summit at CES: Monetizing Smart Home Solutions & Connected Devices. The day-long event will be held January 6th at CES Tech West in the Venetian Ballroom in Las Vegas, Nevada.

During the “Consumer Support in the Internet of Things” panel, Weichselbaum will join other industry experts to discuss the critical role technical support plays in helping brands – whether device manufacturers, retailers, service providers or solutions providers – build brand and product success in the burgeoning Internet of Things. The panel session will be moderated by Patrice Samuels, research analyst at Parks Associates, on Wednesday, January 6th at 2:30 p.m.

According to Parks Associates research, smart home devices will increase from 20 million units in 2014 to nearly 36 million by 2017. The interactive panel session will examine how the technical needs of households are becoming more complex in the Internet of Things and how support services should evolve to address these new market needs.

“Research shows that in the coming years, there will be an explosion of connected devices inside homes and small offices that will compound service complexity and intensity,” said Weichselbaum. “As consumers and small businesses continue to add incremental devices to their environments, the additional complexity can thwart adoption rates and increase no-fault-found returns, resulting in ‘the thing makers’ dilemma.’ Organizations are finding that they need to be proactive and provide specialized technical support services across the entire prospect and customer lifecycles to optimize product adoption, strengthen customer loyalty and facilitate usage.”

CONNECTIONS™ Summit focuses on the evolving landscape for the connected home, including sessions on connected devices, next-generation TV services and streaming media, IoT and smart home technologies, and consumer tech support. CONNECTIONS™ Summit provides insights into consumer adoption, emerging business models, new partnership opportunities and the changing technology landscape, and provides insight from leading executives and networking opportunities with the leading analysts in the connected home.

“We look forward to this year’s event as we continue to discuss the evolution of smart devices and the mass market appeal that is growing for the digital home,” said Stuart Sikes, President, Parks Associates. “We will specifically address developments in smart home platforms and interoperability, connected CE, value-added services, and strategies to monetize these new services. We are excited to hear from Paul and PlumChoice about their contributions in this evolving smart home ecosystem.”

Information about CONNECTIONS™ Summit at CES is available at http://www.parksassociates.com/events/connections-summit.