Essential Install October 2017 | Page 54

Essential Install | Awesome Alliances Executive director Mitchell Klein receives the 2017 CEDIA award for the Certified Installer Toolkit, an installer tool that assists with troubleshooting and diagnosis of problems to ensure a robust, reliable Z-Wave mesh network for every install The Z-Wave Alliance Interoperability Wall in the Z-Wave Pavilion at CEDIA 2017 52 | October 2017 Making IoT safer and smarter: Meet the Z-Wave Alliance As the IoT continues to expand its reach, wireless smart home protocols are an increasing part of the conversation around the factors contributing to overall market growth. Executive director, Mitchell Klein, explains the mission. A recent study estimates that 80 million smart home devices were delivered around the globe in 2016 – a 64% increase from 2015. As more smart devices are deployed, the need for interoperable, future-proof solutions that are protected from cyber intrusion grows exponentially. The wireless Z-Wave IoT standard is an internationally used protocol and a driving force in the global smart home market for over a decade. The Z-Wave ecosystem currently encompasses more than 2100 certified interoperable devices, and worldwide deployments already exceed 70 million products. As a result of our native interoperability and backward-compatibility, as well as core mesh network technology created specifically for smart home applications, Z-Wave has been the protocol of choice for manufacturers, telecommunications leaders and service providers, home and building security companies and IoT software platforms. The Z-Wave Alliance is a global consortium of companies leading the charge and working to educate consumers, installers, developers and device manufacturers alike on the benefits of using Z-Wave in the smart home. Founded in January 2005, the Alliance has experienced over 60% growth in membership since 2015, with over 600 companies currently making up the Z-Wave membership. Principal members include IoT leaders such as Alarm.com, ADT, FIBARO, Huawei, SmartThings and LEEDARSON along with August Home, Ring, Toshiba, CenturyLink, Abode, Scout Alarm, IOTAS, and Hyundai Telecom. One of the key benefits of Z-Wave Alliance membership is the opportunity to have IoT products Z-Wave certified – a rigorous and extensive testing process that will ensure devices are not only interoperable with o