You may already be receiving the “triple play” type of bundles from your cable company. Are you ready to turn a “quintuple play” though?

Home automation and security systems will be booming over the next five years, according to a new study from ABI Research. Much of the boom will come from two areas—more mainstream systems based on standardized, packaged technologies; and managed automation services that will likely be offered by your broadband and telecom service providers.

How much does ABI expect this category to grow? Try a 50-fold market increase between 2007 and 2013, the analyst concludes in its 78-page “Home Automation and Security” study.

“Home automation systems are becoming more mainstream and managed services are growing,” says ABI senior analyst Sam Lucero. “ABI Research believes that they will appeal to a much wider public. Our forecasts indicate that the overall market will grow from a modest 237,000 systems shipped in 2007, to more than 4 million systems in 2013.”

That means where automation used to be contained to super-rich homeowners who could indulge in every type of control offered by a Crestron or AMX, or to the DIY X10 systems that smart homeowners managed to install themselves, we will see an influx of a more standard deal by the big-box and specialty retailers.

Along with that more mainstream type of package deal that will include the software to play well with your A/V components, ABI says to look for big growth in the broadband and telecom service providers to add things like remote monitoring and automation through a PC or smartphone. Plus, as wireless cellular technologies continue to pervade you’ll see even more from ZigBee, Z-Wave, Insteon and such.

ABI says 1.3 million shipments will be in the managed services area, so you can expect that cable or phone bill to keep climbing.

Via: CE Pro

About the Author:
Arlen Schweiger - Managing editor of Electronic House Magazine

Arlen contributes product news items to electronichouse.com along with his role on the print publication. Got a tip? Send it along!