Parks Associates Releases Key Takeaways in 20th-Annual CONNECTIONS(TM) Event Summary

DALLAS, TX--(Marketwired - Jul 25, 2016) - Parks Associates today announced the release of the event summary for the 20^th-annual CONNECTIONS™: The Premier Connected Home Conference, which featured keynotes from Amazon, Cablevision, Comcast's Xfinity Home, Rovi, SmartThings, and Vivint Smart Home. The research firm hosted the conference May 24-26, 2016, in San Francisco, and the event summary discloses key points from over 25 sessions at the event, including consumer data, Parks Associates insights, and industry responses to audience polls during the event. Event topics include platform integration, consumer privacy, media piracy, big data, and the emergence of voice as a key user interface, with Amazon driving this change through Echo and Alexa.

"In the 20 years that Parks Associates has hosted CONNECTIONS™, the connected home has evolved from a high-end concept toward a mass-market opportunity with incredible revenue potential," said Stuart Sikes, President, Parks Associates. "Adding connectivity to consumer electronics, security, and home controls is aggressively driving the evolution of the connected home ecosystems into what is now popularly termed the Internet of Things (IoT)."

At CONNECTIONS™, IoT leaders and analysts addressed emerging high-profile market disruptions from every aspect of the broadband household and connected consumer.

"CONNECTIONS™ continues to be the one event where leaders from different markets, all active in the IoT, can come together to discuss new use cases and emerging business models that will engage consumers and grow revenues," Sikes said.

Over 650 executives were in attendance for CONNECTIONS™ from the following industries: IoT, new media, digital entertainment and gaming, home networks, Internet and television services, software and middleware, smart home, digital health, insurance, mobile applications and services, consumer electronics, home control systems and security, technical support, and energy management.

Parks Associates presented new consumer research at CONNECTIONS™ showing:

• More than two-thirds of U.S. broadband households now have an entertainment device connected to the Internet.
• Nearly one-fifth of U.S. broadband households own a smart home device, with nearly 50% planning to purchase one in the next 12 months.
• Smartphone ownership is at nearly 90% of all U.S. broadband households, and 58% own both a smartphone and a tablet.

CONNECTIONS™ Sponsors included Reception Sponsors CEL and Zonoff; Session Sponsors Icontrol Networks and PlumChoice; Lunch Sponsors Coldwell Banker and NXP; Silver Sponsors Alarm.com, Assurant, Asurion, Centercode, ROC-Connect, Support.com, ULE Alliance, WiZR, and ZigBee Alliance; Bronze Sponsors Audio Analytic, Ayla Networks, Cirrent, EVRYTHNG, Flextronics, Honeywell, HP, iQor, mnubo, People Power, PlanetEcosystems, WeatherBug Home, and Z-Wave; Program Guide Sponsor Vivint; Breakfast Sponsors Greenwave Systems and leakSMART; and Break Sponsors Home8, HomeAdvisor, Nortek Security & Control, State Farm, and Tyco.

To download the CONNECTIONS™ Event Summary and to access video streams of some event sessions, visit www.connectionsus.com. To schedule an interview with an analyst or request specific research, contact Holly Sprague at hsprague@gmail.com, 720.987.6614.

About Parks Associates
Parks Associates is an internationally recognized market research and consulting company specializing in emerging consumer technology products and services. Founded in 1986, Parks Associates creates research capital for companies ranging from Fortune 500 to small start-ups through market reports, primary studies, consumer research, custom research, workshops, executive conferences, and annual service subscriptions.

The company's expertise includes the Internet of Things (IoT), digital media and platforms, entertainment and gaming, home networks, Internet and television services, digital health, mobile applications and services, support services, consumer apps, advanced advertising, consumer electronics, energy management, and home control systems and security.

Each year, Parks Associates hosts industry webcasts, the CONNECTIONS™ Conference Series, Smart Energy Summit: Engaging the Consumer, and Connected Health Summit: Engaging Consumers.
http://www.parksassociates.com