Comfortable, safe, modern. This is the smart home Italians want.

For several years now, there has been an increasing use of the Internet of Things (IoT), the ‘technological development whereby, through the Internet, every object acquires its own identity in the digital world... IoT is based on the idea of “smart” objects interconnected with each other in order to exchange the information they possess, collect and/or process’. That in quotes is the definition of the creator of the term IoT, British engineer Kevin Ahston, co-founder of the Auto-ID Center at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
But technology is not only attracting the attention of so-called geeks, those who just can't do without it (especially the new). Technology is also beginning to attract new types of consumers: younger, more aware, more focused on optimisation and savings, looking for convenience and security.
The IoT affects various sectors: cars (Smart Car), the world of utilities (Smart Metering and Smart Asset Management), construction (Smart Building), infrastructures and the development of urban contexts (Smart City), companies (Smart Factory), logistics (Smart Logistics), and agriculture (Smart Agriculture). 

Smart Home is an important part of the market. IoT solutions for the home are now familiar to most of us. Home automation is one example. With it, systems and connected objects in the home can be managed remotely. The aim is to reduce energy consumption and improve the comfort, safety and security of the home and the people inside it. And also of pets.
The Digital Innovation Observatories of the School of Management of the Politecnico di Milano are a point of reference on Digital Innovation for professionals, businesses, institutions and society. Recently, the data presented at the conference ‘Night before exams: Internet of Things at the maturity test’ say that the Italian IoT market in 2023 touched 9 billion euro (+9% compared to the previous year, the highest growth rate of the European average) with 140 million connected objects in our country, about 2.4 per person.
In particular, the Smart Home sector is worth EUR 810 million (+5% compared to the previous period).

 

Security (video cameras, door/window sensors and connected locks) accounts for 24% of the segment. This is followed by home appliances with 19%, heating/air conditioning with 18%, smart home speakers with 16%, audio speakers and lighting both with 7%, and other applications with 9%.
In a survey also conducted by Osservatori Digital Innovation of the School of Management of the Politecnico di Milano and the market research company BVA Doxa, 92% of consumers interviewed said they were very satisfied with the level of usability of the App as an interface between Smart Home and user. 81% say they use the App once to twice a week. 60% every day.

 

Finally, the Observatories' experts believe that if one considers the reduction of incentives linked to the Transition 4.0 Plan and the Domotics Bonus in the home straight, the growth result of the IoT sector is still particularly positive. Exploitation of the data collected by devices, integration between IoT and Artificial Intelligence and a focus on environmental sustainability are the three drivers that would enable the development of increasingly intelligent devices.