The Z-Wave Alliance has confirmed that will bring its Spring Summit for members and partners to Amsterdam from Thursday May 3 to Friday 4, May, 2018.
Highlights on this year’s agenda will include a keynote speech from market research specialist Futuresource and panel appearances from representatives from Ovum and the BBC.
The two-day event will be hosted at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Amsterdam and incorporate a number of discussions, panels and workshops dedicated to advancing IoT and smart home technology adoption.
The summit will open with a Q&A fireside chat with Tyson Tuttle, CEO of Silicon Labs, followed by the opening keynote from Jack Wetherill, Futuresource exploring the results of its 2018 Smart home and Appliances Consumer Survey. The survey was created to investigate what influences consumers’ decisions when it comes to buying, installing and using smart home devices. As well providing this overview, Wetherill will outline the main opportunities and challenges faced in 2018 and beyond.
This will be followed by a ‘Sales & Marketing Track' focused on retail strategies, social media and member opportunities or the ‘Developer’s Forum Technical Track’ exploring the Z-Wave roadmap and the context-aware smart home, IoT device testing best practices and how to build a Z-Wave device.
The Sales & Marketing side will feature several panels including one on emerging trends in the smart home led by BBC tech correspondent Kate Russell, with another focused on consumers and the challenges facing retailers in positioning smart home products. The event will also feature sessions on social media and understanding consumer data for marketing, Smart Start and Security S2, the latest features of the Z-Wave standard, market certification support and an Q&A with Russell.
“Members and partners can expect lively discussions around the state of the market today, predictions for the future, pitfalls to watch out for and how we can keep pushing forward to fully realise the promise of connected living. It’s a must-attend event,” commented Mitchell Klein, executive director of the alliance.
The Z-Wave Summit is held twice a year – the spring event in Europe will be followed by the US event in autumn.