Raoul Wijgergangs

Sigma Designs, a provider of intelligent system-on-chip (SoC) solutions for connected smart home IoT, is proud to announce a cumulative lifetime 100M Z-Wave modules have shipped into the smart home market. With hundreds of customers shipping over 2,400 interoperable Z-Wave devices, Sigma Designs is pleased to highlight that the recipient of the 100 millionth module was the smart home service provider and long-time customer of Sigma Designs, Vivint Smart Home.  Vivint was the first service provider to adopt Z-Wave as the home control technology in its panelsFirst One To Adopt Z-Wave Module Services such as professionally monitored security are currently driving the smart home market. With Z-Wave technology achieving over 90% penetration in this segment, it is no surprise that Vivint, a leading smart home service provider, was the recipient of the 100 millionth Z-Wave module. Vivint was the first service provider to adopt Z-Wave as the home control technology in its panels, deploying certified Z-Wave devices as part of a Vivint smart home system to give customers unprecedented peace of mind and control over their entire home. “We are grateful to every one of our customers, some of the biggest service providers and manufacturers in the smart home and security world, who have supported Z-Wave over the years and driven adoption of the standard in the market to get us to this milestone of 100M Z-Wave modules shipped,” said Raoul Wijgergangs, VP of Z-Wave Business Unit, Sigma Designs, Inc. Z-Wave allows us to give customers an integrated smart home system so they can control their home through a panel, a single mobile app or by using their voice" Improving Safety And Convenience “We’re delighted to name Vivint as the customer to order the 100 millionth unit. As the longest running service provider customer and an innovator in the smart home and security market, Vivint has designed home security and automation packages that increase safety and convenience for today’s consumer.” “Z-Wave allows us to give customers an integrated smart home system so they can control their home through a panel, a single mobile app or by using their voice,” said Jim Nye, chief product operations officer at Vivint Smart Home. “We are honored to be the recipient of the 100 millionth Z-Wave module and thrilled to see the ecosystem advance to such a large share of the market.”

Sigma Designs®, a provider of intelligent system-on-chip (SoC) solutions for connected smart TV platforms and smart home IoT, is pleased to share that Ring has announced Ring Protect, the first products to feature the combination of Z-Wave Security 2 (S2) and Z-Wave SmartStart technologies. Z-Wave SmartStart Ring’s first professionally monitored alarm system deploys the latest Z-Wave advancements, S2 and SmartStart, in its base station, keypad, and sensors. Ring Protect can be self-installed by homeowners and renters, leveraging the Z-Wave SmartStart for simple setup, as devices only need to be mounted and powered up to be “magically” connected to the network. The first implementation of the S2 framework, now mandatory in all Z-Wave Certified devices by the Z-Wave Alliance, provides security both for the Ring base station to the cloud, as well as between it and the connected devices. S2 was developed in part by cybersecurity experts, and provides peace of mind to Ring Protect customers that their security system is secure. Fully Automated Installation “The Z-Wave advancements that we’ve launched this year are starting to enter the market as businesses recognize the need for security, and the value of fully automated installation,” said Raoul Wijgergangs, VP of the Z-Wave Business Unit Worldwide. “Ring is the first to market with their new system, and we welcome them to the Z-Wave ecosystem.” “Using Z-Wave S2 and SmartStart in Ring Protect helps us to ensure that our home security system will be both safer, and smarter for users,” commented Ring Founder and CEO Jamie Siminoff. “With a mission to reduce crime in neighborhoods, we’re focused on providing total home security for our customers, and offering a simple setup that’s also secure.”

Sigma Designs, a provider of intelligent system-on-chip (SoC) solutions for connected smart TV platforms and smart home IoT, announces that Japan’s largest telco corporation, KDDI, uses Z-Wave as the wireless mesh technology powering their smart home solution, au HOME, designed specifically for network operators. Au HOME With Z-Wave KDDI is growing its lifestyle brand for consumers with the expansion of the popular au mobile service beyond communications into home services aimed to capture a piece of the growing smart home market and extend it in Japan. The fully integrated, plug-and-play smart home service, au HOME, will leverage Z-Wave for a broad array of sensors, outlets, locks, and other connected devices essential for the delivery of optimal home security, automation, and smart metering services. Au HOME with Z-Wave will allow au smartphone users with the service to easily monitor their home on-the-go and control home temperatures, lock doors and windows, control lighting, and measure power consumption. "We are excited to be working with KDDI to bring Z-Wave technology to Japan," said Raoul Wijgergangs, VP of Sigma Designs' Z-Wave Business Unit. "Capitalizing on the smart home market requires thoughtful solutions that address the real challenges faced by both service providers and end consumers. KDDI's system will allow them to easily introduce new smart home technology and allow consumers to expand their smart home functionality without fear of incompatibility. As the market leader and most secure and interoperable smart home protocol, Z-Wave is perfect for powering KDDI's innovative new service." Z-Wave Smart Home Z-Wave smart home deployments have been at the forefront of new telco initiatives in the U.S. and Europe for many years. The market in Asia is now rapidly closing the gap with all three major providers in Republic of Korea, SK, KT and LGU+, offering programs capped off with this announcement by industry giant, KDDI in Japan. The au HOME smart home solution with Z-Wave will be available for consumers in Japan at the end of July 2017.

Sigma Designs, Inc., a provider of intelligent system-on-chip (SoC) solutions for smart TV and Internet of Things (IoT) for smart home, announced it has joined the Open Connectivity Foundation (OCF) with the aim to enable future IoT devices from the OCF ecosystem to interoperate with the Z-Wave certified device ecosystem. Sigma Designs will work in partnership with existing OCF members to define a unified standard for future OCF IoT devices to ensure interoperability and maintain high levels of security across standards. Z-Wave Interoperability Layer In August 2016, Sigma Designs publicly released the Z-Wave specification to provide cloud service developers, gateway manufacturers, technology enthusiasts and makers access the Z-Wave interoperability layer for development of smart home applications. With the Public Z-Wave offering, Sigma Designs makes it possible for developers to create plug-ins for connections through OCF and cloud-based services to work directly with Z-Wave products and gateways. Public Z-Wave includes access to the Z-Wave interoperability layer, the API specification for Z/IP (Z-Wave over IP), Z-Ware (Z-Wave middleware) software products, as well as the full specification of Z-Wave’s world-class S2 security application framework. Accessing All IoT Devices “Z-Wave is the dominant communication standard for smart home devices, leading the way with more than 70 million interoperable Z-Wave smart home devices worldwide. As an open standard, including the publicly released Z-Wave protocol and radio specification, we are supportive of all forms of open IoT platforms and interoperability. With Public Z-Wave, Sigma Designs extends the reach of cloud-based services and devices connecting through OCF to work directly with over 1,700 Z-Wave certified devices and gateways available today,” said Raoul Wijgergangs, Vice President of the Z-Wave Business unit at Sigma Designs. “We have now joined OCF as it complements our direction to standardize and simplify the IoT smart home market for an open, unified method of accessing all IoT devices.” "Sigma Designs brings more than a decade of experience with smart home standards" Ultra-Low Power Consumption The burgeoning IoT market is expecting rapid growth with billions of connected devices coming online; however, device and technology fragmentation is confusing consumers and slowing adoption. In an effort to change this and promote interoperability, OCF wishes to create a common IoT standard and sponsor an open source project that will allow all IoT devices to communicate with each other. “We are proud to welcome Sigma Designs to our growing list of leading IoT member companies to help drive forward an open standard for interoperable products. Sigma Designs brings more than a decade of experience with smart home standards and now an open specification to enable open source development of Z-Wave solutions,” said Dr. Matthew Perry, President Open Connectivity Foundation. Developers utilizing Public Z-Wave also can benefit from Z-Wave’s ultra-low power consumption, robust mesh networks and extremely secure communication strengthened by the recent Security 2 (S2) Application Framework release.

 Z-Wave’s Security 2 framework was developed in conjunction with cybersecurity hacking experts At CES 2017 earlier this year, Sigma Designs®, a provider of Smart TV platforms and IoT devices introduced the Z-Wave SmartStart, an enhancement to the Z-Wave specification that vastly improves service provider installation of Z-Wave devices in the smart home. Z-Wave SmartStart Z-Wave SmartStart pre-configures devices to the network before they reach the home, dramatically reducing the time service providers spend at the customer premise, thereby reducing costs and maximising return on investment (ROI). In addition, the pre-configuration incorporates Z-Wave’s new Security 2 (S2) framework, ensuring the most advanced security in the smart home market. The complexity of smart home installation has been a key sticking point for service providers and a hindrance to smart home adoption overall. For service providers, reducing the time a technician spends in the home is critical to achieving ROI on their smart home initiatives. In a typical smart home installation, prior to physical installation, a technician may spend a few hours validating component functionality; integrating components; and configuring scenes, rules, and scripts. With Z-Wave SmartStart, the process is greatly simplified so that these steps are done at the service center, so that in most cases, an installer only has to mount the devices, turn on the power, and the devices connect to the network. Instant Integration “What is so different with Z-Wave SmartStart is that the pre-configuration exists across the breadth of the Z-Wave ecosystem,” said Raoul Wijgergangs, Vice President, Z-Wave for Sigma Designs. “Suddenly, a gateway, a sensor, and a light switch or door lock-all different products from different manufacturer brands-can be ‘SmartStarted’ together allowing instant integration and be up and running in a customer’s home very quickly. While other companies may have pre-configuration solutions in place, there’s nothing else on the market that works cross brand, cross application, cross company, like Z-Wave SmartStart. That is a very unique value proposition for service providers that will help them deliver strong ROI on their smart home investments.” "What is so different with Z-Wave SmartStart is that the pre-configuration exists across the breadth of the Z-Wave ecosystem" “The percentage of consumers reporting that their smart home vendor installed their device has more than doubled over the past year,” said Patrice Samuels, Parks Associates’ Senior Analyst. “Reducing friction associated with system installation and support is critical to both profitability and the customer experience.” SmartStart new S2 framework Z-Wave SmartStart’s incorporation of its new S2 framework, which provides the most advanced security for smart home devices and controllers, gateways and hubs, ensures service providers can offer the most secure smart home packages in the market today. Z-Wave’s S2 framework was developed in conjunction with cybersecurity hacking experts, giving Z-Wave devices new levels of impenetrability. By securing communication both locally for home-based devices and in the hub or gateway for cloud functions, S2 completely removes the risk of devices being hacked while they are included in the network. “The S2 framework is the ‘secret sauce’ of the Z-Wave SmartStart solution,” stated Niels Thybo Johansen, Vice President, Z-Wave research and development. “No other company can claim this level of ease and speed of installation, paired with the robust security that S2 brings to the table. It’s a game changer for the industry.”

Home security devices are evolving and expanding their offered features, providing new opportunities for the security industry Home security isn’t just home security anymore. These days cameras, door and window alarms are just pieces of the web–enabled “smart home.” And, the home is getting smarter, as service providers begin to merge home security systems with home automation. The added value of these additional features is now drawing more potential customers to the security systems market. Consider Icontrol’s recent introduction of its new water sensor – the first of a line of Z-Wave-driven accessories for its Piper Wi-Fi-enabled all-in-one home awareness and automation device. Home Automation Accessories Consider Icontrol’s recent introduction of its new water sensor – the first in a line of Z-Wave-driven accessories for its Piper Wi-Fi-enabled all-in-one home awareness and automation device. The water sensor can detect the presence of as little as 0.03 of an inch of water (less than 1 millimeter), and be set to trigger security rules and send alerts to the homeowner’s mobile device. Piper already provides panoramic video and security features for the traditional security tasks of protecting against home break-ins. Piper is a single, self-contained unit that includes a 180-degree camera that can zoom or pan around the room controlled by a smartphone. Its sensors can detect motion, sound, temperature and humidity. It also has a speaker and microphone, and siren. Users can set up rules for what the device should do when it detects sound or motion, or certain changes in temperature – and now moisture. Rise Of ‘Smart Home’ Systems As with other products, these devices are going far beyond what was once considered “home security” and in the process offering new opportunities for the security industry. “It’s become ‘I’ve got this alarm system, and it’s doing much more for me,’” says Raoul Wijgergang, vice president of the Z-Wave Business Unit at Sigma Designs and a member of the Z-Wave Alliance, a global consortium of over 325 member companies supporting the Z-Wave wireless IoT (Internet of Things) standard. “That has greatly reduced the churn for these service providers and it also has allowed them to create additional revenue from the 20 percent of the base of the U.S. households that have [security systems], but also has the potential to expand beyond people that normally would not have bought alarm systems.” The move to providing smart home systems has changed the paradigm for all service providers. The fact is, consumers viewed arming and disarming a security system as an essentially bothersome task. “Security systems don’t really spread that much other than in neighborhoods where there are burglaries taking place,” Wijgergang explains. The added value of being able to manage and control thermostats, lights and door locks from a smartphone app changed their perspective from doing something that was good for them (home security) to something that was even fun. Move Away From Traditional Home Security Services They are now selling a smart home system with a security feature whereas in the early days they were selling security system with a smart home feature “Yes, security is still a big factor, but it’s not the one and only factor anymore,” says Wijgergang. “They are now selling a smart home system with a security feature whereas in the early days they were selling security system with a smart home feature.” More than 90 percent of security panels include Z-Wave while nearly all smart home hubs being sold in the retail sector include it, according to Wijgergang. Piper’s devices are part of a growing number of products using the Z-Wave short-range wireless protocol. This technology has proven ideal for these kinds of home-area networks. Z-Wave was developed by Zensys (later acquired by Sigma Designs) as a proprietary wireless standard. It’s estimated that more than 500 consumer home control products are available from retailers including Amazon.com and Home Depot. Home improvement chain Lowes recently launched its own Z-Wave enabled smart home system – Iris. With the introduction of this and other planned accessories, users can easily update their homes to become a truly connected home through Piper. It’s one of a number of DIY home security systems that has moved away from traditional subscription-based services. Instead of a call center monitoring the system, the device alerts homeowners via their smartphones – and they can decide whether to call the police.

Klein's background and thought leadership will continue to grow Z-Wave's position as the go-to technology across industries A leading organization with over 325 members in smart home and IoT industries, the Z-Wave Alliance announces long-time Universal Remote Control executive and CEDIA board member Mitchell Klein as its new Executive Director. Klein joins the Alliance after more than 8 years as a senior team member at URC, helping to transform the company from a remote control manufacturer to a smart home integration system supplier for the consumer electronics pro space. Go-To Technology Across Industries Following an extensive search throughout the consumer electronics and smart home industries, the Z-Wave Alliance Board of Directors selected a results-driven, hands-on industry leader to fill the newly created executive director post. With a large portion of the Z-Wave market focused on the security, telco and integrator markets as well as DIY, Klein's background and thought leadership in these areas will continue to grow Z-Wave's position as the go-to technology across industries. "Mitch brings with him a significant amount of experience building programs, partnerships and growing categories within new markets," said Raoul Wijgergangs, VP for Z-Wave business unit for Sigma Designs and Alliance Board member. "As Z-Wave experiences massive growth and expansion into the smart home and still developing IoT markets, we will look to Mitch to work with the board and build a strategic plan that will take the ecosystem to the next level." Previous Roles  As CEO and founder of one of the top grossing and influential home tech integration companies, Klein has played a pivotal role in growing the custom electronics installer channel and has been involved in smart home long before it was a household concept. Klein has served in several roles in the CEDIA network, most notably as its President from 1997-1999 and is currently Chairman of the Professional Development Committee. A proven leader, Klein has been recognized with 22 industry awards including the 2011, 2012, and 2013 CEPro Quest for Quality Platinum Award Winner for Best Training and the 2003 Dealer of the Year - CEA/TechHome Mark of Excellence Award. "I'm joining the Z-Wave Alliance at an exciting time for the organization and its member companies, with unprecedented growth predicted in the connected home and security markets," said Klein. "My job is to chart a course for the future, forging important partnerships and creating programs that allow Z-Wave to lead not just in products but in important initiatives around educating the consumer and ensuring smart homes are secure." "I feel confident that with Mitch's leadership and our growth trajectory, Z-Wave will be a unifying ingredient in the leading smart home solutions for years to come," added Wijgergangs. "The Z-Wave ecosystem is today one of the most dominant in the smart home world and will continue to be as the concept of IoT takes over the home."

With over 325 company’s memberships, 1350 certified products, Z-Wave dominates the residential IoT market According to a new Markets and Markets report, the smart home industry is estimated to reach $58.68 billion by 2020. Segments such as security and smart locks are driving the smart home market currently and with over 90% penetration in this segment, the Z-Wave Alliance continues to grow the Z-Wave smart home ecosystem for consumers and manufacturers, alike. With a record-breaking Z-Wave quarter, Sigma Designs announced that a cumulative lifetime 40M Z-Wave IoT devices have shipped into the smart home market. With more manufacturers, integrators, installers and service providers turning to Z-Wave, Z-Wave Alliance membership has grown by 30% over the same period last year, resulting in the addition of more than 75 new full members to the organization's roster. The year kicked off with the induction of SmartThings and LG Uplus to the Alliance Board of Directors, while new member companies and brands include Samsung, SDS, Technicolor and Nutone, among numerous others.  With the addition of new members and expansion of existing members, Z-Wave certification has compounded, delivering broad, global Z-Wave product availability and compatibility to the market. With more than 1,350 total Z-Wave certified devices, including 100 new Z-Wave Plus™ certifications, consumers have a path to the smart home that guarantees interoperability plus backward compatibility of all Z-Wave certified devices in the market, regardless of product, brand or retailer. The Z-Wave Logo "The Z-Wave logo not only means it works, it means it works with any other product with the Z-Wave logo. It has become the easy-to-understand moniker and trusted brand for today's smart home," said Raoul Wijgergangs, interim chairman of the Z-Wave Alliance and VP for Z-Wave business unit for Sigma Designs. "By 2020, the IoT market opportunity will be two to four times greater than the combined installed base of computers, smart phones, tablets and smart TV's we have today," said Wijgergangs. "This is why you are seeing big players move into the space." At WWDC15, Apple announced that iOS 9 will support HomeKit, Apple's framework for controlling connected accessories, and will be compatible with various home security systems. "Z-Wave already has the largest footprint in the security industry - every major player is an active member of the Z-Wave Alliance and developing on the Z-Wave standard," said Z-Wave Alliance Board of Director member Avi Rosenthal. "We project that with HomeKit entering the market and Z-Wave as the largest available smart home ecosystem at retail today, consumers will naturally migrate to what is known, proven and popular, and Z-Wave will continue to dominate the smart home." Z-Wave Labs Year-long IoT Competition Continuing to drive market innovation, the Z-Wave Alliance also created the Z-Wave Labs year-long IoT competition to accelerate exciting innovation on the Z-Wave platform. With the first winner announced on June 4, the program will continue to reward one selected individual/company each month through May 2016 with a 12-month membership to the Z-Wave Alliance as well as a Z-Wave Developer Kit. "The first half of 2015 has been tremendous. Our vision for the smart home IoT all working together continues to amalgamate and we see Z-Wave as the unifying ingredient." said Wijgergangs.