CEDIA Survey Shows Strong Residential Tech Industry
“Our data is showing a healthy and prosperous industry,” said Grant Farnsworth of The Farnsworth Group, the firm that conducted the research on behalf of CEDIA. The outlook for future business growth is also “extremely positive” with the average number of projects home technology installers complete expected to grow around 15% this year.
The biggest growth is coming from the installation of home networking systems with the average number of installations expected to increase about 28% in 2018. CEDIA home technology pros also expect to install about 15% more whole-home integrated control systems this year.
“We are incredibly pleased to see the increase in home networking solutions being installed,” said CEDIA CEO Tabatha O’Connor. “As the foundation of any type of residential technology system and the first line of defense from cybersecurity threats, the network could not be more important, which is why it has been an important focus in our educational offerings.”
When looked at in terms of revenue, distributed music and home control systems were number one and number two in 2017, accounting for 12% and 11% of annual company revenue, respectively.
The biggest challenge faced by home technology integration firms is finding and keeping qualified employees (29%) followed by increased DIY products (15%), internet sales (9%), consumer misinformation/awareness (9%), and changing technology.