【XWBOO Industry News】 November 3, has been set to be World Smart Home Day - meaning now is the perfect time to discuss the Internet of Things (IoT). We recently saw the release of Matter at last, an industry-unified open standard for the smart home. If you are planning to develop connected devices, it is important to understand what Matter means for the Internet of Things industry.
Next, let's talk about the meaning of the Matter standard for IoT enterprises.
What is Matter?
raditionally, smart home devices exist in multiple ecosystems with limited interoperability. They do not work well together and are plagued by requirements for multiple applications, complex set-ups and configurations. On top of that, there is often a lack of clarity around cyber security.
Matter was developed through a collaboration with the Connectivity Standards Alliance (CSA), formerly known as the Zigbee Alliance. The organisation is made up of more than 300 companies working to create, maintain and deliver open global IoT standards.
They are developing a single open source stack to enable IoT enterprise developers to build compatible cross-platform devices. For example, imagine an Amazon device integrated with a Google Home or Apple Home Kit. That's what Matter is trying to achieve.
More advantages
In addition to interoperability, Matter brings other huge benefits to consumers and businesses:
• Mesh networking: While Matter is IP-based, users can operate some smart home features in the event of a local internet outage because the standard acts as a layer above Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and Thread. This capability improves communication reliability and means fewer connection interruptions.
• Device security: Network security configurations in the IoT are often poor, if at all. Matter accreditation includes mandatory compliance, which is a huge boost for the industry and will allay some consumer concerns.
Vision and Reality
The vision goes like this: Imagine your heater and your light and oven connecting conversations. Your smart meter communicates with your washing machine and EV charger, prioritizing tasks when energy is cheaper.
But so far, the Matter 1.0 standard supports only a limited variety of smart home products. These are more traditional categories such as:
• Lights
• HVAC control
• Curtains and drapes
• Safety and security sensors
• Door lock
• Media equipment, including televisions
Currently, there are many common technologies that are still unsupported. There are benefits, though, as IoT businesses still have time to get their hardware ready for the next update to Matter. While more than 3,000 devices have already been certified by Matter, a wider roll-out will take place from next year.
Challenges facing IoT startups
To be clear, Matter accreditation is not mandatory, but businesses without it risk being left behind. But this interoperability means that as more and more brands compete against each other, rather than being tied into a particular ecology, the competitive landscape becomes ever larger. This raises the question of whether the standard is an opportunity or a challenge.
If this standard is adopted, there will be more due diligence on cybersecurity. In an ideal world, businesses should already have it embedded in devices, and if they don't, they will suffer some pain.
For example, Matter authentication requires device data encryption. They must also be able to accept wireless software updates. Most importantly, the hardware that supports Matter must use public key encryption, authentication certificates, and Secure Enclave to store private data that can only be accessed locally. It's good for everyone in the long run.
Matter's dream is one development, deployed everywhere. But, of course, there are issues - because certain features are not currently supported, and companies may still need to build their own applications to get full functionality. In other words, Matter is still in the process of being refined.
What if a company makes devices outside of the more traditional smart home products mentioned earlier? Something like an electric car charger? They will be waiting for some time for support. But there are plenty of developer resources, including the open source Matter code repository on GitHub, that can help start and prepare businesses in more niche areas.
If a company is developing a product that can be used for Matter certification, the licensed test laboratory is now open and operational. This is probably the biggest barrier to bringing a Matter product to market, so businesses should book as soon as possible.
Get ready for Matter
Businesses may already be answering questions from customers asking when they can see Matter on their devices. It's an opportunity to build relationships and get users interested in the smart home. Be transparent about the process and share the enterprise's timeline. Explaining how it works in plain language is a huge opportunity to develop and strengthen relationships.
For now, we need to be clear that, while Matter is still a work in progress, if successful, businesses can use a single local protocol to develop products that work for any ecosystem. The consumer's life will be easier than ever, which is very much known to expect.
Original title: What does Matter mean for IoT businesses?
