On a Zoom call with the media last week, Savant President JC Murphy provided a summary of company news that had been shared earlier with participants in the Savant 2021 Dealer Summit. The event, which was held virtually due to COVID-19, revealed software update details, details about GE Lighting integration, a look at the Las Vegas Experience Center building, and more.
Murphy noted the success of both the Savant Remote upgrade program at the start of the global pandemic (a portion of proceeds going to COVID relief). He also noted that the acquisition of GE Lighting had resulted in the addition of 120 employees in that brand’s China facility and increased overall margins for dealers selling that line. All of Savant’s lighting technology will now be marketed under the GE Lighting brand and the GE Sync brand, which is available at retail, is also available to Savant dealers.
According to Murphy, that GE Lighting website tallies 300,000 hits, which provides additional exposure to Savant Ambassadors listed on the site. Savant Ambassadors are dealers who have been identified and recognized for their commitment to sales and product knowledge across all key Savant product categories.
Las Vegas Experience Center Discussed at Savant 2021 Dealer Summit
In addition to enabling virtual tours of its NYC Experience Center, Savant is also in the midst of building a massive brick-and-mortar Las Vegas facility that will enable product demos not currently possible in the SoHo building. During the Savant 2021 Dealer Summit, the company discussed this partnership with the developer Blue Heron and custom integrator Eagle Sentry.
Related: Savant NYC Experience Center Now Open for Virtual Smart Living Tours
The Las Vegas Experience Center will feature the most solar panels ever placed on a residential structure in that city, enabling full demos of the company’s energy management solutions, which were recently purchased from sister company Racepoint Energy and renamed Savant Energy.
Also on display in the show home will be examples of Savant’s on-going collaboration with USAI to provide tunable white and warm dim LED lighting as well as a full outdoor lighting line. The 14,988-square-foot home sits on 1.26 acres, featuring four bedrooms and three baths.
Version 9.4 to Provide More Standardization
During the Savant 2021 Dealer Summit, the company also said that the upcoming release a 9.4 update to its control software will require the use of Spotify Connect for Spotify users. The feature allows you to play your Spotify catalog over Wi-Fi to any compatible audio product in your home, with just two presses of a button. The downside to Spotify’s requirement that Savant switches to Connect is that it will no longer allow music searches within Savant control panels (only within the Spotify app.)
The 9.4 update also will feature Ring integration. Savant smart home control will fully integrate with the new Amazon Ring X line, which will not be sold directly to consumers via the internet.
Later in the year, Savant will launch a new 10.0 platform that will be even more standard-based with open software infrastructure features and AI machine learning to drive the next wave of connected home system development.
The 10.0 platform will, for the first time, enable end-user customers to subscribe (for a fee) for direct manufacturer support, helping dealers without post-install service department to sell that service and outload the financial burden. Cloud-capability in 10.0 will enable more remote access to solve the majority of service calls, according to Murphy.
The new platform also allows for better integration of Zoom calls into the Savant smart home environment, following the just announced Zoom Rooms integration.
The 10.0 platform will also provide Software as a Service opportunities for Savant dealers who would like to earn recurring revenue for providing their clients with regular software updates and managed cloud storage for stored photos and videos for a set monthly fee.
