Exclusive product availability, proprietary technology and an energetic response to customer feedback provide Smarthome Direct with the keys to successful growth

By Matt Griffin

For instance, because DIY customers wanted to walk into a room, flip a switch and be sure of the outcome, Smarthome gave its engineers a new task. Rather than simply making X-10 products better, Smarthome wanted to create a more reliable protocol.

So in 2004, Smarthome unveiled INSTEON, a proprietary technology it hopes will become more widely used in home automation products. Much like its earlier efforts to encourage customer feedback on X-10 products, customer requests dictated the new INSTEON products, which also resulted in an improved product line.