CE Pro February 2023 - 11

levels by next year in 2023, "
Dickerson stated.
Additionally, CEDIA
recently approved its first
balanced budget, excluding
portfolio returns, for the
first time in six years for the
upcoming year. The lack of
a balanced budget over the
previous six years was based
on two factors. First, Dickerson
noted that the funds
from the sale of CEDIA Expo
to Emerald in 2017 were
invested heavily by the association
into initiatives and
strategies that were developed
at the time. That was
followed by the multiyear
impact of the pandemic.
He indicated that CEDIA's
investment portfolio is not
immune to the overall U.S.
financial market volatility
that has been happening.
" The market decline has
resulted in larger than forecasted
unrealized losses of
$4.4 million through October
31, 2022, " he explained.
Dickerson reiterated that
the association believes the
portfolio is well positioned
and will recover over time.
" CEDIA continues to be
well capitalized with cash and
investment returns of well
over $11.4 million. Net assets
as of October 31, 2022 were
$29.3 million, " he added.
Tech Summits to
Expand; Membership
Surpasses 4,000
The final segment was a live
Q&A. Among the questions
was the potential of reviving
the CEDIA Management
Conference.
" We will need to find a
model that works for this, "
answered Friedman. " One
aspect of this is financial.
We have submitted a
balanced budget for the
first time in five years and
we are really trying to
hold to that. This had not
been a profitable event in
the past. We would like
to bring it back and make
it profitable because we
have heard good things
about it. "
Another question pertained
to adding more Tech
Summits in the Midwest.
CEDIA senior vice president
Giles Sutton revealed
that the association is
planning a Tech Summit for
Chicago in 2023, among
a dozen it had planned at
press time. The association
is also investigating the
potential for Tech Summits
overseas, including the
Middle East. CEDIA noted
it is working on its DEI
initiatives to help create
more opportunities for
women and minorities, and
it is expanding its Spanish
language education in Latin
America.
Lastly, the association
is targeting non-members
in 2023, Friedman said. He
noted that in 2022 CEDIA
passed more than 4,000
members " for the first time
in anyone's recollection. "
Smart Home Device Spending Up 15% in 2022
IT USED TO BE that gold
was a sure-fire investment
during times of economic
strife. Now, however, it seems
smart home devices fit the
bill just nicely for consumers.
Its adoption rate by single-family
and multidwelling
unit (MDU) owners continues
to reflect a love affair
with technology, to the point
where hardware revenues
have reached close to $30
billion USD in 2022. That's up
15% from 2021's spending.
According to a report
by ABI Research, there
is a growing expectation
among consumers for smart
capabilities in their homes.
Jonathan Collins, Smart
Home and Smart Buildings
cepro.com
Research Director at ABI
Research, explains it as an
ongoing result of COVID-19
home improvement.
Following the surge of
popularity, smart homes
quickly moved into mainstream
consciousness,
where it continues to excite
and entice consumers, even
in the face of a tightening
economy, ABI notes.
This has been further aided
by the recently expanded
product interoperability via
the recent Matter 1.0 specification,
with homeowners
able to more easily set up
and test devices from a
range of popular companies
before upgrading to wholehouse
systems.
ABI Research says ongoing pandemic-fueled home
improvement projects still propel the market.
MDUs and hospitality
spaces have equally seen a
rise in adoption of smart devices
for their environments,
ABI adds.
" That is not to say growth
will be even across device
categories or vendors. Interoperability,
functionality,
and application integration
will all be key to spending
as consumers increasingly
transition from single device
purchasing to building out
whole-home systems, " says
Collins.
February 2023 CE Pro | 11
STANISIC VLADIMIR/STOCK.ADOBE.COM
http://www.cepro.com
CE Pro February 2023

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