Samsung Is Working With Service Providers To Push Into Digital Home Market

At Harvard Business School's annual Cyberposium here, Eric Kim, Samsung Chief Marketing Officer, claimed consumer electronics vendors need feet on the streets to get their digital consumer products into the home.

Now that wired and wireless broadband services are more deeply penetrating the U.S. home market, companies like Samsung - and U.S. newcomers Dell, Hewlett Packard and Gateway - are gearing up fast to meet demand.

"In the U.S, the whole broadband [industry] has been led by business, but the shift to digital is definitely taking place [at the consumer market]," said Kim. "We're working with content and service providers to deliver a total solution to the customer."

Kim pointed to a number of new consumer electronics products introduced and demonstrated at the Consumer Electronics Show last week, including a 80" Plasma TV, DuoCam and Portable Media Center.

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And he noted that service providers will also be needed to integrate residential network products into the home market such as the company's HomePAD wireless high-definition display, security sensors, and digital temperature, gas and water meters.

After his address before hundreds at Harvard Business School, Kim told CRN that Samsung is mapping out a multi-pronged channel strategy to penetrate the home networking market.

"A number of builders are interested in this," said Kim. "We're also working system integrators to develop [home networking] practices. Companies like Best Buy plan to provide these services. It'll be a combination of technology providers like us working with systems integrators and home construction players. "

Samsung's chief marketing officer also predicted that the digital home market will entice some solution providers in the traditional IT space - eventually. "They will get to the point where they see this as an opportunity, but they're not there yet."