Comcast has added a dash of big data to its Xfinity Home service by partnering with Earth Networks' WeatherBug Home.
By pairing the WeatherBug Home software with the Xfinity Home's EcoSaver tool, the cable operator is enabling Xfinity Home customers to automate their home energy use and reduce their costs.
WeatherBug Home's software turbo charges EcoSaver by throwing additional big data and modeling elements into the mix. Earth Networks lays claim to processing 25 terabytes of local, real-time weather daily for 20 million unique consumers. By learning a home's heating and cooling patterns, cloud-based EcoSaver, which Comcast Corp. (Nasdaq: CMCSA, CMCSK) added to its Xfinity Home platform three years ago, can make automatic, incremental adjustments to thermostats on the fly.
In addition to WeatherBug, the Xfinity Home certification program also added August Smart Lock, Chamberlain MyQ garage controller and Lutron's Caseta wireless controller and dimmer to the home automation ecosystem.
Adding new applications and devices to its Xfinity Home also has competitive benefits for Comcast. The home security and automation arena is rife with rivals, including services from Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL), AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T), Verizon Wireless , Cox Communications Inc. , Time Warner Cable Inc. (NYSE: TWC), ADT Corp. , Lowe's and Trane.
By connecting IP devices, services and systems, home automation and security services represent a real-world merging point for big data and Internet of Things (IoT) applications. Whether providing a whole-home ecosystem, like Comcast, or niche products, such as just connected security cameras, who wins out in the marketplace remains to be seen as the market matures.
Comcast introduced Xfinity Home in 2012 and rolled it out across its entire footprint the same year. Comcast said it would be adding additional devices and features to Xfinity Home this year.
— Mike Robuck, editor, Telco Transformation