IoT As A Service Targets Multifamily Landlords

Making residences smarter and more tech savvy can be a complicated task, especially in the case of particularly stringent lease agreements. 

This challenge is one a new company called IoT as a service, known as IOTAS, wants to change.

IOTAS works with real estate developers and multifamily owners to outfit apartment buildings with smart equipment prior to people moving in. When renters take up residence in the space, they simply download an app on their phone to set up all of the IoT devices in the unit. Doing so works to streamline the process of installing and using smart technology in the home and means the tenant won't have to spend money on installations or lose money when uninstalling the IoT devices during the moving process.

Upon founding the company, IOTAS CEO and founder Sce Pike discovered that residents most likely to use smart-home technology are not homeowners, ZDNet reports. Instead, a survey showed that approximately 62% of IoT owners were affluent millennial parents, and two-thirds of that 62% were renters.

Having smart-home features also benefits landlords. Similar to having a gym on-site or easy access to transit, smart homes can be marketed as a desirable amenity for potential renters. The IOTAS platform has 10 pre-set automations so far that include "good morning" and "welcome home" settings and works to automate behavior as the apartment begins to recognize patterns such as making coffee at the same time each morning.

Between 2017 and 2022, the market for smart homes is anticipated to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 14.5%. IOTAS, which was founded three years ago, is already in more than 20 properties across the U.S.