Creating the smart home of the future is more seamless than you imagine, and Honeywell wants help with their newest product, the Smart Home Security System. Honeywell aims to blend physical products with online solutions, creating more connected environments in our everyday lives. We sat down with James Coulson, Global Marketing Director of Connected Homes at Honeywell, to find out why they launched their security system on Indiegogo and how getting it in front of people before fully launching in the market  helps improve the product. Check out their product here and add your feedback on how to create future iterations.

How did you come up with the idea for Smart Home Security?

It was a collaborative effort. On one hand, we’ve been in the security business for a long time. On the other hand, we’ve recently been engaging directly with homeowners due to the success of our other connected home products including smart thermostats. Our customers have increasingly been pointing out other spaces that they wish were “smarter.”

During one of our research studies, we met a single mother who just wanted to know that her son got home from school safely. It inspired us to come up with a simple and affordable solution. Something to fill that gap – between “nothing” and “bells/sirens/police turning up.”

Is there a need on the market for a product like this?

Absolutely – but the catch is that people aren’t always aware that the option exists. There are a lot of people in the U.S. who don’t have any form of home security, because they might think it’s too complicated or they don’t want to be tied to a contract. Yet a lot of those same people do want a better way of knowing what’s going on at home. Our goal is getting people to realize there’s an alternative to traditional, professionally monitored security systems.

Why crowdfunding?

We aren’t crowdfunding, we’re crowdsourcing! We want to engage a community of people who are willing to take this concept, run with it, and provide us with feedback so we can improve the product further. Indiegogo has a fantastic mechanism for providing a platform for their audience to participate and come with us on this journey. That’s really important to us, because we really want to make something that people will care about, value, that will make their life easier.

What have you learned through this process?

We’ve been overwhelmed by the positive response to our MotionViewer™ technology, and the desire for “security” or awareness around the home, not just inside. After the backers saw the potential of the system they suggested other accessories and devices that gave us some great ideas for what to do next.

What surprised you most about launching on Indiegogo?

We are surprised about the high level of interest from customers outside of North America. We didn’t expect the coverage to extend around the world. We were only targeting North American customers initially – but the level of interest in other regions spurred some new conversations internally. This is something people would value and find useful in their daily life in a lot of different places.

What were your biggest challenges?

One of our biggest challenges is deciding what information to disclose to our customers about upcoming releases and what we have planned for Indiegogo. Our other challenge is explaining what this system does in a simple-to-understand manner. It has so many functions and uses that it’s hard to easily convey its impact. It’s a smart speaker, camera, security, home controller, service gateway, voice assistant and more, all in one package – and that’s before you get to the accessories!

What are your plans after the campaign?

After the campaign, our engineering team will continue developing the software to get the product into the hands of the backers. Our customer teams will also start conversations with our early users, and use that input to determine next steps.

In January, we’re going to be at CES showcasing Honeywell Smart Home Security, where we will feature some of the newer, cooler functions.

At the same time, our market teams will be discussing how best to bring this to the mass market.

We will be very busy developing Smart Home Security. We want to say a big THANK YOU to all those backers who have made our campaign a success, and for stepping up to help bring a better product to market. Thank you – we couldn’t have done it without you.

Preorder the Honeywell Smart Home Security System here and give your feedback today.