The smart hardware brand Avia has been around now since 2019, which in this sector makes it a veteran. Whilst other ‘smart’ brands were duking it out about ‘concepts’ and use of the very use of the word, Avia was selling a pretty, reassuringly solid, retrofittable, Apple HomeKit compliant multi point locking resi door handle. No faff, no subscription and a simple concept: fit it and it will work with a free app, fully encrypted Apple HomeKit tech, a 2 star external handle and 3 star cylinder, to provide the owner with the most secure smart lock available. Amazingly, security has not been overlooked amidst all the tech.
Four years on, with the market beginning to blossom, the AviaSmart Smart doorlock has been joined by a whole family of products, each of which is undoubtedly clever, but which complement their older sibling by being easily retrofittable by anyone able to turn a screwdriver (where required!), seamlessly integrated into the Avia system… and tested by the World’s best security testing houses for both physical and cyber security, something that we believe every smart lock should be subjected to.
The AviaSmart smart hardware family now includes a VS sash window fastener, casement window handle, smart security sensor, smart plug socket and secure window and door sensors. All products work with Apple HomeKit, and are approved by Secured by Design and, crucially for smart products, are BSI ‘Internet of Things’ Kitemarked. This is good, well thought out, smart kit.
Crucially however, in a world that is still coming to terms with securing its homes with anything other than a key, AviaSmart does not ask too much of the window and door seller, says the man behind the brand, Mike Derham: “When we began developing the AviaSmart doorlock, using smart door and especially window handles was pretty much unheard of,” said Mike. “Despite using smart tech including proximity sensors, smart cards and tags for accessing workplaces for years, take up of similar tech to make home access and security more convenient was limited. But we believed then and of course continue to believe, that it was inevitable. But for reassurance we took the Apple HomeKit route as people had come to trust Apple for its unbreakable security, just as the market was beginning to emerge.”
Mike believed that the concept and offer had to be simple and uncomplicated, so the subscription route was avoided: “We wanted to keep the proposition simple, for both the homeowner that might be considering smart security when they were looking for new doors and windows, and for the installer that wanted to offer such products,” he explained. “Our experience of working in the window and door industry is that salespeople do not like ‘complicated’. If Mr and Mrs Smith have chosen their new windows and resi door, salespeople do not want anything to get in the way of closing the sale. Our door lock and now the range of smart products are simple to understand, easy for the installer or fabricator to fit in place of conventional hardware and all the installer has to do is get the Smiths to download the app and it can then be linked easily to the hardware. Nothing to sign, no direct debits for subscriptions.”
Mike also believes that the route taken by some smart hardware brands for pre-installation of chips, again complicates the path towards wider adoption of smart security tech: “Fabricators installing hardware with pre-installed smart circuitry are restricting their choice of standard hardware, with take up further down the line remaining relatively small as a percentage of all windows and doors sold. Our products have all been designed to fit existing hardware, no matter what shootbolts are installed, or handles for example. Take the old handle off, screw the new one on.”
“We have worked very hard to ensure that every AviaSmart product is intuitive to use, easy to fit, and crucially of course, simple to operate. Confidence in smart products is essential for sales to grow,” says Mike. “Making them faff-free to consider, purchase, fit and operate, was at the heart of the development of AviaSmart. And the ‘Apple’ brand is a clincher in the trust stakes.”
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