Even though it is only three years’ old, CES Asia has already established itself as one of the leading technology tradeshows in China. This year’s event, which took place from June 7 – 9, attracted a reported 30,000 attendees, who flocked to see a dizzying array of robots, autos, drones, and smart home devices being displayed by over 400 vendors at the Shanghai New International Expo Centre.

The Open Connectivity Foundation (OCF) joined in the excitement this year with a booth in Hall 2 showcasing a variety of interactive smart home usage scenarios featuring demos from Haier, Intel, VIA, Beechwoods, and Allion. Ranging from a smart refrigerator for the kitchen and a smart doorbell for the entrance to wireless gateways for managing lighting, air conditioning, and thermostat for the whole residence, the demos highlighted the interoperability of the IoTivity platform and the crucial role it plays in ensuring that all devices can work together no matter which company manufactures them.

In the highly-competitive China smart home market, vendors have primarily been focused on promoting their own products and services that operate in their own walled gardens. However, judging by the conversations we had at show the with representatives of domestic computer, consumer electronics, and Internet companies, they are waking up to the need for common interoperability standards to improve customer experiences and drive the overall growth of the market. Representatives from government agencies and research institutes voiced the same opinion and expressed interest in working more closely with the OCF to work towards these objectives.

Although the vast majority of attendees at the show were from China, there was a sizable contingent of overseas exhibitors and attendees from Europe, India, South East Asia, North America, and Latin America looking to learn the latest IoT technology and market trends, find local partners, and source products to sell in their own markets. The OCF vision of enabling common interoperability standards was highly compelling to them given the potential it has not only to reduce the complexity and cost of product compatibility testing but also to increase the overall size of the IoT market.

To build on this momentum, we plan to attend more events in the fall of this year and step up engagement with the China IoT ecosystem to promote the OCF vision and accelerate the development of certified products by domestic manufacturers.

CES Asia provided a powerful platform for promoting OCF to an international audience and opening up new business opportunities for the members who participated in the booth. A win-win solution for everyone involved!