Interview: How Godrej is Building Trust for Smart Locks, and the Future of Connected Homes

Residential digital and smart locks have so far been relatively niche, and not everyone is comfortable with replacing their tried-and-trusted mechanical locks and keys. The flexibility of being able to manage access and convenience of not having to carry keys are offset by the worry that they are not as secure and could have multiple points of failure. Even so, the market for them is growing across India, and many new houses now come with digital locks fitted as standard equipment.

Shortly after the launch of its new flagship smart lock, the Advantis IoT9, Acko Byte was able to chat with Shyam Motwani, Executive VP and Business Head, Locks and Architectural Solutions at Godrej Enterprises Group about how demand for such products is growing, what he’s doing to overcome buyer scepticism, and whether the Godrej conglomerate has plans to build an ecosystem around its many related offerings.  

Acko Byte: How do you see the market in India right now for residential smart locks? 

Motwani: Well, it is looking very promising; very encouraging. We are expecting some good growth by way of upgrades, fitouts for new homes and renovation of existing homes. People are looking at smart aesthetics apart from smart keyless digital solutions for their main door. 

Another driver is the premium housing development that is happening with some developers. They are seriously considering adding value to their overall product by looking at digital smart locks on the main doors. 

Acko Byte: Are institutional sales a much bigger factor than retail individual sales? 

Motwani: Project businesses are a very big component [of sales]. Even when you sell retail, it ultimately finds its way into the projects. Walk-in customers are few and far between. 

Acko Byte: Are these retail buyers mainly enthusiasts; people who are already familiar with this kind of product? 

Motwani: Absolutely. And they are very savvy and comfortable with digital devices. Those who are not, and those who maybe have elderly people at home, are a bit sceptical. 

Acko Byte: Do you find that it is worth trying to create this market and educate the retail buyer? 

Motwani: Of course! It is highly worth it. We've been doing this for the past two years now. We've been investing in high-impact properties on traditional media and doing a lot of digital media advertising; [working with] social media influencers and many such things to build awareness about our digital solutions in our target audiences. 

Acko Byte: And what do you think the main draw is for a smart lock? Is it better security, convenience, remote management? 

Motwani: All three of them! Enhanced safety, convenience, and smart aesthetics. Convenience as in keyless; enhanced as in you can’t duplicate the key; and it makes your door look smart. It’s very desirable, and a thing to show off. 

Acko Byte: So in terms of the hesitation, as you brought up, what factors are holding people back? 

Motwani: The main fear is what happens if suddenly it stops working, because with digital devices, sometimes they hang all of a sudden, without warning and for no reason. It can happen with any digital device. Then there are these fears associated with senior citizens, because they are not very comfortable. 

But we see that less and less, and now [in some places] we don't have the issue of people not being willing to take a risk with digital; they are digitally inclined and don't mind a stray incident of something not working at times. They are quite familiar with these devices. And where there are no senior citizens, they don’t worry and they  need convenience more than anything else. 

Another thing is that in larger cities and places where you have the men and women going to work, they have a lot of concern about the domestic help or nannies at home. They want to be able to restrict access to a limited number of people at pre-appointed times. You can integrate this IoT9 lock with a wireless video camera and actually keep a tab on your house. 

Acko Byte: Do you find that buyers and builders who install these smart locks are delivering a holistic security system, or is it all disjointed? 

Motwani: Right now, it is pretty much a standalone product, but there are some real estate developers who are working with system integrators to be able to go beyond the digital lock on the main door. To start with, [they are integrating it with] the video door phone and thereafter even Wi-Fi cameras. That’s going to happen.

Acko Byte: Are you trying to turn that into a whole-house smart ecosystem?

Motwani: Yes, home automation. Connected homes. 

Acko Byte: Is that taking off in India? And is one of these markets going to push the other? 

Motwani: Yes, it will. It is going to be very, very interesting. [There will be] a very big market in the coming years and we do believe that connected products, connected homes and home automation will become a big thing.

Acko Byte: You spoke about a cloud service at the IoT9 launch. Does that play into a larger picture for Godrej as a whole?

Motwani: Yes, absolutely. We will talk about it when it is right to talk about it, because right now we don't have levels of automation that can go beyond a simple video door phone or a wireless camera. Later on we will have things like fault detectors, home appliances, and some other devices which are Matter compliant to be able to integrate with your home locking system. That includes operating appliances, operating your lights and curtains and things like that. So that can happen. We will be in a position to integrate our own appliances and some of the smart furniture that we will be making in the future. But right now it’s too early to talk about it! 

Acko Byte: And of course Godrej is a large company; it makes home appliances and smart features are creeping in there as well. Is there any plan for integration? 

Motwani: We will look at all options, yes. 

Acko Byte: You have previously confirmed that all cloud data is stored in India. Are there assurances of perpetual availability?  

Motwani: We have tried to host all that we can in India on a third-party cloud service that we have tied up with. So that ensures that there are no privacy related concerns; nothing of your private data is compromised. Availability and uptime is guaranteed.

Acko Byte: Do you have plans to monetise these online connected services? Will there be any sort of subscription service?

Motwani: We will have to look at that option. Subscriptions are a much better option to continue to have a revenue stream. 

Acko Byte: So what are your monetisation avenues? 

Motwani: We have not given it a thought as yet, to be honest with you. It's early days for us. 

Acko Byte: The IoT9 is a very expensive product with so many features. What does the average buyer look for? 

Motwani: For the average buyer, it's biometric. And to some extent, even the passcode. People are looking at the convenience of being able to operate the device with a mobile phone – app based or NFC-driven – so that they don't have to depend on anything. They don’t even have to register a fingerprint. 

Acko Byte: What is your most popular product and average selling price? 

Motwani: Our most popular product in retail today is called Catus Connect. It’s priced between ₹10,000-20,000 and it has built-in wireless connectivity for smartphones. 

Acko Byte: Do you see a product like the IoT9 tempting buyers to spend more? 

Motwani: I think there are those who seek the best. Like with automobiles, if there are multiple variants and if you are fascinated by the bells and whistles, you wouldn’t mind paying for the top variant. But the bulk of [consumers] are operating at the entry level and mid-point. 

Acko Byte: Do you see this as a buy-it-for-life product or do you think people will upgrade as often as they upgrade their appliances? 

Motwani: No, I think this will be buy-it-for-life! You don’t have to worry about anything, it gets integrated with almost everything that you can do. It will work with a system integrator and that will help you keep on harnessing the benefits of the technology. 

Acko Byte: In terms of lifecycle, what new features or capabilities can buyers expect through updates?

Motwani: Well, I think many enhancements will happen, including firmware enhancements and other things. I think quite a few updates will be sent out over the air, over the life cycle I do not know how many there will be. We offer a three-year warranty on [the IoT9] but security updates are for the entire life of the product.

Some responses have been slightly condensed and edited for clarity.