California-based Ayla Networks has announced support for smart home manufacturers and retailers that intend to adopt the Matter standard.

The Matter connectivity protocol is due to be released later this year. Until now, interconnectivity among smart home devices has been complex. Matter solves that problem with a standard that ensures seamless and secure connectivity with all Matter-compliant devices within the home.

“Matter essentially levels the playing field for seamless interconnectivity of smart home devices, so it’s time for manufacturers to rethink their value propositions and provide products that focus on the user experience,” said Jonathan Cobb, CEO of Ayla Networks. “As a member of the Connectivity Standards Alliance leading the initiative, Ayla is ready now to support customers moving to Matter.”

Ayla’s IoT platform rapidly transforms any device into a smart, connected product. The company makes it easier for smart home device manufacturers to connect their devices locally and to the cloud, thanks to its partnership with Chinese semiconductor firm Espressif, which is offering the option of Ayla software on its Matter-compliant chipsets and modules.

Device manufacturers, smart home platforms and retailers want to preserve the day-to-day metrics of their devices and maintain a relationship with their customers. However, connectivity standardisation could lead to overly simplistic functionality, driven by third-party apps and ecosystems. To avoid this outcome, Ayla provides developers and retailers with apps, tools and metrics to enable them to perform data analytics on the data generated by their connected devices so they can better understand their smart home products’ usage and performance to enhance their value to users.

“Ayla ensures that you have an excellent, branded user experience as a hedge against customers leaving your ecosystem,” said Cobb. “As IoT platform experts, we’ll not only help integrate your products into the Matter standard, we’ll also future-proof your solution as standards and use cases evolve.”

Matter is a significant initiative for device compatibility, but it does not encompass the entire smart home. That is why Ayla provides manufacturers and retailers with a comprehensive Matter-compliant platform that includes functionality not addressed by the standard. This includes features such as cloud access, device management, user management, device schedules, support for non-Matter devices, data analytics and a user app.

Since its founding in 2010, Ayla has been the IoT platform behind connected products from consumer brands, including SharkNinja, Owlet, Canadian Tire, Kenmore, Hunter Fan, Fujitsu and Schneider Electric.

Ayla’s software platform includes device, cloud, application, analytics and machine learning capabilities to drive the development and launch of differentiated connected products and services. By leveraging the Ayla IoT platform, providers could realise future-proofed, secure, connected products in a short time with lower risk.