Audio Video News

Control4, a leader in smart home controls systems, today announced its acquisition of Ihiji, a company specializing in technology that enables home tech integrators to service connected homes remotely over the internet.

The acquisition, which combines Control4’s BakPak technology with Ihiji’s Invision system, will yield powerful device monitoring and management capabilities that will enable installation professionals to better support smart-home owners, according to Control4.

The company also announced the elimination of all subscription fees associated with the Ihiji Invision service in an effort to make it easier and “more financially efficient” for integrators to provide remote management services to their customers.

“Connected home opportunities are emerging globally, and their individual performance, reliability, and resilience are foundational to all successful installations,” said Control4 CEO Martin Plaehn. “By combining Control4’s BakPak, with its strong network management capabilities, and Ihiji’s Invision, with its industry-leading device monitoring and management capabilities, Control4 can provide a set of unified cloud-based services to our dealers to securely and efficiently monitor end-customer systems. Dealers will receive alerts when performance concerns are detected; they can then remotely identify the root cause and initiate resolution actions, all without being on-premise. This will improve homeowner satisfaction through prompt and preemptive service, in a time-saving and cost-effective manner.”

Plaehn said the companies are working together to develop a unified cloud-based service platform that will be made available in phases to Control4 and Ihiji dealers and their customers later in the year. The goal is to operate a single integrated monitoring and services experience that provides installation companies with complete visibility and control at the network level, including the ability to access and control more than 2,000 third-party products.

Ihiji technology currently works with gear from a number of leading AV and technology companies, including Cisco, Crestron, Dell, Denon, D-Link, Integra, Marantz, Netgear, Onkyo, Savant, Sony, and Yamaha.

“By providing dealers with the ability to monitor and manage thousands of devices, we are enabling them to detect and remediate issues remotely — often before a customer is aware there is even a problem,” said Ihiji CEO Stuart Rench.