I can't help but wonder if some of y'all even listen to your clients. The majority of people I deal with, from higher end down to that mid market that most integrators completely ignore or can't sell to because they don't understand their needs, don't see the multiple app scenario as inconvenient. Especially when, as mentioned numerous times in this thread, most of those devices' apps are better for the specific device than what you get when integrated into a control system's interface. The control system may still have a place, but it's a shrinking space, and it really doesn't make sense for most clients outside of the very high end market, and even then it's not always necessary and often not at all what the client actually wants. But we, as an industry, have brainwashed ourselves into believing that if it's not all tied to a control system, it's not done right. Maybe ten years ago, but those days are gone. Especially since most control system manufacturers are just rolling out buggy, untested junk as fast as they can.

2 years ago, I would have argued against everything I'm saying now. But the reality is, when we sell a control system, we're selling snake oil and a commitment to swindle the client again and again every time the control system gets outpaced by current technology. We may not believe we're swindling people, but we are. We sell people high dollar systems that are pretty well guaranteed to cost them again and again. Think about every time Control4 has rolled out an update that basically renders older systems obsolete. Every control system manufacturer is guilty of it, too, not just C4, but some of their fiascos from years past help them stand out.

We might think we're some bunch of cool tech guys that deliver this great experience, but we're not. At least, not if we're selling everything around a control system on jobs where it's nowhere even close to necessary. We're no better than greasy car salesmen. I for one am done with it. At least if a client's Nest thermostat needs replaced by some new, great, and wondrous piece, it's not going to cost them f*cktons of money because the whole ecosystem has to be replaced to accommodate one or two new components. Factor in that most control systems seem to have a maximum life of ten years, and we're really looking like the villains. At least with the multi app approach, things can be dealt with as they happen in the case of outdated product, or even product failure, rather than knowing that the whole thing will have to go in ten years.

And that, my friends, is the hard truth that we as an industry had better come to grips with if we want to survive.