Making Matter: How the CSA Supports Smart Home Brands
The Connectivity Standards Alliance (CSA) oversees the development of Matter, the emerging standard for smart home devices. CSA board chair, Musa Unmehopa recently explored how brands can engage with the CSA, from collaboration and certification to building a successful Matter ecosystem.
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Over the past 12 months we’ve seen a steady increase in the number of Matter-compatible devices hitting the marketplace. But how do smart home brands with an interest in Matter get involved with the Connectivity Standards Alliance (CSA), the body that oversees development of the standard?
We’ve recently learned that developments in the smart home device certification process have been welcomed by key players. But what about newcomers to the smart home and IoT markets?
A recent video from the CSA’s board chair, Musa Unmehopa, explains what the process is.
What Is the CSA?
Basically, there is no smart home without the CSA. Its membership base - encompassing over 700 members from across the globe – consists of household names and a few significant but largely unknown companies, along with small and medium-sized enterprises, and even individual startups.
They’re mostly based in Asia, Europe, and the Americas.
The CSA invites innovators to join their community and contribute their expertise to the advancement of the IoT. By becoming a member, individuals and organizations can play a vital role in shaping the future of connected devices and experiences.
The CSA’s Mission Matters
At its core, the CSA serves as a crucial hub where "leading innovators from around the globe come together to collaboratively create the foundation for The Internet of Things."
The CSA's mission is to facilitate a world of seamless interconnection, which it aims to achieve through three key pillars.
1. Creation: The organization collaborates with engineers to develop the standards and technologies that underpin the IoT.
2. Certification: The CSA operates a rigorous testing and certification program to ensure compliance and interoperability. "What this really means," explains Unmehopa, "is that a consumer can pick up a device, look for a brand or a logo, and be confident that it will interconnect securely with any other product that bears the same brand or logo." We’re mainly concerned with Matter, but the same can be true of Zigbee.
3. Promotion: The CSA actively promotes the benefits of global, open, and collaborative standards.
Collaboration Is the Key
We’ve recently heard from Bosch’s Christian Thess on the importance of collaboration between Matter device manufacturers. This is something Unmehopa also emphasizes, describing a “great collaborative process.”
"We have a number of brands already in the market today with Zigbee Smart Energy and green power with Matter […] and with our verified Mark for product security. The great thing is we continue to expand - we add use cases, we add device types... we continue to build the ecosystem."
The welcoming atmosphere of these videos from the CSA is clearly intended to bring IoT and smart home developers into the world of Matter. That can only be a good thing for the evolution of the smart home.