Turning Connected Data into Business Value: Takeaways from Our Parks Associates Roundtable

On October 15, Ayla Networks CEO John Grady joined Mazen Labban, Vice President and IoT Leader at Culligan, and Burc Sahinoglu, CTO of Owlet Baby Care, for a CONNECTIONS virtual roundtable moderated by Elizabeth Parks, President and CMO of Parks Associates. The question at the center: once devices are in the field and reporting data, how do brands turn that data into better experiences and a stronger business?

Why it pays to launch a smart home product in 2026 

Parks Associates shared research showing that the average U.S. internet household now has about 17 connected devices, and nearly half own at least one smart home device. Manufacturers report that smart product lines command an average 44% price premium over traditional lines, and 58% attach a paid service.

That premium invites scrutiny. Grady noted that bill-of-materials costs for connected devices are rising, and brands are asking what they get in return: "Is the consumer happier? Are they stickier?" With 32% of companies reporting higher return rates for connected products, the answer depends on what brands do with their data

How brands are putting device data to work today

Ayla partners like Culligan and Owlet are leveraging their cloud data to reduce costs while improving the customer experience.

Culligan is moving its service model from "truck first" to "data first." Diagnostic alarms now let the company resolve roughly 30% of service cases remotely. A full drip tray on a commercial dispenser, for example, triggers a simple automated customer instruction instead of a technician visit. Usage data also helps Culligan anticipate consumable reorders and spot early churn signals.

Meanwhile, Owlet sorts its data into three buckets: data the service depends on, usage data, and device telemetry. Usage data indicated that some customers struggle with QR-code camera setup, so Owlet added Bluetooth setup to its next-generation camera, and setup-related support calls dropped.

Installers are gaining new tools, too. Culligan's Service Pro app lets technicians connect machines, update firmware and guide customers through app setup. Grady said installers have been "underserved for a long, long time," and that giving them data, dashboards and configuration tools, as Ayla does with its Dealer Hub, helps them move beyond break-fix work into ongoing service relationships.

The next frontier: making data do more

At Culligan, Labban's priority is making data "AI-ready," structuring service records, alarm codes and resolution codes so AI can pinpoint an issue down to the part number needed. He added that field teams must trust the data before it changes how they work. The panel was unanimous on this one: Both Grady and Sahinoglu cautioned that AI can produce false confidence, so teams need guardrails and product knowledge to validate what models find. 

Sahinoglu described an effort to "democratize" Owlet's data so sales and marketing can query it through a prompt. He highlighted one insight that might otherwise stay buried on an engineer's desktop: sock usage rises during flu and RSV season. 

Edge computing is another frontier. Grady said Ayla's video service sharpened its focus on edge processing to control cloud costs. Sahinoglu was blunt: "I'm not running AI in the cloud. I'm running AI on the device." Labban sees edge AI helping devices self-heal when they lose connectivity. 

The ROI of owning and operationalizing device data

With the right systems in place, the payoff compounds. Grady said AI applied to support data promotes deeper issue correlation. For brands sitting on large volumes of telemetry, Grady advised starting narrow: tie the data to a specific customer pain point, such as activation or feature adoption, and improve incrementally from there.

As a full-stack IoT platform, Ayla helps its partners evolve from data collection to operationalization. Its IoT platform connects and manages devices and gives the 65+ brands it serves the insights to improve onboarding, support and the product itself over time, with support for Matter, video and installer tools. 

If you're planning your next connected product or want more from devices already in the field, contact Ayla to talk about building a data-driven connected experience. To learn more about how Ayla and its partners are leveraging connected data today, access the full webinar  on the Parks Associates YouTube channel.