Microsoft joins the AllSeen Alliance as it ramps up connected device efforts
The AllSeen Alliance, the organization pushing for the AllJoyn open standard for connected devices, has netted Microsoft as a member. Microsoft joins members such as Haier, Sears, LG, Panasonic …
Context & Ripple Effects
The AllSeen Alliance was formed in December 2013 around Qualcomm's AllJoyn standard, with consumer names like Haier, LG, Panasonic and Sears as founding members but no major operating-system vendor inside. Microsoft, meanwhile, has been building connected-home software on its own terms since it forged ahead with a dedicated home-automation OS back in 2012.
Joining AllJoyn marks a shift from building alone to shaping a shared standard, and the pickup was broad — Reuters, ZDNet, Computerworld, PC World and others all ran the story the same day, which is unusually wide syndication for a standards-body membership announcement.
First-order effects
- Microsoft gains a seat in the AllJoyn specification process, letting it align its connected-device and home-automation work with the standard rather than against it.
- Existing members Haier, LG, Panasonic and Sears get a mainstream software-platform vendor inside the alliance, strengthening the argument that AllJoyn is the default interop layer for appliances.
Second-order effects
- Appliance makers in the alliance can now target Windows-based devices and services as certified AllJoyn endpoints, widening their addressable market beyond mobile-centric ecosystems.
- Rival standards groups lose a prospective marquee member and face renewed pressure to recruit their own OS-level backers before the membership map hardens.
Third-order effects
- If OS vendors keep joining multi-vendor alliances instead of shipping proprietary stacks, the competitive moat in the smart home moves from owning the device protocol to controlling the software and services layer above an open standard.
The trend: Connected-home competition is consolidating around shared interoperability standards, with platform vendors joining consortia rather than betting on closed protocols of their own.