Sanket Sawant, CEDIA’s New Regional Consultant for India spoke about his future vision for India and more…
Tell us a little about yourself and how you started your career in the industry.
Music is the reason I became part of this industry. I started my career in this industry in 2003 as a Service Engineer, then got promoted to Project Engineer and later moved into Sales and Business Development roles. During my sales stint, I’ve handled regions from Asia Pacific to Middle East/Africa. I’ve been in the industry for 19 years, and I look forward to many more years to come.
When did you first hear about CEDIA? What made you want to get involved?
The first time I heard about CEDIA was in 2007, when I worked for an integrator and handled the execution of luxurious residential projects. It took years for me to get involved with CEDIA, but it’s important to fill the gap between the expectation of the end-users and the integrators through advocacy, connection, and education. I am keen on using my experience and connections and look forward to making new connections to develop the market.
What do you hope to do as the CEDIA Regional Consultant in India?
First, we tackle the toughest business problems and work closely with our extremely talented members. We will continue with the Tech Summits that have been held over the past few years but will also introduce new regional bootcamps to train technicians with the help of local trainers in India.
In your experience, how is India’s technology landscape different from other parts of the world?
In particular, India has been at the center of technological development since it’s independence. India was ranked at 40th in the Global Innovation Index in 2022. The penetration of smart home devices in India is lower than in western countries, but the pandemic has certainly accelerated the adoption of connected devices in the country.
According to a recent report by Allied Market Research, the Indian home automation market was estimated at $1.79 billion in 2018 and is expected to reach $13.5 billion by 2026, growing at a CAGR of 29.8%.
What do the terms smart home and home technology mean to you?
Technology has revolutionized our world and daily lives. Things we used to watch in science fiction movies are now a reality. Smart home technology, to me, means amenities in a home controlled through communication which can either be an automation, touch, or voice command. These things make life easier, but at the same time we need to consider privacy. If we don’t look into the details, being so connected gives companies access to your data and it’s an extremely important issue that many people don’t take it seriously.
What do you want people to know about our industry?
I want people to know that we’re here to create awareness in every part of the world, advance the industry through education and research initiatives, recognize industry achievements, educate the customer, and set standards and best practices.
If you had to pick one piece of technology you couldn’t live without, what would it be?
‘Internet’ as it’s the backbone of all things connected. Be it for entertainment, connecting with family and friends, streaming music or movies to the smart TVs at home, it’s impossible to live without it.
What is the project you are most excited about working on at CEDIA during your first year?
The Mumbai Tech Summit taking place from the 10- 12April. This will be the first event I am involved in organizing for CEDIA, and a great opportunity to bring the industry together. It will be wonderful to meet so many of the members I’ve been speaking to over the past six weeks.
What’s the best way or place for people to ask you a question and get to know you?
Anyone can feel free to contact me anytime directly at [email protected] or can reach me on +91-9833901040
