Company Simplifies and Secures Connected Products and the Internet of Things
Tuesday, May 24, marked the availability of Cirrent, the new way to connect any smart, connected product to the Internet automatically and securely. Cirrent’s service enables connected products—such as home thermostats and televisions—to connect to the Internet automatically and securely, right out of the box.
With more things on the Internet than people, it’s predicted there will be 30 billion devices online by 2020—ranging from sprinkler systems to teddy bears. In fact, approximately 88% of consumer electronic devices shipped in 2015 were Internet-enabled. Before Cirrent, the setup process for most connected products involved multiple steps, confusing passwords, and in more than 20% of cases, consumers failing to connect their “smart” products to the Internet at all (source: Accenture). The difficulty of getting products connected to Wi-Fi is a fundamental barrier to the adoption of connected products, and results in lost sales, high support costs, and high returns. Cirrent addresses these issues head on by making products secure, reliable, and easy to use, which adds directly to the bottom line of the product companies.
Today, Cirrent is teaming with broadband providers in the U.S. and Western Europe who have created millions of home hotspots which provide a separate, secure Wi-Fi connection that is managed independently of the subscriber’s private network. Cirrent helps companies that make Wi-Fi connected products use these hotspots to connect their products automatically.
Cirrent not only makes it easier for connected product manufacturers to connect their products to the Internet, it also improves security. Many connected products have security weaknesses that leave home Wi-Fi networks vulnerable to being hacked. In fact, 47% of households with broadband Wi-Fi express privacy or security concerns about at least one smart home device (source: Parks Associates). Cirrent provides multiple levels of security and enables products to connect to Wi-Fi outside of a customer’s private network, keeping personal data safe.
Cirrent was founded by “Internet of Things” veteran Rob Conant, who was previously CMO at Trilliant, a smart grid communications company. Before that, Conant co‐founded an early leader in the Internet of Things, Dust Networks, which was acquired by Linear Technologies in 2011. The technical team is led by CTO Barbara Nelson, who joined Cirrent from iPass where she ran product development and operations.
The difficulty of getting consumer products connected to the Internet really hit home for Conant when he helped his Mother-in-law install her new printer in 2014. “There were six possible ways for her to connect the printer to her home Wi-Fi network, and multiple complicated passwords. It was much harder than it needed to be,” said Conant. “That’s when I came up with the idea for Cirrent. Getting consumer products connected to the Internet has always been a challenge and a major sticking point for manufacturers. I founded Cirrent to solve this problem, and help companies create products that seamlessly connect without trading off security for ease of use, so people can confidently enjoy their products right out of the box.”
About Cirrent
Founded in 2014 and located in San Mateo, California, Cirrent’s mission is to make Internet‐connected products simple and secure for mainstream consumers, and to make it easy for product companies to add value by connecting their products to the Internet. For more information or to experience a demo, please visit www.cirrent.com.
Contact:
Brie LaFleur
916‐672‐7738
