A recent LinkedIn post from Pamela McNally stopped me in my scroll, in the best possible way.
Her point was simple, timely, and important: the language we use around smart home technology no longer matches the reality of the modern home.
She’s right.
For years, the term “smart home” helped give the market a name. It gave media, brands, trade professionals, and consumers a way to talk about connected living in a way that felt fresh, modern, and understandable. It created a narrative, and at the time, that mattered.
But much like the term “smartphone,” there comes a point when the label starts to feel too small for what the thing has become, and I firmly believe the home technology industry has reached that moment.
Technology in today’s home is not standing politely in the corner waiting to be invited into the conversation. It is the conversation. It impacts how a home functions, how it feels, how it supports wellness, how it protects the people inside it, and how easily a homeowner can live day to day. That is not “extra.” That is infrastructure.
Why “Smart Home” No Longer Says Enough
This is also why interior design, design-build, and technology integration continue to move closer together. Designers shape the experience of the home. Builders and design-build professionals help bring that vision to life. Integrators shape how that experience actually works. Those responsibilities are no longer separate lanes. They are increasingly overlapping, complementary, and, when done well, beautifully aligned.
This is why KMB Communications has positioned itself at that intersection of technology + design—because that is where some of the most important conversations about the modern home are happening.
As language evolves, we need to be thoughtful.
Retiring outdated phrasing is one thing. Replacing it with new, competing terms is another. That can create just as much confusion, especially for consumers and adjacent trades already working to understand who does what.
Why Terminology Alignment Matters
A good example is the push in some circles to call Technology Integrators “Technology Designers.” I understand the intention. It sounds elevated. It feels more aligned with design-build conversations. But caution needs to be exercised.
CEDIA has been actively advocating to establish Technology Integrator as a formally recognized occupation within the U.S. Standard Occupational Classification system, and that work has included comprehensive efforts with the federal government that are gaining congressional support. You can read more about that in CEDIA’s article on its effort to establish Technology Integrator as a recognized U.S. occupation.
Fragmenting the terminology now only makes the broader story harder to tell.
Words shape markets. But alignment shapes momentum.
So yes, let’s continue updating the language. Let’s talk less about “smart” as a flashy differentiator and more about technology as an essential, expected, and well-integrated part of modern living. Let’s help clients, designers, architects, builders, and integrators better understand that this work is foundational.
And let’s do it in a way that brings the design-build-integration community closer together without creating more confusion.
If this has you thinking differently about how you talk about your business, or if you’re curious about how to better align with designers or integrators, reach out. These are important conversations, and I’m always happy to have one. You’ve heard me say it, and I’ll say it again: “Here to help!”
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