Though Avi Rosenthal, managing partner at bluesalve partners, is a recent addition to the Z-Wave Board of Directors, he’s no stranger to the Z-Wave Alliance and working to advance the smart home industry. Starting his career as an integrator, Rosenthal has an acute awareness of the dealer side of the business and even installed some of the very first Z-Wave devices, some of which he’s still using today.
“To this day I have a PIR sensor and a light switch that I associated with each other in 2002. They have been moved to 5 different master bedrooms in the last 20 years – and this combo has continued to turn on the light on in my master bedroom for the last two decades,” says Rosenthal.
After years of working as an integrator with challenging products that were not truly solving problems, Rosenthal entered the manufacturer side of the business, developing products and full portfolios of Z-Wave-based smart home devices across five different organizations. Now as a managing partner at bluesalve, Rosenthal uses his deep experience with the Z-Wave protocol and the smart home industry to help companies in every stage of product development from ideation to engineering to marketing and everything in-between. To hear Rosenthal tell it “If you have an idea on a cocktail napkin, we are there to help you through the process of development to understand if there is a place in the market for your product, who will buy it, and what the next steps should be.” Further demonstrating their full-service consulting talents, those Z-Wave members who have new product to migrate to the 800 series, bluesalve is prepared with engineering resources that can offer manufacturers help with the transition.
In many ways, joining the Z-Wave Board again is a coming home for Rosenthal. His experience as a member and volunteer with the Z-Wave Alliance goes back to the Zensys days and he continues to find similar value in being a member as he did then.
“These are my people,” says Rosenthal. “The camaraderie among Z-Wave members is unique, and what I really enjoy is this sense of striving to do better as a group. Sometimes members get hung up on the competition side of things, but I think there is a much deeper benefit to be gained. Being a part of the Z-Wave Alliance, has given us access to an idea of timelines for what is being developed. That information is invaluable, you always want to know where the industry is going to be when your new product is being launched.”
Rosenthal calls attention to the fact that Z-Wave’s growth and continual health as a protocol and organization is driven by member contributions that come out of the working groups, he adds, “The best way anyone can get involved with making an impact for both their organization and for the Z-Wave Alliance is by joining a working group – there is a huge level of influence and satisfaction to be had when you contribute to the level of comfort, convenience, and safety people feel in their homes, and that is important.”
If you’re ready to start contributing your time and talents to the Z-Wave Alliance, check out the committees and working groups or contact administration@z-wavealliance.org.