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By Dan Ilett, 12 July 2005 11:27

NEWS The cost and complexity of IT is stopping people from buying technology for the digital home, research has found.

More than three-quarters (80 per cent) of people think it is too expensive to network entertainment, home security and healthcare systems, according to consultancy Accenture.

The company defines the digital converged home as entertainment (home theatre and hi-fis), healthcare (enabling doctors to remotely measure blood pressure, pulse and temperature), home management (controlled security sensors, locks, fire detection and cameras) and the virtual office (voice, email and fax).

More than two-thirds of respondents said they would prefer a single vendor for content, services and digital devices for the house.

Al Delattre, a partner in Accenture's Communications, said: "Despite strong consumer desire for a single aggregator for converged or complete digital home packages, many companies in this space provide only a portion of the content or services that comprise the complete digital home. In order to truly meet consumer needs, stronger collaboration and partnerships among hardware, content and service companies is imperative."

Most consumers (56 per cent) said saving money would have to be the most important benefit for them to invest in digital home technology.

But only four per cent of respondents said they could afford the services, while 48 per cent said it would be affordable within five years. Almost one-quarter (24 per cent) said they would never be able to buy networked home technology.

Delattre added: "Consumers will increasingly become more of a development driver for digital home solutions. But it is clear that the technology itself is just one piece - business models and customer support are almost as important as the product itself. Without demonstrated and specific consumer preferences to drive adoption of the digital home concept, it will continue to be just that - a concept."

Research International conducted the survey for Accenture earlier this year. Of the 2,600 respondents, 1,000 were from the US and 400 were from each of the following countries: France, Germany, Japan and the UK.