Today, news was announced that Google acquired home tech company, Nest, for a cool $3.2 billion in cash. With Nest behind some incredible products including a revolutionary Thermostat and smoke-alarm, we at The Practice are wondering what both parties will gain from the transaction, and what we might expect from the partnership.

Nest specialises in designing and building well-thought products for the home, to minimise fuss, maximise safety, and save energy. So far, the company founded by Tony Fadell and Matt Rogers, a former Apple iPod and iPhone software developer and engineer, have created devices that give a whole new meaning to those mundane home control systems we take for granted. These include their best-selling energy-saving Thermostat, and a smoke alarm that ensures complete safety by testing for carbon monoxide levels. Nest’s products can also be controlled via the Nest app on Android, iPhone or iPad, so users can adjust temperatures and other variables on their devices, even when they’re out and about. Fadell argues that the move will be important for Nest- he states, “Google will help us fully realize our vision of the conscious home and allow us to change the world faster than we ever could if we continued to go it alone.”

We wonder what is likely to come from the deal in terms of new products? Perhaps Google will use Nest to support its own ventures into home technology- just last December, the company ran a trial of a new program called EnergySense, testing home thermostat systems connected to the Internet, with the aim of helping consumers monitor and make changes to their energy use. On the other side, Nest has also made past attempts to produce more connected home devices, but has fallen short- therefore we can see that the partnership will definitely be a case of two heads being better than one. We’d love to see smart thermostat systems form the future of the collaboration, and maybe other innovative products such as connected and eco-friendly home appliances such as ovens, fridges, and washing machines!

And the deal certainly looks beneficial for both Google and Nest, not only in terms of future product launches or joint creations, but also due to the fact that both offer each other patent protections. Currently, Nest has 100 patents granted, with 200 on file, however, the company have also faced technology patent threats from other manufacturers- something that having Google on board might assuage with their existing patent grants across the technology sector. And what about Nest’s own future? Might it fall victim to a demise experienced by other Google-owned startups? It’s something to be aware of, and yet we’re pretty certain that Google wouldn’t have so readily spent the sum it did on acquiring Nest if it wasn’t going to significantly further its own interests. The only concern we have, is that now Google has ownership of Nest’s products, the company might soon be privy to customer data, particularly that given by consumers when imputing information into future connected home devices. For now though, Nest stands firmly by its own privacy policy, but we will wait to see how consumers’ data is handled in the future.

Are you looking forward to seeing what emerges from Google’s acquisition of Nest? Do you think we might soon see Google products for the home? We’d love to hear your thoughts on this exciting news, so please tweet to us @PracticeDigital and share your comments on our Facebook page.