The Alliance Creates New Membership Tier to Increase Access to IoT Markets

Associate Membership Allows Companies to Easily and Affordably Add Alliance Certified Technology to Product Portfolios

DAVIS, California – February 6, 2020 The Zigbee Alliance, an organization of hundreds of companies creating, maintaining, and delivering open, global standards for the Internet of Things (IoT), today announced a new Associate membership tier which allows access to the Certification Transfer Program. The Zigbee Alliance Certification Transfer Program offers companies one more path to joining the Zigbee Alliance ecosystem of Certified Products. The program enables Zigbee Alliance Participant and Promoter members to offer their Certified Products to customers for re-branding/white labeling while maintaining the Zigbee Certified status of those products. The introduction of the new membership level supports the Alliance’s mission of creating a more accessible and open IoT.

Associate Membership & Certification Transfer Program

The new membership tier paired with the updated Certification Transfer Program offers organizations multiple business benefits for IoT market participation. The basis of the program provides a low-risk option that encourages the proliferation of smart products into existing business offerings. Associate membership provides the opportunity to bring products to the market without expending valuable resources on product design and development.

“The updated Certification Transfer Program is well-suited for companies interested in adding proven, reliable smart products to their current IoT menu,” said Jon Harros, Director of Certification and Testing Programs at the Zigbee Alliance. “We’ve been extremely excited to roll out this new level of access as it gives organizations a low-cost option for certification, while also providing a layer of visibility and collaboration within the Alliance itself.”

Associate level members can use the respective Zigbee Certified Product logo on qualified devices. Logo usage identifies interoperable products and establishes trust between consumers and brands; for companies new to the IoT space, fostering this trust is essential to brand prosperity.

“Allowing more companies to certify products while maintaining a high standard for certification is an activity we’ve always been focused on – and this new membership tier enables us to extend the benefits of the Zigbee brand to more businesses playing in the IoT field,” said John E. Osborne II, General Manager, North America at LEEDARSON and Chairman of the Board for the Zigbee Alliance. “This new program also incentivizes more current members to take advantage of the updated Certification Transfer Program to expand the reach of their certified products across categories and continents.”

How It Works

The new membership tier certifies products through the Zigbee Certification Transfer Program. Differentiating points of the Associate Membership program include:

  • No annual membership fee.
  • Associate members must certify via a Certification Transfer from a Participant or higher-level member company.
  • Associate members are subject to a separate certification fee structure:
    • USD 500 per application;
    • USD 500 for the public listing of the certification at www.zigbeealliance.org (due upon submission of the application);
    • USD 500 annual fee for maintenance of the public listing (due annually on the anniversary date of the grant of certification).

Additional details about the new program can be found on the Certification Transfer Program page at www.zigbeealliance.org.  

About the Zigbee Alliance

The Zigbee Alliance is the foundation and future of the Internet of Things. Established in 2002, our wide-ranging global membership collaborates to create and evolve universal open standards for the products transforming the way we live, work, and play. With our members’ deep and diverse expertise, robust certification programs, and a full suite of open IoT solutions – including the recently announced Project Connected Home over IP – we are leading the movement toward a more intuitive, imaginative, and useful world. The Zigbee Alliance board of directors is comprised of executives from Amazon, Apple, Comcast, Google, IKEA, The Kroger Co., LEEDARSON, Legrand, Lutron Electronics, MMB Networks, NXP Semiconductors, Resideo, Schneider Electric, Signify (formerly Philips Lighting), Silicon Labs, SmartThings, Somfy, STMicroelectronics, Texas Instruments, and Wulian. www.zigbeealliance.org  www.connectedhomeip.com 

Media Contact:
Heather Chesterman
PR for the Zigbee Alliance
[email protected]
+1-714-389-5588