Amazon Expands Alexa Smart Properties for Senior Living to UK, Parts of Europe
By Nick Andrews | November 28,
2022
Amazon (Nasdaq: AMZN) is expanding its enterprise Alexa Smart Properties for Senior Living service to operators in the U.K. and parts of Europe.
With the Nov. 23 announcement, the Seattle-based online services and retail giant is giving care providers and assisted living facilities in the U.K., France, Italy and Germany the ability to better manage voice technology at scale.
Already on board with the initiative were U.K.-based operators Majesticare and Morris Care in addition to European operator The Korian Group.
“We’re excited to extend the experiences that customers already love to European care homes and assisted living facilities, and give providers new ways to support their staff while delivering personalized care for their residents,” said Meryem Tom, who heads Amazon’s Alexa EU enterprise.
The service is already in use in the U.S., with previous senior living clients, including Atria Senior Living, Life Care Services and Eskaton.
Many senior living residents currently use Amazon’s voice technology to connect with loved ones, control lighting and temperature in their rooms and stay on top of current events. Operators also use it to disseminate information, such as daily schedules or menus; and improve resident safety.
Alexa Smart Properties is also supported in various other types of real estate outside of senior living, such as office buildings, hotels and multifamily properties.
The news comes amid reports that Amazon plans to cut as many as 10,000 jobs, including many in its devices unit, which handles Alexa services.
A representative for Amazon did not elaborate on the reports or plans to expand the Alexa service overseas when reached by Senior Housing News.
Although the future is unclear for Amazon’s consumer-facing Alexa tech, recent efforts signal the company is still interested in catering to the senior living industry. For example, in July, Amazon announced a contest that would award more than $45,000 in prizes for developers that create senior-living–specific applications for Alexa.