City Lifestyle

Want to start a publication?

Learn More

Featured Article

The Smart Home, Simplified

Gattas Home Innovations Helps You Enjoy your Home to its Fullest

George Gattas is a local small business owner who loves technology and helping Memphians enjoy their homes to the fullest. George started his home automation firm, Gattas Home Innovations, in September 2019. “I was in medical sales for 27 successful years when I realized I was ready to make a change. I wanted to do something I loved and I figured I would make money and would look forward to getting up each day.”

A pandemic hit the nation six months after George opened his business and it turned out to be pivotal to his early success. “When COVID hit, I thought I was doomed. People weren’t going to work and I worried that they would not be interested at all in home automation. But the reverse happened. They were spending so much more time at home and realized that they wanted to be able to easily enjoy music and television. Also, people were setting up home offices and meeting on Zoom calls. They needed to upgrade their networks in order to speed up their internet and wifi.”

George’s website (GattasHome.com) states that his company’s main goal is to simplify home systems to where the not so tech-savvy person can operate them with ease. “When I meet with homeowners I begin by asking about their needs and really listening. What is important is what they want, not what I want to sell them. I go into a lot of homes and they have all this technology, half of which they don’t need or understand how to work. It is not uncommon to find five remote controls on the coffee table.”

George offers a streamlined approach to home automation. His company provides audio visual installation, home networking and automation, video surveillance and outdoor lighting. And all of these services can be run and managed on a smart phone and with universal remotes, easily found at your local electronics store. “It used to be that you had to purchase a proprietary operating system for each of these services. There was one system to run your music and another for your TV, lighting, pool, security system, etc. If you had a problem, you had to contact the rep for that company, who might be in Nashville or Birmingham, and they would have to come out to fix the issue.”

George says that he is like the old Maytag repairman, the “loneliest guy in town,” because his customers simply don’t need the tech support that previous systems required. “In many cases, my clients are able to easily troubleshoot if they have an issue with their automation and they don’t need me at all.”

If they do need George, however, he is always available to help. Several clients confirmed that he answers their calls, even in the evenings and on weekends, and is able to share screens so that he can see exactly what the client is seeing. Walking them through the solution is generally easy to do, but he makes house calls as well if necessary. “I just want my clients to be able to enjoy listening to music and watching tv in their home, feel safe with security cameras and alarms, and benefit from a strong network.”