With competition in the home automation market growing, Staples is stepping away from its Staples Connect platform while continuing to focus on building the Staples Easy System smart-ordering service. Staples Connect is an application-based platform for managing smart home devices such as thermostats, sensors, appliances and more. While Staples will no longer be selling the products in its stores or online, Z-Wave Products will continue to offer customer support and Staples Connect and Zonoff will make updates to the app.