It's totally the insurance thing. My cousin owns a small hardware store, and his premium dropped by like 30% after he got the connected system. The city might be giving out some grants too, which would explain the sudden rush. Basically, they're all getting a nudge from their wallets. It's cheaper in the long run to upgrade now than to pay the old rates.
Is this part of that push for smarter cities? I read somewhere that local grants and insurance breaks are pushing these upgrades hard. Makes sense why everyone's jumping on it now.