There are some standards already and a lot of the big companies use them already. Amazon's Alexa uses Zigbee to communicate with 3rd party devices and can act a

There are some standards already and a lot of the big companies use them already. Amazon's Alexa uses Zigbee to communicate with 3rd party devices and can act as a defacto hub. Zigbee is an open protocol with no licensing fees (or at least cheaper than Z-wave, it's slight more reliable, but more expensive, cousin protocol). Many devices are now opting for control over HTTP which is fairly reliable, even if your outside internet connection goes down. It's also easy to setup and discover. There is a larger security concern for these types of devices, but common sense will go a long way towards keeping you protected until more rigorous standards can be agreed upon. Home automation does not, and in my opinion, should not require and outgoing internet connection. My network is accessible from outside because I want it to be and I've accepted the potential risks (though tunneling into my own network is always an option should I want to go that route).