the problem with me is that , i just joined the field few months ago . i was following this guide : https://www.mksmarthouse.com/guides
that is based on 4 main parts :
1- setting up a home network
2- setting up a home automation server using a rasbperry pi and openhab
3- setting up the remote access
4- then you can start adding your devices ( smart switches , plugs , fire systems , …etc )
my pivotal confusion is that i found that sonoff and shelly , for example , provides much simpler systems that doesn’t need rasbperry pi or openhab , you just attach the device ( switch , plug . …etc ) with electricity and bind it with thier own app , that simple . the question is why i would be forced to use a complex system while there is more simpler systems provided ?
How can you define interactions between the shelly and the sonoff, e.g. when the shelly device gets switched on, the sonoff device should be switched on for 5 minutes.
You need a system in the middle to handle this which is capable of talking to both devices.
There are tons of examples.
If the shelly controls a garden sprinkler, how do you tell the shelly device not to start the sprinkler because it’s going to rain within the next 6 hours?
Are you happy that your sonoff devices are talking to chinese servers or would you prefer them to talk locally to a system?
What happens to your sonoff devices if you do not have an internet connection? Can they still be controlled with the app?
So nobody is forcing you to use openHAB or any other home automation system. But if you have devices from different manufacturers with different communication protocols and you want to control them from a single point you need such a system.
I migth be getting old, but you asked this before, my answer would remain the same!
https://community.openhab.org/t/sonoff-smart-home/100187
thanks for interest for the second time 
it seems very clear and useful for me … thanks a lot
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