Opportunities and Challenges for Home Security

Opportunities and Challenges for Home Security

Your home will be getting smarter and able to do more for you

Opportunities and Challenges for Home SecurityWhere is home security headed?” A better question is, “Where can’t it go?” ABI research recently predicted that in the next five years, smart home services will grow 37 percent in the United States. New automation solutions are opening all kinds of new possibilities for customers who are looking to integrate convenience and security.

As always, competition is the best indicator of growth. The entire market has shifted with the entry of telecom giants like AT&T, Verizon and Comcast, which is expected to finalize its merger with Time Warner Cable later this year.

Rapidly growing technology brings both opportunities and challenges to our industry that dealers are digesting now and will be down the road as home automation creates remote lifestyle options that simplify a customer’s daily schedule.

Electronic Dispatch

The Central Station Alarm Association’s ASAP (Automated Secure Alarm Protocol) program is a national program in which police departments and monitoring centers exchange dispatch information electronically to reduce average dispatch time to a matter of seconds. ASAP has a serious automated premise: cooperation among central stations and law enforcement to get assistance to individuals more quickly during emergencies. It’s currently available in select areas: Houston, Texas; Richmond, York County and James City County, Va.; Washington, D.C. and Tempe, Ariz.

“Electronic dispatching has been a dream of mine since getting into the monitoring business,” said Darin Anderson, vice president of monitoring operations at Monitronics, an ASAP charter member. “I have always seen the potential to utilize technology in this way, but it was not a reality when I left the alarm business in 2010.

“When I came to Monitronics in 2012, I happened to land in a central station that was participating in ASAP, and it rekindled my belief in its potential.”

If enough of the country’s 6,000 PSAP’s (Public Safety Answering Points) team up with the hundreds of operational monitoring centers, ASAP could become an industry game-changer. This program dramatically speeds up emergency response and eliminates human error in transferring information between operators. Everyone wins—alarm companies, emergency agencies and customers.

Video Monitoring and Apps

Remote video and image surveillance has generally seen less market penetration than other interactive service features. With the cost of IP cameras dropping, it’s becoming more cost-effective for customers and an even greater upsell opportunity for dealers.

New viewing options are available for customers with cameras in and around their home. Touchscreen devices enable homeowners to view video directly from their panel. If the camera’s pointing at their front door, they can see who knocked/unlocked their door right from the screen.

New technology is benefiting dealers in everyday operations. Dealer programs, like Monitronics’, have created exclusive mobile applications for their dealers in the field.

Their eContract app allows salespeople to quickly complete an electronic version of each contract in the customer’s home from an iPad or Android tablet. It saves dealers money and presents contracts to customers in a digital format that corresponds with their interactive products.

LOCATE, currently being piloted by their program, gathers vital information about customers in a given area: names, household incomes, and whether they own or rent. It syncs with Google Maps to provide accurate, up-to-date addresses and directions. Salespeople can address customers by name and build an instant rapport at the door.

Other public apps can also make life easier for dealers:

iTeleport acts as a traveling PC, allowing control of an office desktop computer from a tablet or smartphone.

BatchGeo creates a simple map that plots all customers or prospects via Google Maps. Dealers can pop in to visit old customers while they’re in the neighborhood, see how service is going and ask for referrals. All it takes is uploading a client, like CSV list, onto the app’s website, and then setting parameters and rules.

Google Voice is a convenient traveling tool that routes all calls from a dealer’s office or cellphone to a single, unique Google Voice number. A free, local phone number can be created to distribute to customers that will route to an out-of-state number, which creates a local feel with customers who might normally ignore an out-of-state phone call.

The 2G Sunset

Now, a challenge. One byproduct of evolving technology is it eventually gets outdated. The inevitable 2G technology phase-out affects all kinds of service, but this is critical information for customers who rely on their alarm to protect them via active communication to a central station.

AT&T and other wireless carriers have started the 2G sunset in certain areas of the U.S. Current customers’ cellular radios or panels must be replaced to ensure their alarm monitoring service continues without interuption.

The challenge for security companies is staying aware of fading cell towers, informing their customers of the impending changes and making updates in an efficient manner. All of that requires understanding the costs for repair work and contacting customers about the change to their equipment.

This article originally appeared in the July 2014 issue of Security Today.

Featured

  • Freedom of Choice

    In today's security landscape, we are witnessing a fundamental transformation in how organizations manage digital evidence. Law enforcement agencies, campus security teams, and large facility operators face increasingly complex challenges with expanding video data, tightening budget constraints and inflexible systems that limit innovation. Read Now

  • Accelerating a Pathway

    There is a new trend touting the transformational qualities of AI’s ability to deliver actionable data and predictive analysis that in many instances, seems to be a bit of an overpromise. The reality is that very few solutions in the cyber-physical security (CPS) space live up to this high expectation with the one exception being the new generation of Physical Identity and Access Management (PIAM) software – herein recategorized as PIAM+. Read Now

  • Protecting Your Zones

    It is game day. You can feel the crowd’s energy. In the parking lot. At the gate. In the stadium. On the concourse. Fans are eager to party. Food and merchandise vendors ready themselves for the rush. Read Now

  • Street Smarts

    The ongoing acceptance of AI and advanced data analytics has allowed surveillance camera technology to shift from being a tactical tool to a strategic business solution. Combining traditional surveillance technology with AI-based data-driven insights can streamline transportation systems, enhance traffic management, improve situational awareness, optimize resource allocation and streamline emergency response procedures. Read Now

  • Midtown Manhattan Shooting Kills 4, Including NYPD Officer

    Four people were killed, including a NYPD officer, in a midtown Manhattan shooting on Monday. That’s according to CNN. Read Now

New Products

  • Luma x20

    Luma x20

    Snap One has announced its popular Luma x20 family of surveillance products now offers even greater security and privacy for home and business owners across the globe by giving them full control over integrators’ system access to view live and recorded video. According to Snap One Product Manager Derek Webb, the new “customer handoff” feature provides enhanced user control after initial installation, allowing the owners to have total privacy while also making it easy to reinstate integrator access when maintenance or assistance is required. This new feature is now available to all Luma x20 users globally. “The Luma x20 family of surveillance solutions provides excellent image and audio capture, and with the new customer handoff feature, it now offers absolute privacy for camera feeds and recordings,” Webb said. “With notifications and integrator access controlled through the powerful OvrC remote system management platform, it’s easy for integrators to give their clients full control of their footage and then to get temporary access from the client for any troubleshooting needs.”

  • Mobile Safe Shield

    Mobile Safe Shield

    SafeWood Designs, Inc., a manufacturer of patented bullet resistant products, is excited to announce the launch of the Mobile Safe Shield. The Mobile Safe Shield is a moveable bullet resistant shield that provides protection in the event of an assailant and supplies cover in the event of an active shooter. With a heavy-duty steel frame, quality castor wheels, and bullet resistant core, the Mobile Safe Shield is a perfect addition to any guard station, security desks, courthouses, police stations, schools, office spaces and more. The Mobile Safe Shield is incredibly customizable. Bullet resistant materials are available in UL 752 Levels 1 through 8 and include glass, white board, tack board, veneer, and plastic laminate. Flexibility in bullet resistant materials allows for the Mobile Safe Shield to blend more with current interior décor for a seamless design aesthetic. Optional custom paint colors are also available for the steel frame.

  • Automatic Systems V07

    Automatic Systems V07

    Automatic Systems, an industry-leading manufacturer of pedestrian and vehicle secure entrance control access systems, is pleased to announce the release of its groundbreaking V07 software. The V07 software update is designed specifically to address cybersecurity concerns and will ensure the integrity and confidentiality of Automatic Systems applications. With the new V07 software, updates will be delivered by means of an encrypted file.