Self-install with professional monitoring

One Touch Alarm

Self-install with professional monitoring

The residential alarm market is growing and also becoming more complex. According to several studies, growth is now focused on “self-installed” products that piggyback on the popularity of smart phones and the tech-savvy millennials that use these devices for everything from banking to prepared food delivery. While the growth may be self-installed hardware, different approaches to monitoring services is where things become complex. After installing some products, consumers use them for free on their smart phone, effectively killing the recurring monthly revenue model that built the alarm industry.

But that is not the only approach and the potential services differ greatly in features, cost and effectiveness.  The strongest approach links “self-install hardware” with “professional monitoring services” and police response. This approach delivers the greatest value to the consumer and reinforces the Recurring Monthly Revenue (RMR) model. DIY is the next “big thing” in the alarm industry, but how can it work for the typical dealer?

The self-install market is booming because it targets a new demographic that isn’t considering a professionally installed alarm system. These are the millennials buying different flavors of IP cameras and other products on Amazon, Home Depot or Best Buy, to monitor things themselves. These consumers want some kind of security but once they start down this self-monitored path, they have no relationship with an alarm dealer and they will predictably never buy a professionally installed system. This is the industry’s target group to expand penetration beyond the 20 percent ceiling where it has been stuck for decades.

In fact, the main issue for dealers is not really self-install so much as the self-monitoring.  If these new consumers will actually pay for professional monitoring, the business model still works. The fact that consumers buy the hardware “up front” simplifies the business model. Dealers need far less, if any working capital if customers purchase the hardware outright. The monthly charge to the user doesn’t need to finance the costs for hardware/installation or sales people.

There is, however, an enormous problem for the typical alarm dealer<\m>a barrier to entry. The costs and skill set needed to create the self-install infrastructure is beyond the reach of smaller and medium-sized dealers which make up the bulk of the alarm industry.  Basic DIY infrastructure includes smart phone apps, consumer websites, eCommerce platforms, logistics and fulfillment as well as solutions for remote tech support. All this means that self-install has been the business of the “big guys” in the alarm business like ADT (who recently announced their own DIY system they created with the Korean electronics giant LG). In addition, the booming market has caught the attention of the new players outside the alarm industry like Google, Apple, and a host of start-ups. All these companies have the deep pockets or financial backing to create the necessary infrastructure needed to play the self-install game. This leaves the average dealer standing on the sidelines unable to participate in the growing revolution, until now.

USA Central has created a unique “business in a box” that provides a small dealer and even an individual installer the ability to create a DIY business with their wireless DragonFly video security system. The program includes:

  • A consumer-facing website with the dealer’s logo that explains the product and gives an overview of the services offered.
  • An eCommerce platform with the dealer’s logo where consumers buy products and services.
  • The DragonFly smart phone app to install and operate the system.

All the dealer or integrator has to do is promote the website and they receive a monthly check from USA Central as before unreachable alarm company customers install the equipment. The hardware is purchased by Consumers online and drop shipped to their door by the manufacturer<\m>the dealer never has to touch it. The new customer installs it and their account is on-boarded to USA’s central station. USA collects the money and the dealer receives a check each month for their accounts.

USA’s system is designed to deliver faster police response<\m>something missing in the mass market solutions found in Best Buy and Amazon. What makes this system so effective is its ability to detect an intruder<\m>inside or outside before they break in<\m>and take a 10 second video clip, send it to a user’s cell phone where they can determine if the event is threatening, and link it with professional monitoring. If the user decides they do not require police response, they simply dismiss the signal.

However, if there is an actual intruder the user can have the police “dispatched” with one button on their cell phone, sending an alarm signal together with the video clip to USA’s UL Listed Central Station. The central station operator reviews this emergency alarm signal and the actual video clip and immediately notifies local law enforcement as a virtual eyewitness. Law enforcement gives this type of alarm a higher priority and faster response because it’s treated as a crime-in-progress.

The wireless DragonFly is professional grade hardware. It is fully supervised and informs the user in the event of a power outage, if the internet connection is cut or the batteries run low. With the optional cell back-up, even if an intruder cuts the phone lines or the power fails, the user and the central station can still be alerted. The customer is also alerted to attempts to move or tamper with the sensors. For maximum coverage consumers can install up to 25 five indoor and/or outdoor wireless cameras on one system. Operating for years on battery power, freedom from unsightly power cords and cables is crucial to a simple and effective self-install system.

The consumer needs to be able to place the cameras where they will be most effective, not where there is a power outlet. This is even more crucial when pushing protection outdoors.  Both the indoor and outdoor DragonFly cameras have built-in illuminators and can see in total darkness and users can remotely view the cameras from their smart phone for a visual status of what is happening. System users can combine their outdoor cameras with other users to create a “virtual neighborhood watch system” that alerts neighbors, family and trusted friends to unwanted activity<\m>this trusted group can receive outdoor alerts of suspicious activity and to work together as a team to protect their neighborhood. While DragonFly was originally conceived as a residential product, with nearly 1000 feet outdoor range the possibilities with the cell enhanced hub expands uses to construction sites and hundreds of other applications formally difficult for traditional alarm service providers.

Professional monitoring and police response remain the biggest most important expectation of a security system. Instead of police response, self-monitoring is only remote surveillance with a fatal flaw. Dialing 911 from a cell phone only alerts law enforcement of the location of the cell phone, not the local jurisdiction responsible to respond to their residence.

How many consumers know the area code and phone number of the specific police station responsible to respond to their home? In contrast, with USA’s DragonFly, the consumer touches one button on a cell phone, and professional operators immediately handle the emergency by dispatching the police to the consumer’s home for action.  Police response has been the foundation of the alarm industry because consumers believed central stations would send police when they were needed.

This foundation of the RMR model can still exist with self-install. USA’s program actually delivers a stronger response because each alarm is video verified, treated like a crime in progress<\m>and the dealer makes money every month without building their own infrastructure.

This article originally appeared in the September 2015 issue of Security Today.

Featured

  • 12 Commercial Crime Sites to Do Your Research

    12 Commercial Crime Sites to Do Your Research

    Understanding crime statistics in your industry and area is crucial for making important decisions about your security budget. With so much information out there, how can you know which statistics to trust? Read Now

  • Boosting Safety and Efficiency

    Boosting Safety and Efficiency

    In alignment with the state of Mississippi’s mission of “Empowering Mississippi citizens to stay connected and engaged with their government,” Salient's CompleteView VMS is being installed throughout more than 150 state boards, commissions and agencies in order to ensure safety for thousands of constituents who access state services daily. Read Now

  • Live From GSX: Post-Show Review

    Live From GSX: Post-Show Review

    This year’s Live From GSX program was a rousing success! Again, we’d like to thank our partners, and IPVideo, for working with us and letting us broadcast their solutions to the industry. You can follow our Live From GSX 2023 page to keep up with post-show developments and announcements. And if you’re interested in working with us in 2024, please don’t hesitate to ask about our Live From programs for ISC West in March or next year’s GSX. Read Now

    • Industry Events
    • GSX
  • People Say the Funniest Things

    People Say the Funniest Things

    By all accounts, GSX version 2023 was completely successful. Apparently, there were plenty of mix-ups with the airlines and getting aircraft from the East Coast into Big D. I am all ears when I am in a gathering of people. You never know when a nugget of information might flip out. Read Now

    • Industry Events
    • GSX

Featured Cybersecurity

Webinars

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.” 3

  • PE80 Series

    PE80 Series by SARGENT / ED4000/PED5000 Series by Corbin Russwin

    ASSA ABLOY, a global leader in access solutions, has announced the launch of two next generation exit devices from long-standing leaders in the premium exit device market: the PE80 Series by SARGENT and the PED4000/PED5000 Series by Corbin Russwin. These new exit devices boast industry-first features that are specifically designed to provide enhanced safety, security and convenience, setting new standards for exit solutions. The SARGENT PE80 and Corbin Russwin PED4000/PED5000 Series exit devices are engineered to meet the ever-evolving needs of modern buildings. Featuring the high strength, security and durability that ASSA ABLOY is known for, the new exit devices deliver several innovative, industry-first features in addition to elegant design finishes for every opening. 3

  • Camden CM-221 Series Switches

    Camden CM-221 Series Switches

    Camden Door Controls is pleased to announce that, in response to soaring customer demand, it has expanded its range of ValueWave™ no-touch switches to include a narrow (slimline) version with manual override. This override button is designed to provide additional assurance that the request to exit switch will open a door, even if the no-touch sensor fails to operate. This new slimline switch also features a heavy gauge stainless steel faceplate, a red/green illuminated light ring, and is IP65 rated, making it ideal for indoor or outdoor use as part of an automatic door or access control system. ValueWave™ no-touch switches are designed for easy installation and trouble-free service in high traffic applications. In addition to this narrow version, the CM-221 & CM-222 Series switches are available in a range of other models with single and double gang heavy-gauge stainless steel faceplates and include illuminated light rings. 3