With an ever-growing number of smart home offerings hitting the market, service and device providers have leveraged home security monitoring as entry point to introduce home automation services. As a result, according to ABI Research, nearly 15 million additional U.S. homes will invest in new connected home security services over the next five years.
“After decades where penetration into U.S. households stalled, home security adoption is set for significant growth. However, it will not be the sole preserve of traditional professionally monitored home security providers. Consumers can now choose from an array of non-traditional suppliers, new technologies, and innovative services that balance value with cost,” ABI Research Principal Analyst Jonathan Collins said in a statement.
Through managed smart home offerings from retailers such as Lowes and Staples as well as standalone devices such as video cameras from Dropcam, or smart locks from Kwikset, the research firm said consumers increasingly have the option to install and monitor their own security systems. Demand for such smart home systems are expected to outpace traditional professional monitored security subscriptions as consumers ditch the installation fees, monthly payments and long service contracts of the traditional offerings.
At the same time, professionally monitored security service providers such as Frontpoint Security and NextAlarm offer solutions where users self-install their devices, or can integrate existing dormant installations into new IP based services.
“Self-install and self-monitor home security solutions are real threats to the standard business models offered by traditional vendors,” said Dan Shey, practice Director at ABI Research. “While matching these solutions is one option, traditional vendors need to look for ways to better integrate their core services with partner smart home services. These can range from call-center monitoring as a plug-in service to bringing home video monitoring into the call center.”
Click here for more information or to download a copy of ABI Research’s new report entitled, "Home Security Services Evolution: Staying Relevant in the IoT World."
