Lessons From the Front Lines of the SMB Security Channel

Channel education & enablement

What are some of the most common knowledge gaps or pain points you see among  dealers and integrators when it comes to understanding or deploying new technologies?

The challenge isn’t usually understanding the technology itself but it’s building an effective go-to-market strategy. Integrators often struggle with defining product-market fit for new services. New technologies can have such broad applications that it becomes difficult to narrow down a specific customer segment and develop a repeatable, profitable service model. It’s really the business model side where dealers get stuck, not the technology.

What are some of the ways Alarm.com is helping its dealer partners stay current with new product capabilities and system features and how do you prioritize what gets pushed out to the channel?

Staying current is challenging because we move fast; we ship new code every two weeks. We take a layered communication approach based on each person’s role. Our Executive Brief provides high-level information about new services from the lens of how they can improve the core business performance. At the other end of the spectrum, Tech Shorts delivers consumable 30-second video clips through our mobile app for technicians, explaining new solutions with tips and additional resources with an installer in mind. 

For net new market solutions like gunshot detection, we provide extensive go-to-market playbooks that outline suggestions for pricing, marketing, target application profiles, installation, etc.

We also conduct extensive in-person training at partner offices, regional events and our Utah facility, where technicians get hands-on experience with complete system installations. They leave with real mastery of the technology.

Adoption of emerging technologies

What technologies do you believe are most poised to reshape the residential or small business security market in the next 1-2 years, and why?

Remote video monitoring and deterrence stands out as the biggest game-changer. This fundamentally shifts protection from reactive interior security to proactive perimeter defense. Instead of responding after a crime occurs, you can prevent it by monitoring parking lots, rooftops and other vulnerable areas where crimes typically start.

What’s changed is accessibility. Remote video monitoring used to be expensive and complex requiring integrators to integrate multiple disparate technologies, limiting applications to sites like construction sites or car dealerships. Now it’s becoming democratized — simple to configure, install and monitor at a much lower cost. We’re seeing early providers offer this at scale for residential customers. Currently, less than one percent of small businesses and homes use this technology, but it will soon become the standard level of service people expect.

Best practices for security integrators

How should integrators evaluate whether to add a new technology or service to their portfolio? Are there red flags or best practices?

First, ask if the new technology aligns with your core business model. If you’re focused on recurring revenue but get excited about a hardware-focused solution without a service component, it could be a distraction. Second, consider whether it fits your current customer segment. If it requires targeting different customers, you need a broader evaluation.

Best practice: be intentional. Adding new technology is an investment requiring a committed plan. Get buy-in from installation, sales and support teams. Test with friends and family accounts or “beta” customers first at no cost to work out installation hiccups before offering it to customers. Work closely with your technology provider to develop a market playbook for launch.

From a technology standpoint, what separates high-performing integrators from the rest of the pack?

Since most integrators have access to the same solutions, the difference comes down to process and consistency. Top performers establish clear standards for installations, supported by thorough documentation and repeatable practices. This ensures projects are completed within a ‘low-risk wheelhouse’ with high confidence the technology will work as intended.

High performers also leverage vendor-provided tools effectively. For example, Alarm.com offers on-site wrap-up tools that technicians can use to check off completed steps in the technician app, document the work and perform a full system test before leaving a job site. These tools don’t just ensure quality at the point of installation; they also create accountability. Service managers can review reports to see how technicians are performing against established standards and identify opportunities for improvement.

While it does take effort to implement these tools, the integrators who embrace them raise the performance of their entire team. Ultimately, the best technology is only as good as the process behind it.

How can integrators align their business models to better capitalize on recurring revenue opportunities from smart home and security solutions?

Start with the end goal: if you want to drive RMR, measure every business activity against whether it supports recurring revenue. If it doesn’t contribute, consider stepping away from it.

The biggest tactical opportunity is service bundling. In the SMB market, the big four RMR drivers are alarm monitoring, video surveillance as a service (VSaaS), access control as a service (ACaaS) and fire monitoring. Forward-looking partners package these as unified components of a single solution rather than separate offerings, creating a more compelling value proposition and easier upselling opportunities.

Also, revisit existing customers to layer on new services. This increases account value while reducing attrition.

Finally, align sales incentives with RMR goals. If compensation rewards hardware sales over recurring revenue, that’s where the focus will naturally go.

Navigating the tech ecosystem

Interoperability is a recurring theme. How should integrators navigate the growing complexity of connected devices, platforms and ecosystems?

The key for integrators is to focus on standardization. Choose a modern cloud platform as your foundation—the provider has already done the heavy lifting on integrations. By staying within the platform’s supported ecosystem, you can be confident devices have been tested to work together seamlessly and focus on efficient delivery instead of manual integration work.

What role does customer data — and the secure management of that data — play in how integrators should choose vendor partners or build solutions?

It’s paramount. Data privacy is essentially a trust relationship, especially in long-term services. If trust is broken and data is misused, it can severely damage relationships. Review your vendor’s encryption and technology standards, but more importantly, examine their broader incentives. Do they have direct incentives to misuse customer data for other purposes? If yes, be very cautious about engaging with that provider.

Planning for the next 5 years

What are some underutilized or misunderstood technologies in the security space that you think integrators should pay more attention to?

Platform-extending technologies such as fleet telematics, temperature monitoring and energy management are opening new opportunities for integrators and their customers. Energy management is hugely underutilized, while it’s not directly about protection, pairing security or video systems with thermostats dramatically increases account engagement — it becomes a sticky service.

There’s also integration value: when your system arms away or detects no activity, it can automatically adjust the thermostat to save money. We’re seeing huge ROI for businesses where energy savings often exceed the cost of the security system itself. This becomes a compelling marketing tool and providing meaningful ROI gives customers a strong reason to invest.

What advice would you give to an integrator looking to future-proof their business over the next five years?

Do a management exercise: zoom out from day-to-day operations and think like an investor in your business. What’s your five-year gross RMR goal? Use that lens to back into the actions and strategies needed to get there.

Most security companies are constrained by technician count and available hours. Create a KPI of RMR per technician hour and use this framework to help you make smart decisions as the landscape changes. Most integrators have bloated product portfolios that create unnecessary friction that reduces their efficiency.

Another piece of advice would be to modernize the sales motion. Customers want to see simple, transparent pricing and a high-quality demo. It’s really the customer experience — the software — that drives the customer purchase, so we need to transition away from the historical tendency to focus on hardware speeds and feeds. The technology demonstration should showcase how the solution solves real problems and improves their daily experience, not just technical specifications.