Why You Should Be Reprioritizing Your Loved Ones Security
Why You Should Be Reprioritizing Your Loved Ones Security
In a world that’s exponentially shifting more and more into a globalized and urban community, safety is becoming a high priority for homeowners and residents, but not in the traditional sense. Quietly, the home security market is evolving.
The traditional home security market – large security companies like ADT, Life Shield, Frontpoint Security - was built over decades of professionally installed, constantly monitored security solutions without any other market competitors.
With advances in technology, smart phones, and internet icloud services, one of the biggest changes in the home security market is the mass commercialization of ‘Do It Yourself’ (DIY) smart home technology.
The Do It Yourself boom began in 2009 with the launch of cloud-based video service Dropcam, which allows residents to remotely monitor their property with easy to install cameras that can be placed anywhere in the house and controlled via their smartphone or tablet.
Dropcam can be used in a variety of ways: parents utilize the service to keep an eye on their children, animal lovers can check in on their pets at work, and the most resourceful use of the service is to catch unsuspecting thieves or unwanted intruders without tripping an alarm.
The DIY home security market is far, far bigger than just the Dropcam service. The boutique research firm Next Markets is predicting that by 2020 DIY home security will be a $1.5 billion dollar marketplace.
The major provider and company set to benefit the in market shares is the self-installed security service SimpliSafe, which offers wireless sensors and off-site monitoring for private homes and business.
SimpliSafe DIY systems are pushing traditional, expensive security systems to the wayside. They boast that their 15 minute installment process is so simple that, ‘even your kids can install’ their system.
However, easy installation isn’t what’s making SimpliSafe so attractive to homeowners. At $42.99 per month, SimpleSafe is drastically cheaper than the traditional services while still including many of the coveted security system benefits: 24/7 monitoring and police dispatch, smoke and fire detection, and on-the-go mobile control. In addition, they also offer the modern attractions of push-to-lock doors via smart phones and the cloud-based monitoring services similar to Dropcam.
But with all the upside to the DIY home security marketplace, it’s important as the market rapidly expands to take a look at the risks involved when consumers stray away from professional protection.
Personal instillations of home security services have the same variables as any other DIY project because of the possibility of customer error. How many times have you found a recipe online that, no matter how well you follow the instructions, never tastes nor looks like it’s supposed to? When consumers are in control of installation and maintenance, who knows how safe home security systems actually are?
Drive through any suburban neighborhood in America and you’ll find yards lined with traditional security systems stickers and signs, warning would-be robbers that the home is professionally protected. What happens when potential thieves prey on properties protected by DIY installations? How can residents be sure that they put the sensors in the right locations? What if it’s blocked, moved, or at the very worst not even properly installed in the first place?
These questions aren’t unwarranted, even SimpliSafe warns potential customers against the use of their product for homes or businesses that are over 20,000 square feet which is approximately the size of a football field.
As innovation and imagination push technology further and faster into the future, we at Fueled believe there should be certain areas of our culture that are left to the experts – security being very close to the top of that list.
Safety is essentially a subjective notion; we lock our doors, set our alarms and go about our lives with the perception that our valuables and irreplaceable items are secure. What happens when that perception of safety is solely your responsibility?About The Author:
This article is wriiten by Diana Zelikman of Fueled, the premier agency for iPhone app design and Android app development.
