Home security providers extend peace of mind beyond the home

It’s easy to get bogged down by the zillion connected home products at CES 2018’s burgeoning Smart Home space. In fact, this year the smart home section alone featured products from more than 250 exhibitors, connecting just about every home appliance you could imagine. The growing smart home marketplace has put particular pressure on traditional home security providers to prove the value of home security monitoring over a DIY security solution.

Driven to differentiate, while reinforcing the fundamental importance of security monitoring, several of home security’s biggest brands are extending monitoring services beyond the home. CES saw the introduction of offerings that will bring security to your car, your internet and even your neighborhood.

Cyber and personal security

During CES, ADT announced it will expand into cybersecurity. Recognizing the threat of online criminals to households and businesses, in 2018 ADT will offer an array of new security options, including identify theft protection, antivirus and email protection, device protection, parental controls, and more.

ADT also announced ADT Go. In partnership with Life360, ADT Go enables users to see where family members are located throughout the day, get alerts when they arrive or leave a location, and monitor driving. ADT has also built in an SOS feature that will connect a user to an ADT agent if they need assistance.

Neighborhood watch

Another major player in the home security space, Vivint is looking to extend security to entire neighborhoods via a new platform called Streety. The Streety app enables neighbors to share video from security cameras with other users in the neighborhood. For example, if a package has been stolen from my porch and I didn’t have video of the event, I could use the app to ask my next door neighbor to share the video from their porch camera in case their camera captured the culprit. Anyone can join the app, regardless of whether they are a Vivint customer or have a security camera of their own, and Vivint uses a 300-yard radius for neighbors to connect footage from outdoor cameras only.

Ring is also trying to connect neighbors with its new Ring Neighborhood app, which allows neighbors to share real-time alerts with one another.

Car security

On the show floor, Vivint provided a few, though limited, details about its forthcoming Car Guard platform. The service uses a dongle that customers can plug into their car’s diagnostic port to track the health of the car via an accompanying app. It can also alert customers when their car has been broken into. Surprisingly, one feature Car Guard didn’t have yet was roadside assistance.

Parents

Parents, always a key audience for home security, are an obvious target for the new services, too. Video surveillance, tracking apps and parental settings on internet usage all enable parents to have greater insight into their children’s well-being, and more control over their safety. The Mintel Trend ‘Cam Cam’ acknowledges the role of surveillance in consumers’ daily lives and the wealth of opportunities in monitoring children, ageing relatives and pets. It is no surprise to see security providers looking to increased surveillance to offer extended peace of mind.

Competition and opportunities

These new services are not without competition from apps and services in other sectors. ADT Cybersecurity, for instance, goes up against a suite of internet security services offered from internet providers and others. ADT Go is similar to family tracking services offered by cellular providers. Vivint Car Guard resembles Verizon Hum and T-Mobile SyncUp Drive, but without the cellular connection. The question for consumers may be, “To whom would you rather entrust your family’s safety: your telecommunications provider or your home security provider?” Considering the negative consumer sentiment toward the telecommunications industry, home security providers may have the edge here.

Down the road, perhaps home security providers will team up with telecommunications providers to offer combined solutions. Certainly, expanded opportunities for security providers to partner with insurance companies are also presenting themselves with these new offerings.

Emily Groch is Mintel Comperemedia’s Director of Insights, Telecommunications. She provides omni-channel marketing analysis and competitive insights to wireless, TV, internet, over-the-top and home security service providers across the US and Canada.