Ever since DIY became “a thing” in the security industry, security dealers – primarily in the residential market – have been keeping an eye on an ever-growing group of competitors. Some are small, for example, think of a young, start-up company appearing on Shark Tank with an idea for a doorbell with a video camera inside; others are enormous, for example a telecom company with 22 million subscribers, or an online behemoth responsible for nearly half of all ecommerce sales in the United States.
Then, said online behemoth buys the burgeoning young start-up company, and the threat starts to look more formidable...and before you know it, Amazon is – literally – in the security industry.
That’s what happened when Amazon acquired Blink and Ring, and Scout before that. Now, Amazon has rolled out new residential security “packages” with varying levels of smart home and security technology.
But before you lose sleep, security dealers, rest assured that ALL of these products are DIY; in fact, they have to be to comply with the laws and regulations involving residential security installation and monitoring. Still, the intent is clear: Amazon wants a piece of this industry.
These “packages” Amazon is offering are simply a collection of popular DIY security products – for example, its “Smartest Package” includes a Ring video doorbell, security cameras from Yi Technology (not Blink...strange), a Wink smart home hub, and of course, an Echo Dot so consumers can tell Alexa to do everything. Amazon is even offering in-home consultation and installation services to target those who may be less tech-savvy than the average DIY solutions user.
“I believe our industry involves more than the nuts and bolts of ordering parts and someone showing up to install them,” Angela White, ESA President and Partner at Central 1 Security, told SecurityInfoWatch. “The big question is going to be, ‘Are consumers ready to trust Amazon to provide security solutions?’ We already hear stories of consumers fearing the collection of data from disrupting titans like Facebook. They already see the lights swirl on their Echo and question, ‘Is Alexa listening?’ Are these new services something people are going to be able to digest?”
Here is where it might get complicated for Amazon. Right now, they are not offering a central monitoring option – likely because any such offering would mean that Amazon in-home technicians would need to be fully licensed and insured on a state-bystate basis. For now, all monitoring would be done by the end-users themselves – meaning dealers can still use 24/7 monitoring as a differentiator.
Perhaps that means the next step for Amazon is acquiring a national residential security systems provider or partnering with companies on a local or even national basis for installation...only time will tell.
Not coincidentally, ESX plans to focus on that very topic as part of the ESX CounterPoint Forum – June 20-22 in Nashville. This particular forum will discuss whether traditional security companies should partner with these massive and disruptive companies. “Attendees will identify takeaways that will help them rethink their go-to-market strategies, or have a better understanding of how to compete regardless of what disruptors bring,” says George De Marco, ESX Chairman.
Even with all the uncertainty, White says the entrance of Amazon and other mega-companies should still have a positive effect. “I, for one, love new entrants in the security space, as they raise consumer awareness and our company benefits from their marketing,” White says.
Paul Rothman is Editor in Chief of Security Dealer & Integrator (SD&I) magazine. Access the current issue, full archives and subscribe at www.secdealer.com.
