In “Security Industry Megatrends: Keep Your Business Relevant & Thriving,” held virtually on Thurs., Nov 11, a panel of industry experts shared data that uncovers and forecasts the real security megatrends and disruptions the industry should be aware of, including alarm verification, acquisition momentum, DIY, and more. Panelists included Elizabeth Parks, president, Parks Associates; Mark Zimmerman, CEO, RSPNDR; Jake Voll, president, SS&Si Dealer Network; and Daniel Forrest, CEO, Eyeforce. David Morgan, co-founder of SD Marketing, moderated the event.  

Parks focused on residential and SMB security market, sharing insights from the company’s upcoming security dealers study. According to Parks, consumers value technology more than ever, from older generations embracing independent living solutions that are adjacent to the home security space, to the multifamily space. 

“This is really providing an opportunity to highlight to consumers that these professional services for home security have value,” she said. 

Additionally, more businesses are looking for commercial security, with a focus on monitoring the physical safety of the business and employees. Parks said that security providers can use this as an opportunity to find more business. 

“There [are] other types of services that security providers could be latching on to as extended offerings,” she said.

Mark Zimmerman of RSPNDR took the floor and shared insights on the state of alarm monitoring and security. He predicted that the changing relationship between the police and the security industry; competition from tech giants; interoperability; and cybersecurity are all hot topics for 2022. 

“I love my video doorbell and live video on my remote-enabled locks that I can unlock with my smartphone, but if I can unlock it with my smartphone, bad guys can unlock it with their smartphones, and so we are increasingly going to need to be experts not only in the physical world, but in the intersection of the cyber world and in the physical world,” he said. 

Jake Voll of SS&Si Dealer Network, noted that DIY solutions are seen less as competition to dealers as they were before, since the smart home ecosystem has expanded. 

“It’s not just taking market share from security professionals,” he said. “It’s actually made the pies bigger, and I think that's really important. We’re starting to see some dealers, even traditional dealers, start to get involved in that space.”

In 2022, Voll predicts that dealers will focus on the home builder and multifamily markets, more video surveillance solutions incorporated with artificial intelligence (AI) and video verification, and a shift to a consumer financing model. 

Daniel Forrest of Eyeforce finished the webinar with a focus on remote video monitoring and guarding, which he sees growing in 2022 thanks to labor shortages in the guard industry. 

“It’s getting very big,” he said. “Before, it was a very long sales cycle. We see this rapidly increasing because of technology and because of connectivity … the end users are really driving the demand for this remote guarding service, and I think that that's the biggest trend.”

Visit SD Marketing for more information on the webinar.