When the Lucas family of Tampa commissioned the construction of an 11,000-square-foot smart home, they turned to security integrator Don Dunn and his team of home technology integrators at HavenSmart to recommend a remote monitoring software that would keep the house running.

Built into the home’s Araknis Internet router, the Snap One OvrC software watches for any problems with products on the home network. If something happens, HavenSmart knows immediately: a green dot on a computerized map representing the client’s home turns red. From this map, OvrC permits access to every electronic component on the home network where a HavenSmart technician can quickly identify the culprit.

“In almost every case, we can fix the problem remotely by rebooting the device,” Dunn said. “For a busy family like the Lucases, reliable, consistent performance of every electronic device was imperative. They wanted the technologies in their home to be failsafe, to experience minimal downtime, and to never let them down. OvrC enables just that.” 

OvrC maintains vigilance over the smart home’s assortment of technologies. Outdoor surveillance cameras, network router, distributed audio and video system, several smart TVs, and a rack of AV equipment including satellite receivers are all monitored 24/7. “Florida’s electrical grid is finicky due to frequent storms and lighting strikes, which can throw a home’s electronic devices out of whack,” Dunn said. “Mr. Lucas knew this, we knew this, so it made perfect sense to install OvrC.” 

What really sold the family on the remote monitoring platform was the ability to reboot components from afar. “Any device that’s IP-enabled — which in this house is pretty much everything — can fall offline or freeze up when there’s a glitch in Internet service,” Dunn said. “OvrC sidesteps this issue by allowing us to reboot those offline and frozen components at the press of a button from anywhere. In an instant, the Lucases are back in business, usually before they’ve even noticed a problem.” For extra assurance, OvrC automatically self-heals the network. It continually pings the Internet; if there’s no response, OvrC initiates its own reboot of the router and modem.

The Lucases can also handle the reboots, if they prefer. HavenSmart tailored a quick reboot button on the OvrC app to address the usual “frozen” suspects — in this case, the satellite receivers and smart TVs. “Updates can sometimes lock them up, but it’s easily remedied by the family without ever having to monkey with equipment,” Dunn said. “They just tap a button on their smartphones.” 

Although HavenSmart is always there to rescue the home from minor occasional setbacks, maintaining some control over their own environment was appealing to the Lucas family. “Whether they want to be completely hands-off or have the tools to fix things on their own, OvrC keeps our clients happy; when our clients are happy our business is more successful,” Dunn said. “We can spend less time dealing with problems and more time building new business or rolling our new projects.”

Thanks to OvrC, HavenSmart has reduced its truck rolls by at least 75 percent. The most transformative part for Dunn, however, is the quality of service OvrC enables. “In an unstable economy, it’s more important than ever that we retain clients,” he said. “OvrC has changed the way we look at our business. We are less focused on closing jobs, but more on the continuation of jobs by providing great service that keeps our clients happy. OvrC plays a huge part in this approach. It’s invaluable to our business.”