Why should the professionally installed security market care about DIY today? Because buyers are asking for it; technology is facilitating it; and proponents say it is good for business.
For years do-it-yourself (DIY) security existed on a parallel track with the professionally installed security system — rarely, if ever, intersecting. Not anymore. Manufacturers and security dealers today are investigating ways in which to capitalize on the potential of DIY security as technology has gotten more intuitive, buyers more savvy, and the industry increasingly feels the pressure from “outside” providers such as MSAs, big box stores and mega players like Google and Apple.
“DIY has been around for many years in terms of putting equipment in but still having monitoring,” says Dave Mayne, vice president of marketing, Resolution Products, Hudson, Wis. “But there are a couple of new twists to DIY that are causing the [professional] industry to have a different reaction to it.”